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Reddit API Overview

The Reddit API allows you to read and write Reddit content such as posts / comments / upvotes, in order to integrate your app's behavior with the content of the community it's installed in.

:::note Unlike traditional Reddit API usage, you don't need to create an app at reddit.com/prefs/apps or manage API keys. Devvit handles authentication automatically when you enable the reddit permission in your app. :::

Private user data

Devvit apps cannot access certain private user data. This data is private to the logged-in user and is not exposed through the Devvit platform:

  • Subscribed subreddits - The list of subreddits a user is subscribed to
  • Upvoted and downvoted content - Posts and comments the user has voted on
  • Saved content - Posts and comments the user has saved
  • Recently viewed posts - The user's browsing history
  • Private profile information - Any profile data that is not publicly visible
  • Follows and friends - The list of users someone follows (on reddit.com) or has friended (on Old Reddit)

The Reddit client

Here's how to obtain a reference to the Reddit client

{
  "permissions": {
    "reddit": true
  }
}
import { reddit } from '@devvit/reddit';

Reddit Thing IDs

Reddit uses prefixed IDs (called "things") to identify different types of content:

Prefix Type Example Description
t1_ Comment t1_abc123 A comment on a post or reply to another comment
t2_ User t2_xyz789 A Reddit user account
t3_ Post t3_def456 A post
t4_ Message t4_ghi012 A private message
t5_ Subreddit t5_jkl345 A subreddit community

These IDs are returned by API methods and used when referencing specific content:

// Get a post by its full ID
const post = await reddit.getPostById('t3_abc123');

// Get a comment by its full ID  
const comment = await reddit.getCommentById('t1_xyz789');

// A comment's parentId can be either a post (t3_) or another comment (t1_)
const parentId = comment.parentId; // 't3_abc123' or 't1_def456'

Example usage

Submitting a post

import { Devvit } from '@devvit/public-api';
import { context, reddit } from '@devvit/web/server';

export const createPost = async () => {
  const { subredditName } = context;
  if (!subredditName) {
    throw new Error('subredditName is required');
  }

  return await reddit.submitCustomPost({
    userGeneratedContent: {
      text: 'Hello there! This is a post from a Devvit app',
    },
    subredditName: subredditName,
    title: 'New Post',
    entry: 'default',
  });
};

Submitting a comment

:::note Auto-comments should be used to spark conversation in the post comments, but you should avoid lower-signal updates (e.g., level/progress pings). :::

import { context, reddit } from '@devvit/web/server';

export const createComment = async () => {
  const { subredditName } = context;
  if (!subredditName) {
    throw new Error('subredditName is required');
  }

  reddit.submitComment({
    postId: 't3_123456', // Replace with the actual post ID
    text: 'This is a comment from a Devvit app',
    runAs: 'USER' // Optional: specify the user to run as
  });
};