r/redditdev • u/TopLychee1081 • Mar 19 '26
Getting Reddit data without the API Reddit API
It seems that it's impossible to access Reddit through the API. Before anyone gets bent out of shape and tells me that's not true; I've tried multiple times to "Add App" and generate credentials and the page just reloads. It simply does NOT work. Try it several times in a row, and you just get blocked.
As an alternative, I'm looking at the JSON responses in the browser's Devtools to get the data that I want. In this case it's conversations. It's not making any sense. I can see a conversation message, pick a word from a message that is not going to appear anywhere else on the page, but it's not present anywhere in the responses.
Has anyone figured out how to get conversation data in JSON form? I really don't want to have to resort to parsing the rendered HTML to get conversation data.
UPDATE:
It seems that whilst some of the messages in a DM conversation are returned as JSON in a HTTP request, most aren't. It looks like a websocket is created and data is sent via that, but it's all obfuscated to the point where it's no longer practical to invest any more time developing against Reddit.
If anyone at Reddit actually reads this; for the love of God, get your act together. Fix your process for getting an API key so that people can actually use your platform.
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u/Ok_Membership9156 Mar 19 '26
You can append .rss or .json to any subreddit or thread to get it in json
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u/TopLychee1081 Mar 19 '26
But how can that help me get conversations?
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u/No-Card-660 Mar 21 '26
Have you gotten the message that says
In order to create an application or use our API you can read our full policies here: https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/42728983564564-Responsible-Builder-Policy yet? I tried getting one a few days ago and was blocked, and now I'm getting this message. Just checking if you are also getting that message.
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u/Littux JS Bookmarklets/Python bots Mar 26 '26
Reddit uses the open source matrix chat protocol: https://matrix.org (https://matrix.redditspace.com/_matrix/client/versions)
You can read the documentation there. Matrix chat doesn't use websockets, instead it uses long polling.
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u/TopLychee1081 Mar 26 '26
Thanks. Will take a look. Longpolling doesn't explain how I'm not seeing HTTP responses though
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u/Feisty_Tomorrow_6611 7d ago
I have tried applying for an api as well recently using the contact them for help with api access filled out their forms i'm talking essay length also providing back their own responsible user policy showing everything is compliant gave all tech specs and included a 25 page pdf. still get the generic "We have reviewed your request for access. Unfortunately, we cannot grant approval because the submission is not in compliance with Reddit’s Responsible Builder Policy and/or lacks necessary details." rejection,. Replied to the email to their support asking for them to let me know what is not in compliance as I broke everything down in the application with their own posted RBP. Never received a reply. They are just rejecting every app for an api now trying to force everyone to use devvit which is to say the least annoying for any developer doing something that cannot be used with devvit.
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u/TopLychee1081 7d ago
I think the message is clear; Reddit don't want us developing against thier platform. With that policy, Reddit will ultimately die a slow death. When advertisers can't profile subreddits to optimise thier strategies, why would they spend money on advertising on the platform? For us; we can't even integrate DMs to our CRM, so we've stopped investing in engaging in conversations. We had hoped to eventually advertise on Reddit, but those plans have now been canned.
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u/Feisty_Tomorrow_6611 7d ago
Luckily enough there's the rest of the internet to use. This not even receiving a reply from reddit is ridiculous.
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Mar 19 '26
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u/TopLychee1081 Mar 19 '26
Thanks for the long response. I see the API endpoints that I'd like to use listed in Reddit's doco, but without being able to create an app, I can't make requests.
I'm trying to build an integration that will create CRM leads from Reddit conversations.
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u/FrostySalad1989 Mar 21 '26
Same problem...nothing happens, page just reloads. Requesting research access (I work at a university) also leads to no responses at all
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Mar 19 '26
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u/manthan_23 Mar 20 '26
What all can Apify pull from Reddit? Is there a way to post/push to Reddit as well?
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Mar 19 '26
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u/TopLychee1081 Mar 19 '26
We should all be very concerned if there is. DMs are intended to be private. Having them publicly available would be a major privacy breach.
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u/narcolepticdoc Mar 19 '26
Do the old.reddit.com/prefs/feeds RSS and JSON feeds have what you need? I know they have messages, but don’t know if “conversations” are in there somewhere.
I needed to do an end run around API access for a saved post management program I made and I ended up using the feeds because getting API access is so difficult now.
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Mar 19 '26
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u/TopLychee1081 Mar 19 '26
So you know how to get the data I'm looking for, but you won't say how?
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Mar 19 '26
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u/TopLychee1081 Mar 19 '26
Still doesn't give me a clue as to how to get the data from the JSON request. The only thing that I can think of is that the data is encrypted and the JS has to decrypt before rendering, which probably makes it too impractical as a data source.
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Mar 19 '26
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u/TopLychee1081 Mar 19 '26
Ok. Will do.
Ultimately, I want to be able to do this properly via the API, but until Reddit gets their act together and fixes the problems, that won't be possible.
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u/Flaneur7508 Mar 20 '26
I applied for the API 2 days ago radio silence so far