Utility Task Recipes API
Returns the task recipes: each job's chain of calls with its inputs, binds, paging and setup, pitfalls, alternatives, and the whole job's credit cost for its stated size.
GET /v1/utility/recipesLast updated November 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team
When to use the Utility Task Recipes API
Use it to copy a proven multi-step job and see what it costs before you build it. It runs nothing. Free to call.
From the API reference
The catalog of task recipes: common jobs (export a video's comments, vet a creator, compare a product's reviews across retailers, watch a competitor's uploads, crawl a site to markdown, and more) as the cheapest chain of calls, with the inputs each needs, which step's rows feed the next (bind), which steps page or run once per row (repeat), any setup call (a monitor, a cohort), pitfalls, cheaper and deeper alternatives, and cost: the whole job's credits for the stated size, computed from current prices, with exact false when a page count had to be guessed. A recipe monitor also shows per_run, one scheduled run. Every recipe carries last_run: what it really spent the last time we ran it end to end against the API (date, calls, credits, the ITEMS it ran with, and measured, the same in one sentence), or null before its first run. Pass id for one recipe and it also carries code: the whole job as a TypeScript program, a Python program that needs nothing installed, and an n8n workflow, each reading your key from SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY and the row cap from ITEMS, following async runs and jobs to their end, and printing what it spent. A utility/plan job id (creator_profile) returns the recipe that documents it. Free to call.
Searching 69 platforms in parallel
What can you do with the Task Recipes API?
The Task Recipes endpoint gives you structured Utility data with computed fields in a single request. No scraping infrastructure to build or maintain.
Example Request
# GET /v1/utility/recipes: Free: 0 credits per call.
# --max-time 60: the API's own time limit for this endpoint.
# --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 60 --retry 3 -o response.json \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Idempotency-Key: $IDEMPOTENCY_KEY" \
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/utility/recipes?id=export-tiktok-comments" && cat response.json# GET /v1/utility/recipes: Free: 0 credits per call.
import os
import random
import time
import uuid
import requests
API_KEY = os.environ.get("SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY", "YOUR_API_KEY")
TIMEOUT_S = 60 # the API's own time limit for this endpoint.
MAX_RETRIES = 3
URL = "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/utility/recipes"
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 = {
"id": "export-tiktok-comments",
}
body = socialcrawl(params)
if body is not None:
print(body["data"])// GET /v1/utility/recipes: Free: 0 credits per call.
const API_KEY = process.env.SOCIALCRAWL_API_KEY ?? "YOUR_API_KEY";
const TIMEOUT_MS = 60_000; // the API's own time limit for this endpoint.
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/utility/recipes");
url.searchParams.set("id", "export-tiktok-comments");
const body = await socialcrawl(url);
if (body) console.log(body.data);Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| id | No | One recipe id (export-tiktok-comments), which adds its runnable code. Omit for the whole catalog |
What does the Utility Task Recipes API return?
This synthetic fixture shows the documented response shape and fields. Values are illustrative; this is not a live API response.
Example response
{
"success": true,
"platform": "utility",
"endpoint": "/v1/utility/recipes",
"data": {
"kind": "recipe_catalog",
"version": 1,
"count": 1,
"recipes": [
{
"id": "export-tiktok-comments",
"title": "Export the latest N comments on a TikTok video",
"when": [
"get/export/download comments on this TikTok"
],
"inputs": [
{
"name": "url",
"description": "The TikTok video URL",
"example": "https://www.tiktok.com/@stoolpresidente/video/7623818255903329566"
}
],
"steps": [
{
"id": "comments",
"endpoint": "tiktok/post/comments",
"method": "GET",
"params": {
"url": "{url}",
"sort": "recent",
"scan_pages": "3"
},
"repeat": "until_n_items"
}
],
"size": {
"description": "two hundred comments",
"items": 200
},
"cost": {
"calls": 5,
"hold": 15,
"expected_min": 5,
"expected_max": 15,
"exact": false,
"floor": true,
"for_items": 200
},
"pitfalls": [
"The endpoint is tiktok/post/comments; tiktok/video/comments does not exist."
]
}
],
"notes": [
"cost is the whole job for size.items rows (paging and per-row fan-out included), from the same pricing the API bills with. hold is what is held up front across every call; unused hold is refunded."
]
},
"credits_used": 0,
"request_id": "req_example000000",
"cached": false
}Synthetic fixture for the documented response shape. Values are illustrative, not a production capture.
How does the Utility Task Recipes 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
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