Quick Start

Python
import requests
import json

# Basic subreddit posts fetch
def get_subreddit_posts(subreddit, limit=25):
    url = f"https://www.reddit.com/r/{subreddit}/hot.json?limit={limit}"
    headers = {'User-Agent': 'YourApp/1.0 (by u/yourusername)'}
    response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
    return response.json()

# Get top posts from r/Python
posts = get_subreddit_posts('Python', 10)
for post in posts['data']['children']:
    print(f"{post['data']['title']} - {post['data']['score']} upvotes")

Workflow

Progress:

• Set up authentication (if needed)
• Define User-Agent header
• Construct API endpoint URL
• Make request with rate limiting
• Parse JSON response
• Handle errors and edge cases

For read-only public data (no auth needed):

Python
headers = {'User-Agent': 'YourApp/1.0 (by u/yourusername)'}

For write operations (OAuth required):

Python
import praw

reddit = praw.Reddit(
    client_id="your_client_id",
    client_secret="your_client_secret", 
    user_agent="your_user_agent"
)

• Posts: /r/{subreddit}/{sort}.json (sort: hot, new, top, rising)
• Comments: /r/{subreddit}/comments/{post_id}.json
• User: /user/{username}.json
• Search: /r/{subreddit}/search.json?q={query}

Python
import time

def make_request_with_delay(url, headers, delay=2):
    response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
    time.sleep(delay)  # Reddit allows ~60 requests/minute
    return response

Examples

Example 1: Get Hot Posts Input: Subreddit "MachineLearning", top 5 posts

Python
url = "https://www.reddit.com/r/MachineLearning/hot.json?limit=5"
response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
data = response.json()

Output: JSON with post titles, scores, URLs, timestamps

Example 2: Search Within Subreddit Input: Search for "transformers" in r/MachineLearning

Python
url = "https://www.reddit.com/r/MachineLearning/search.json?q=transformers&limit=10"

Output: Posts matching search term with relevance ranking

Example 3: Get Post Comments Input: Post ID "abc123" from r/Python

Python
url = "https://www.reddit.com/r/Python/comments/abc123.json"

Output: Nested comment tree with replies and scores

Best Practices

• Always use descriptive User-Agent: Include app name, version, and contact info
• Respect rate limits: Max 60 requests/minute for unauthenticated requests
• Use PRAW library for complex operations: Handles authentication and rate limiting automatically
• Cache responses: Reddit data doesn't change rapidly
• Handle pagination: Use after parameter for large result sets
• Parse timestamps: Reddit uses Unix timestamps in created_utc field

Python
# Proper pagination example
def get_all_posts(subreddit, limit=100):
    posts = []
    after = None
    while len(posts) < limit:
        url = f"https://www.reddit.com/r/{subreddit}/hot.json?limit=25"
        if after:
            url += f"&after={after}"
        response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
        data = response.json()
        batch = data['data']['children']
        if not batch:
            break
        posts.extend(batch)
        after = data['data']['after']
        time.sleep(2)
    return posts[:limit]

Common Pitfalls

• Missing User-Agent: Reddit blocks requests without proper User-Agent headers
• Rate limit violations: Sending requests too quickly results in 429 errors
• Ignoring authentication scope: Some endpoints require OAuth even for reading
• Not handling deleted content: Posts/comments may be [deleted] or [removed]
• Assuming data structure: Reddit's JSON structure can vary, always check for key existence
• Using wrong sort parameters: Valid sorts are hot, new, top, rising (not popular, trending, etc.)
• Forgetting URL encoding: Special characters in search queries need proper encoding

Python
# Error handling example
def safe_get_posts(subreddit):
    try:
        response = requests.get(url, headers=headers, timeout=10)
        response.raise_for_status()
        data = response.json()
        if 'error' in data:
            print(f"Reddit API error: {data['error']}")
            return None
        return data
    except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
        print(f"Request failed: {e}")
        return None