LurkAPI is a social media data API. You send one GET request with query parameters and get clean JSON from public pages on 16 platforms: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, Telegram, Snapchat, Truth Social, Google, eBay, Linktree and any web page.
How a call looks
curl "https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/tiktok/profile?handle=nike" \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
Every answer uses one envelope: success, credits_charged, credits_remaining, then the data. Errors carry a code and a link to the docs page that explains it.
What's in it
- 88 endpoints: profiles, posts, comments, video transcripts, search, and the ads in Meta's, Google's, TikTok's and LinkedIn's ad libraries.
- Auth with an
x-api-key header or Authorization: Bearer. HTTPS, and CORS is open.
- An OpenAPI 3.1 spec at https://lurkapi.com/openapi.json,
llms.txt, and every docs page as markdown.
- Code samples in curl, Node.js, Python, Go, PHP and Ruby on every endpoint page, with a real captured response and a live playground.
- Rate limit: 50 requests per 10 seconds per account. Over it you get
429 rate_limited with retry-after.
For AI agents
The same endpoints are an MCP server at https://api.lurkapi.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP; OAuth sign-in in the browser, or an x-api-key header). Every endpoint is a tool; ?compact gives two (find_endpoints, call_endpoint) and ?platforms=a,b filters the list. Results leave out empty fields and keep one URL per image to save tokens, and max_credits caps what a call can cost. There's also a Claude Code plugin with skills for ad research, creator vetting and Reddit research: https://github.com/mesmerlord/lurkapi-claude-plugin (MIT).
Speed and cost
The API does the minimum on each request: check the key, fetch, answer. It averages about a second. Most calls cost 1 credit, and packs run from $9 for 10,000 credits to $225 for 500,000. Credits never expire and there's no subscription. Validation errors, rate-limited calls and 5xx errors cost nothing.
Try it
Sign in at https://lurkapi.com/login with Google or an email code for 100 free credits, no card. A balance under 25 is topped back up to 25 every day. Docs: https://lurkapi.com/docs
LurkAPI reads public data only: it never logs in to anyone's account and can't post or message.
I'd like to hear what breaks, what's missing and which platform you want next.