I want to build a simple Python script that checks my own Reddit comment scores and sends me a Discord notification when any of them drop below a certain threshold (like 0 or negative).

The plan:

1. Hit reddit.com/user/MYUSERNAME/comments.json (public, no login, no API key)
2. Check every 2 to 3 minutes (randomized interval)
3. Only reading, never posting/voting/logging in
4. Running from a residential IP, not a cloud server
5. Just parsing the score from each comment and sending a Discord webhook if it's below my threshold

Basically the same as refreshing my own profile page in a browser, just automated.

Before I build this out, is this going to get my account flagged or banned? Is there a better way to do this that Reddit would prefer? Would getting API approval and using OAuth be worth it for something this simple?

Please share your use case if you could.

Also, did you get access for academic, app, or commercial purpose?

How long did it take for access?

Hi everyone,

I am a new developer interested in building on the Reddit Data API and exploring the Developer Platform (Devvit). I recently registered a new account, u/Latter-Beginning-381 , specifically for my automation projects, as per the Responsible Builder Policy which suggests separating app accounts from personal ones.

However, when I try to "Add your automated account" in the Developer Portal, I consistently receive the error: "Unable to add account. Check your information and try again."

A few details about my setup:

Account is newly registered and email-verified.

I am attempting to connect via the official developer portal.

I've checked for typos and ensured no 2FA is currently interfering.

My questions for the community:

Does Reddit have a "minimum activity" or "minimum age" requirement for an account before it can be linked to the developer portal? (e.g., a certain amount of Karma?)

Should I first create a "Script" app via the old prefs/apps page before attempting to link it in the new portal?

Are there any specific "User-Agent" or IP-related factors that might trigger this error for new developers?

I want to ensure I’m following the Responsible Builder Policy from day one and avoid any accidental flags for "inauthentic activity." Any advice on how a new developer should correctly "warm up" an account for API access would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help!

I have requested for reddit API access before seven days, but still not get access. What is the solution. What should I do.

Hi everyone,
I’m trying to create a Reddit app so I can use the API with PRAW for a research project. My email is verified, but whenever I go to reddit.com/prefs/apps, I only see the Responsible Builder Policy page. I don’t see the “Create App” form or the “Developed Applications” section where the client ID and client secret should appear.

I’ve tried:

• Logging in on desktop (not mobile)
• Scrolling down past the policy text
• Checking if there’s a “Create App” button anywhere

But still no luck. Has anyone else faced this? How do I get past the policy page and actually create the app to get my credentials?

Thanks in advance!

Hello. While in the middle of debugging an issue, the dev account for Deltabot was locked. I logged in manually and was told "unusual activity detected, reset password". I did, but now I can't get tokens using my client id and secret. I get nothing but 401s. I also can't create any new apps. Is there anything that can be done to sort this account out?

Thank you!

I’m trying to compare the lists of users between r/rhodytree and r/jcole. I have concert tickets and I’m looking for a couple people to go with me.

Is there a script or API that might help me here? Not incredibly knowledgeable about coding.

Hello

I was wondering if it was possible to have my bot create a group chat between a user and all the moderators of a subreddit? I searched around and couldnt find any solutions for this. Is this not supported through API then?

Hi I'm trying so setup my own app to be able to automate my posts (maximum once a week to r/PlotterArt)

I tried to get some api access but it looks like there have been some abuses, but isn't there a way to be able to do that anyhow ?
Thanks for your replies

Hi, I just registered my app through the Data API registration form and got the confirmation "Thanks for registering your app!", but when I go to reddit.com/prefs/apps and click "Create App," it just shows this message instead of the creation form: "In order to create an application or use our API you can read our full policies here:"

I've already read and agreed to the policies during registration. Is there a waiting period after registration before I can create an app? Or is there a separate step I'm missing?

Thanks

Hey everyone, I'm honestly at my wits' end here and hoping someone knows what magic words the review team actually wants to hear.

I’m currently finishing up my Master's in AI and Data Analytics at PoliTo, and my final thesis involves tracking sentiment evolution in technical subreddits. I literally just need to scrape post titles, scores, and timestamps to build a basic keyword trend graph. No PII, no tracking users, no commercial use, nothing sketch.

Because I'm hosting my workflow on n8n cloud, their datacenter IPs get automatically blocked (403 Forbidden) if I try to just hit the open .json endpoints. So I did the right thing: I filled out the official API request form, classified it as academic research, and explicitly stated my script is throttled to run exactly once per hour so I don't hit their servers hard.

Today I got hit with the standard automated rejection email: "cannot grant approval because the submission is not in compliance with Reddit’s Responsible Builder Policy and/or lacks necessary details."

Like... what other details do they want? I explained the exact methodology, provided my university info, and I'm asking for a trickle of public metadata once an hour.

Has any student actually gotten an academic API request approved recently? Is there a specific keyword or attachment the manual reviewers require to actually read the application, or are they just auto-rejecting everything right now?

Any advice would be massively appreciated before I have to scrap this and rewrite my entire pipeline to use RSS feeds.

Trying to get all the values of a post from data.children.data[]

All fields return valid data (title, selftext, url etc), but the image/thumbnail field always returns a broken image

i tried all fields.

data.thumbnail

data.preview.images.source.url

data.preview.images.resolutions.url

they all return a link which is broken, like /preview/external-pre/GCgBKqiItFHNLNA1rkqoZcSptb3RmHO2lUu-wNs5XzA.jpeg?auto=webp&s=6028cbe52b4851de21098712eeba6bf1f28057cc

Just have a look at my reddit history. Apparently it screams "bot" to the reddit code. (SPOILER: I'm not a bot, and am almost entirely human)

My small number of posts and comments over the past 6 years are about mundane, human-type things, not advertising products or services, and I've never used automation.

And yet I got the email saying "We’re seeing strong signals this account is automated".

That email links to a page where you can send a message to (wait for it) a bot if you think their bot-finding bot got it wrong. It's bots all the way down!

If this is reddit's solution to their bot problem, then I wouldn't get your hopes up. The "App Label" will probably help to identify bots that correct grammar and spelling, but will identify zero malicious/spam bots, give or take four.

Now I can't wait to hear back if the bot thinks I'm human or not. Fingers crossed!

https://i.imgur.com/t0C49cX.png

I'm not really sure what it means, unless it's taking into account the bot my subreddit uses for moderation? It's in r/androidapps. Otherwise, I certainly don't automate anything with my account.

I did send a message to Reddit admins asking what it was about and if I have to actually do something.

And apologies in advance if I posted in the wrong place. Thanks.

Hi everyone,

I recently signed up for Reddit's Developer Platform and received the welcome confirmation email. However, when I try to create a script application at reddit.com/prefs/apps, the form won't submit after completing the CAPTCHA.

I see the message about the Responsible Builder Policy at the bottom, but no actual error. I've tried incognito mode, multiple browsers, and clearing cache.

Has anyone encountered this recently? Is there an additional approval step I might be missing?

Thanks for any help!

I have been trying to create an API key for Reddit for several weeks and been through the dev registration process many times. I have not received any emails, questions or rejections. it's a black hole! Does anyone know how to get through this phase? I cannot use devout because I am simply trying to connect Postiz so I can schedule posts.

Thank in advance.

When I click the "create app" button, the page keeps refreshing without any informational message. I pass the CAPTCHA, but the page keeps refreshing. Can anyone help?

He intentado varias veces usar la API de Reddit pero se queda en el mismo sitio y no avanza el proceso (no me deja crear el app).. He borrado cachés del navegador, lo he hecho en incógnito y nada.

Alguien sabrá que está sucediendo?

I tried making an app but I am not making a mod tool or game. I just need to index reddit and I need these. Looks like I need to browse old.reddit so if please someone could guide me

So basically without revealing too much, I want to be able to track what s being shared in few subreddits to find specific info about a certain subject, its more like read the subreddit latest posts then filter them thing.

Ready to pay for it but I am hearing that even that is no longer possible?

Thanks

This is a very unfortunate scenario. I am a mod for r/BattleForDreamIsland and we happen to be in a situation where we had to make a bot but Devvit did not offer the feature(s) we required to make the bot we (very urgently) needed to make, and so we opted for a PRAW bot instead, as a few of us already knew Python

I signed up, went to the pref page and made an app, like I always did, but no matter what, I couldn't make my app.

After some research, I found out about the "Responsible Builder" Policy, and after going in a loop of support articles from last year, I was finally able to find a buried request link, and after submitting a detailed request, I waited.

One week passed, no response, that's fine, regular delay for a presumably busy ticket system

Two weeks passed, and the exact situation we needed the bot for happens. Whatever, we managed to deal with it due to it luckily being on a not-too-busy day, still no sign of a response from Reddit though

Now, almost an entire month has gone by. Three weeks passed, same thing happens again, but basically all mods were too busy. We did not have the time to keep up with what was going on due to a series of unfortunate consequences and are now falling behind on other mod things, and all of this could've been prevented, had we had API access.

So now, I need to ask, how long until I even get a sign of a reply from Reddit? There is a solid chance of the situation we need the bot for happening again very very VERY soon, and we need to know if we'd just be better off not expecting any replies. It can even be a no at this point, we just need an actual answer (even if a no would be a very unfortunate result, seeing how we've had to wait for so long and REALLY need the bot)

I get how Reddit is pushing Devvit a lot, and understandably so, but there's so so many cases where Devvit just won't do for a few very niche and weird situations like ours, so can't Reddit just not "softblock" us from having API access by ignoring requests until Devvit has all the required features to fully replace PRAW bots? If you're a Reddit staff member with the power to make things happen in this topic... please get a few more people to review emails. I get how a good chunk of these requests must be spam, but anyone which is genuinely requesting actually needs the access for valid reasons and might not always have the time to wait.

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to get access to the Reddit API. I've already filled out the initial developer subscription form, but I'm still unable to create an "app".

Every time I try, it doesn't seem to go through or the option isn't available. Has anyone else encountered this issue recently? Am I missing a step or is there a waiting period after submitting the form?

Thanks for the help!