Threads Search Users API
Returns Threads accounts matching a query, with handle, display name, avatar and verification status. Follower count, bio and the private flag stay null unless you send include=profile.
GET /v1/threads/search/usersLast updated November 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team
When to use the Threads Search Users API
Use it to find accounts by name or topic; search looks for posts instead of people. Send include=profile when you need follower count and bio on the same rows, at 1 credit per account filled.
From the API reference
Searches Threads for user accounts matching a query. Returns up to about 10 matching accounts with the handle, display name, avatar and verification status. A plain call is that identity window for 1 credit, and author.followers, author.bio, author.private and author.ext.bio_link stay null: the search index does not carry them. Send include=profile to fill them by row hydration: each account is looked up on /v1/threads/profile by its handle in the same call, and only those four leaves are copied onto the row, so nothing already on it changes. It costs 1 credit per account filled, adds 3 to 6 seconds (never more than 12), and a data.hydration block reports the rows looked up, filled and served from cache and the credits held and kept; an account the lookup could not fill is refunded and named by data._warnings: ["profile_partial"]. limit (1 to 12) takes the top N accounts and caps the extra credits with them. include_details=true, the older spelling, is the same call at the same price. Post count and join date stay null either way: Threads does not publish them. author.url is the account's Threads permalink, built from the handle.
Searching 69 platforms in parallel
What can you do with the Search Users API?
The Search Users endpoint gives you structured Threads data with computed fields in a single request. No scraping infrastructure to build or maintain.
Example Request
# GET /v1/threads/search/users: Metered: holds 1 credit per call up front and refunds what the call does not use. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
# --max-time 12: this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
# --retry 3: retries timeouts, 429 and 5xx, honoring Retry-After.
# -o response.json keeps only the final attempt's body.
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
IDEMPOTENCY_KEY=$(od -An -N16 -tx1 /dev/urandom | tr -d ' \n')
curl -sS --max-time 12 --retry 3 -o response.json \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Idempotency-Key: $IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/threads/search/users?query=tech" && cat response.json# GET /v1/threads/search/users: Metered: holds 1 credit per call up front and refunds what the call does not use. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
# Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
import os
import random
import time
import uuid
import requests
API_KEY = os.environ.get("SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY", "YOUR_API_KEY")
TIMEOUT_S = 12 # this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
MAX_RETRIES = 3
URL = "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/threads/search/users"
def backoff(attempt):
# Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
return 2 ** attempt * (0.5 + random.random() / 2)
def socialcrawl(params):
# One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
idempotency_key = str(uuid.uuid4())
for attempt in range(MAX_RETRIES + 1):
try:
res = requests.get(
URL,
params=params,
headers={"x-api-key": API_KEY, "Idempotency-Key": idempotency_key},
timeout=TIMEOUT_S,
)
body = res.json()
except (requests.RequestException, ValueError):
# A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
if attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
raise
time.sleep(backoff(attempt))
continue
if body["success"]:
return body
error = body["error"]
# Branch on error["type"], never on the message text.
if error["type"] == "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND":
return None # refunded: nothing to read
retry_after = res.headers.get("Retry-After")
# SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
permanent = error["type"] == "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" and retry_after is None
if not error.get("retryable") or permanent or attempt == MAX_RETRIES:
raise RuntimeError(f"{error['type']}: {error['message']} (request_id {body['request_id']})")
# Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
time.sleep(float(retry_after) if retry_after else backoff(attempt))
params = {
"query": "tech",
}
body = socialcrawl(params)
if body is not None:
print(body["data"])// GET /v1/threads/search/users: Metered: holds 1 credit per call up front and refunds what the call does not use. Cache hits are free and failed calls are refunded.
// Check the price first for 0 credits: add dry_run=1 to the query. Nothing is fetched or charged.
const API_KEY = process.env.SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY ?? "YOUR_API_KEY";
const TIMEOUT_MS = 12_000; // this endpoint's measured p99 latency x 1.5.
const MAX_RETRIES = 3;
type Page = { next_cursor: string | null; has_more: boolean };
type SocialCrawlResponse =
| { success: true; data: any; pagination?: Page; credits_used: number; request_id: string }
| { success: false; error: { type: string; message: string; retryable: boolean }; request_id: string };
const sleep = (ms: number) => new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, ms));
// Exponential backoff with jitter: about 1 s, 2 s, then 4 s.
const backoffMs = (attempt: number) => 2 ** attempt * 1000 * (0.5 + Math.random() / 2);
async function socialcrawl(url: URL) {
// One Idempotency-Key per request, reused on every retry, so a retried call is never charged twice.
const idempotencyKey = crypto.randomUUID();
for (let attempt = 0; ; attempt++) {
let res: Response;
let body: SocialCrawlResponse;
try {
res = await fetch(url, {
headers: {
"x-api-key": API_KEY,
"Idempotency-Key": idempotencyKey,
},
signal: AbortSignal.timeout(TIMEOUT_MS),
});
body = (await res.json()) as SocialCrawlResponse;
} catch (error) {
// A timeout, a dropped connection or a non-JSON gateway page: retry with the same key.
if (attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) throw error;
await sleep(backoffMs(attempt));
continue;
}
if (body.success) return body;
// Branch on error.type, never on the message text.
if (body.error.type === "RESOURCE_NOT_FOUND") return null; // refunded: nothing to read
const retryAfter = res.headers.get("Retry-After");
// SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE without Retry-After is a withdrawn endpoint: permanent.
const permanent = body.error.type === "SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE" && retryAfter === null;
if (!body.error.retryable || permanent || attempt >= MAX_RETRIES) {
throw new Error(`${body.error.type}: ${body.error.message} (request_id ${body.request_id})`);
}
// Retry-After (seconds) wins; otherwise back off.
await sleep(retryAfter ? Number(retryAfter) * 1000 : backoffMs(attempt));
}
}
const url = new URL("https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/threads/search/users");
url.searchParams.set("query", "tech");
const body = await socialcrawl(url);
if (body) console.log(body.data);Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| query | Yes | Search keyword or phrase to find Threads users |
| include | No | Send `profile` to fill `author.followers`, `author.bio`, `author.private` and `author.ext.bio_link` on each account by looking it up on `/v1/threads/profile` in the same call. 1 credit per account filled from a fresh lookup (12 at most, or `limit`); accounts served from that lookup's cache (15 minutes) and accounts it could not fill are free. Adds 3 to 6 seconds, never more than 12. One token only: `profile`. (profile) |
| limit | No | Take the top N accounts of the page, 1 to 12. With `include=profile` it also caps the extra credits: `limit=5&include=profile` holds 6 credits, not 13. A plain call with `limit` still costs 1. |
| include_details | No | The older spelling of `include=profile`, kept working: `include_details=true` runs the same join at the same price (1 credit per account filled, 13 at most), and `false` is the plain call. Prefer `include=profile` in new code. |
What does the Threads Search Users API return?
Every response follows one unified schema. Here is a real, unmodified response body, so you can see the exact fields you get back before spending a credit.
Example response
{
"success": true,
"platform": "threads",
"endpoint": "/v1/threads/search/users",
"data": {
"items": [
{
"author": {
"id": "user_7cd8cd",
"username": "user_163ca7",
"display_name": "user_312f88",
"avatar_url": "https://example.com/avatars/user_6c6a0f.png",
"bio": null,
"verified": false,
"followers": null,
"following": null,
"posts_count": null,
"likes_count": null,
"url": "https://example.com/user_534c2a",
"location": null,
"joined_at": null
}
},
{
"author": {
"id": "user_1a0bef",
"username": "user_2f500a",
"display_name": "user_0b2886",
"avatar_url": "https://example.com/avatars/user_781f87.png",
"bio": null,
"verified": true,
"followers": null,
"following": null,
"posts_count": null,
"likes_count": null,
"url": "https://example.com/user_90e5a8",
"location": null,
"joined_at": null
}
}
],
"total": null,
"dropped": 0
},
"credits_used": 1,
"request_id": "req_example000000",
"cached": false,
"pagination": {
"next_cursor": null,
"has_more": false,
"page_size": 2
},
"credits_remaining": 9999,
"source": "captured",
"captured_at": "2026-10-02T13:08:03.160Z",
"redacted": true
}Live sample illustrating the unified response shape. Field values reflect the record you query.
How does the Threads Search Users API work?
Send a GET request with your API key and get back clean, structured JSON in our unified schema. Supported computed fields are populated when the source provides the required inputs.
Method
GET
Response
JSON
How do you scrape social media data in seconds?
The fastest social media scraping API for developers. Scrape profiles, posts, comments, and analytics from 69 platforms covering 10B+ monthly active users.
One schema, every platform
Query 69 platforms with identical response structures. Write your integration once.
Computed fields, not just scraped
When an endpoint supports these metrics and the source provides the required inputs, the normalized record includes engagement_rate, estimated_reach, content_category, and language. Ready to use.
See your data before you code
Visual Data Explorer. Paste any URL, get rich result cards, sortable tables, CSV export.
import requests
response = requests.get(
'https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/tiktok/profile',
params={'handle': 'charlidamelio'},
headers={'x-api-key': 'sc_YOUR_API_KEY'}
)
data = response.json(){
"success": true,
"platform": "tiktok",
"data": {
"author": {
"username": "charlidamelio",
"followers": 152400000
},
"engagement": {
"likes": 12400000000,
"engagement_rate": 0.087
},
"metadata": {
"language": "en",
"content_category": "lifestyle"
}
}
}Have a question? We got answers
Find answers to frequently asked questions about SocialCrawl's API, pricing, and capabilities.
Contact usHow do I find Threads users by keyword?
What data does each user result include?
How is this different from searching posts?
Can I filter the results by verification or follower count?
How much does the Threads User Search API cost?
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