Reddit and X data for academic research
For studies of current discussion, ChatterAPI collects Reddit threads with full comment trees, subreddit feeds and tweets as JSON, and you don't have to register a developer app. It reads live data only. For deleted content or long histories you need an archive such as the Pushshift dumps.
The job
Researchers study how communities talk: how a topic spreads, how moderation shapes a thread, how a subreddit's tone changes over time. That work needs complete threads and the same fields across thousands of posts.
Reddit says its remaining public API access ends in March 2027, so many projects are looking for another data source. ChatterAPI returns current threads and feeds with stable field names, which keeps collection scripts simple.
How it works
Define the sample
Before you collect anything, pick your subreddits, search terms and time window, and write them down.
Collect threads
Pull subreddit feeds or search results, then fetch each thread with its comments. Save the raw JSON along with the date you collected it.
Use archives for history
For content posted before your study started, or since deleted, compare our coverage with the archives in our guide to Reddit archives.
Endpoints that do it
| Endpoint | What it's for | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| List subreddit postsGET /v1/reddit/subreddits/{name}/posts | A subreddit's feed, by hot, new, top or rising. | 2 credits |
| Get a thread with commentsGET /v1/reddit/threads/{id} | A post and its full comment tree. | 3 credits |
| Search postsGET /v1/reddit/search | Posts by keyword across Reddit. | 2 credits |
| Search tweetsGET /v1/x/tweets/search | Tweets by keyword and operator. | 3 credits |
Free tools for the same job
Try the job in a browser first. These tools call the same endpoints, and you don't need a key or any code.
A full thread
One post with its comment tree. Most studies work from this unit.
curl "https://api.chatterapi.com/v1/reddit/threads/1wdihhj" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $CHATTERAPI_KEY"{
"data": {
"post": {
"id": "1wdihhj",
"fullname": "t3_1wdihhj",
"title": "What CRM should a small business use?",
"body": "We’re a small B2B business with 6 people and sales is still pretty founder led, but revenue has grown enough that keeping leads, follow ups and customer conversations spread across spreadsheets and inboxes is starting to…",
"author": "NotedWhisky",
"subreddit": "CRM",
"permalink": "/r/CRM/comments/1wdihhj/what_crm_should_a_small_business_use/",
"url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/CRM/comments/1wdihhj/what_crm_should_a_small_business_use/",
"externalUrl": null,
"score": 52,
"numComments": 186,
"upvoteRatio": 0.96,
"createdAt": "2026-09-11T14:52:16.000Z",
"nsfw": false,
"locked": false,
"media": null
},
"comments": [
{
"id": "p97byh3",
"fullname": "t1_p97byh3",
"parentId": null,
"postId": "1wdihhj",
"postTitle": null,
"author": "New_Dimension_5894",
"body": "Since you're a small B2B team I’d seriously consider Monaco as an AI native CRM, especially if the goal is growing revenue without adding a bunch of CRM admin as the pipeline gets bigger. The agents can take ownership of…",
"bodyTruncated": false,
"score": 8,
"subreddit": null,
"permalink": "/r/CRM/comments/1wdihhj/what_crm_should_a_small_business_use/p97byh3/",
"url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/CRM/comments/1wdihhj/what_crm_should_a_small_business_use/p97byh3/",
"createdAt": "2026-09-11T18:15:02.000Z"
},
{
"id": "p9636y0",
"fullname": "t1_p9636y0",
"parentId": null,
"postId": "1wdihhj",
"postTitle": null,
"author": "OstrichSome3412",
"body": "Just a FYI, don’t buy for the company you imagine having in 5 years. Buy for the next 12 or 18 months and make sure exporting your data isn’t painful if you eventually need something heavier.",
"bodyTruncated": false,
"score": 6,
"subreddit": null,
"permalink": "/r/CRM/comments/1wdihhj/what_crm_should_a_small_business_use/p9636y0/",
"url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/CRM/comments/1wdihhj/what_crm_should_a_small_business_use/p9636y0/",
"createdAt": "2026-09-11T15:02:24.000Z"
}
],
"unloadedReplyStubs": 0,
"reportedCommentCount": 186
},
"page": {
"nextCursor": null,
"hasMore": false
}
}Recorded from a live call on . Long text is shortened and the cursor is cut. A live key is charged 3 credits for this call. A test key returns this same sample for 0 credits.
What it won't do
- ChatterAPI reads live Reddit and X, so it does not return posts or comments that were deleted or removed.
- It is not an archive. It can't return Reddit's full history, only what Reddit and X serve today.
- Your ethics review and the platforms' terms still apply. Only store usernames if your protocol allows it.