# Reddit Search Comments API (https://www.socialcrawl.dev/platforms/reddit/search-comments)

> Searches Reddit's COMMENT index directly, so a phrase that only ever appears three levels deep inside someone's reply is reachable in one call. Every other comment surface on this API needs a post you have already found; this one does not. Each hit arrives with its parent post inline, because a bare comment body off a search index is unreadable without it: `ext.post_title`, `ext.subreddit`, `ext.subreddit_subscribers`, `ext.post_score`, `ext.post_comment_count`, `ext.post_author`, `ext.post_published_at`, `ext.post_flair`, `ext.post_url` and `ext.content_language`. Reddit's search operators work in `query`, which is where most of the power is: `author:username` returns that account's indexed comments, `subreddit:name terms` scopes the sweep to one community, and quoted phrases tighten a loose match. `comment.parent_id` is null on this lane and that is honest rather than missing — the upstream does not say whether a hit is a top-level comment or a deep reply, and this API does not guess. Up to 25 hits per page; paginate with `cursor`. A query that matches nothing returns an empty `items` list and costs nothing. When the main source is unavailable, the first page is answered by a backup that reads the same comment index with the same fields, parent-post block included, and carries no next cursor. If that backup fails too, a third source answers with the same hits in the same order, up to 10 on a page, and its pages carry a next cursor that pages on that same source; on those pages `ext.subreddit_subscribers`, `ext.post_author`, `ext.post_flair`, `ext.content_language` and `author.display_name` are null, and the rest of the parent-post block is filled. If that fails as well, a fourth source answers the first page with the same hits but without the parent-post block, so `ext.post_title`, `ext.post_url`, `ext.subreddit_subscribers`, `ext.post_score`, `ext.post_comment_count`, `ext.post_author`, `ext.post_published_at`, `ext.post_flair`, `ext.content_language` and `author.avatar_url` are null on that page; `ext.subreddit` is still filled. A later page has no second source: it is answered by the source that served the page before it, and returns an error to retry when that source is unavailable.

TL;DR: `GET /v1/reddit/search/comments` costs 1 credit per call and returns SocialCrawl's unified JSON schema. Single x-api-key auth, 100 free credits on signup.

## Parameters

| Parameter | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `query` | yes | Search phrase. Reddit's operators work here: `author:username` for one account's comments, `subreddit:name terms` to scope to a community, and quotes for an exact phrase. |
| `sort` | no | Sort order for the comment hits. (relevance \| top \| new) |
| `cursor` | no | Cursor to get more results. Get 'cursor' from the previous response. |
| `switch_from` | no | Optional brand. data.switch_receipts lists comments where the author says they personally left that brand, with the verbatim text, the reason, where they went, and a link. There is no percentage. A comment that is not a switch, or that is not confident, is left out. No extra credits. |
| `since` | no | Only rows published on or after this date: YYYY-MM-DD (midnight UTC) or an ISO 8601 timestamp. Rows older than it are left off the page, and the page that reaches one ends the walk: `next_cursor` is not returned and `pagination.stopped_at` is `since`. Sending it sets the newest-first sort shown in this endpoint's sort parameter (any other sort value is a free 400). The page still costs what a page costs, so you pay for the pages you walk and no more. A row with no date is kept. `published_after`, `start_date`, `from_date`, `publish_time` (`yesterday`, `this-week`, `this-month`, `last-3-months`, `last-6-months`) and `max_age_days` are accepted and applied as `since`. |
| `until` | no | Only rows published on or before this date: YYYY-MM-DD (that whole UTC day is included) or an ISO 8601 timestamp. Newer rows are left off each page and the walk does not stop, so older pages follow. A row with no date is kept. `published_before`, `end_date` and `to_date` are accepted and applied as `until`. |
| `max_pages` | no | 1 to 50 (default 1, or 50 when `max_items` or `max_credits` is sent). Walk up to this many pages in one call and return the rows from all of them. Each page walked is billed exactly as one call to this endpoint (a cached page is free) and counts against your rate limit; its charge and any refund are recorded under the page's own request id, listed in `data.walk.request_ids`. The walk stops early at the last page, or when the request's time budget runs low; `data.walk.stopped` says why (`end`, `max_pages`, `max_items`, `max_credits`, `time_budget`, `page_error`) and `pagination.next_cursor` continues from where it stopped. |
| `max_items` | no | 1 to 5000. Get more in one call: keep walking pages until the response holds at least this many rows, then stop with `data.walk.stopped: "max_items"`. The last page is returned whole (it was billed), so `data.items` can hold up to one page more than this, and `pagination.next_cursor` resumes right after it without skipping a row. Walks up to 50 pages unless `max_pages` says fewer; each page is billed as one call (a cached page is free). Add `max_credits` to cap the spend. A long walk can stop on the time budget first (`"time_budget"`): send the returned cursor with the same params to continue. |
| `max_credits` | no | 1 to 100000. The most this call may spend, across every page it walks. A page starts only while the credits already spent plus that page's price (or, when higher, the most any page of this walk has cost) still fit, so the call never goes past it; the walk then stops with `data.walk.stopped: "max_credits"` and the cursor to resume. Sent alone, it walks as far as the budget goes (up to 50 pages). A value below the price of one page is a free 400 whose `error.details.page_credits` names that price. Credits a row join (`include=`) adds are known only once a page has run, so page 1 is checked against its own price. |

## Code example

```bash
curl -G "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/reddit/search/comments" \
  --data-urlencode "query=best project management software" \
  -H "x-api-key: sc_YOUR_API_KEY"
```

## FAQ

### How do I search Reddit comments rather than posts?

Send a GET request to /v1/reddit/search/comments with your query. It reads Reddit's comment index directly, so a phrase that only appears three levels deep inside a reply is reachable in one call, 25 hits per page.

### Do Reddit search operators work in the query?

Yes, and that is where most of the power is. author:username returns one account's indexed comments, subreddit:name scopes the sweep to one community, and quoted phrases tighten a loose match.

### Do I get the post each comment belongs to?

Yes. A bare comment body off a search index is unreadable without context, so every hit carries its parent post inline: ext.post_title, ext.subreddit, ext.subreddit_subscribers, ext.post_score, ext.post_comment_count, ext.post_author and ext.post_url.

### Is this a Pushshift replacement?

It covers the common Pushshift job of finding comments by keyword, author or subreddit through a maintained endpoint with a stable schema. It reads Reddit's own search index, so it is a current-comment search and not a historical archive dump.

### How much does the Reddit Comments Search API cost?

Each page costs 1 credit on the standard tier, whatever the page holds. New accounts get 100 free credits with no credit card required, which is 100 comment searches.

See the full Reddit API: https://www.socialcrawl.dev/platforms/reddit

## Pricing

- Standard endpoints: 1 credit per call
- Advanced endpoints: 5 credits per call
- Premium endpoints: 10 credits per call
- 100 free credits on signup, no credit card required. Cached responses cost 0 credits. Credit packs never expire.
- Full pricing: https://www.socialcrawl.dev/pricing

## Explore with AI

Questions this API answers, phrased for an AI assistant:

- How do I search Reddit comments rather than posts?
- What replaced Pushshift for searching Reddit comments?
- What does the SocialCrawl Reddit Comments Search API return?