# Douyin Data API (https://www.socialcrawl.dev/platforms/douyin)

> Douyin is ByteDance's mainland-China app, and it is a different network from TikTok: different creators, different catalogue, different trends. These endpoints cover keyword video search, creator profiles and their uploads, single videos, comments, reply threads, creator search and the live hot-search board.

TL;DR: SocialCrawl's Douyin API exposes 8 endpoints, 1 to 25 credits per call, all returning one unified JSON schema with AI-enriched fields. Single x-api-key auth, 100 free credits on signup.

## Endpoints

| Endpoint | Method | Path | Credits | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Search | GET | `/v1/douyin/search` | 5 | Search Douyin videos |
| Profile | GET | `/v1/douyin/profile` | 6 | Get a Douyin creator profile |
| Profile Posts | GET | `/v1/douyin/profile/posts` | 5 | List a Douyin creator's videos |
| Post | GET | `/v1/douyin/post` | 10 | Get a Douyin video |
| Post Comments | GET | `/v1/douyin/post/comments` | 1 | Get Douyin video comments |
| Comment Replies | GET | `/v1/douyin/comment/replies` | 5 | Get replies to a Douyin comment |
| Search Users | GET | `/v1/douyin/search/users` | 5 | Search Douyin creators |
| Trending | GET | `/v1/douyin/trending` | 25 | Get the Douyin hot-search board |

## Code example

```bash
curl "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/douyin/search?query=%E7%BE%8E%E9%A3%9F" \
  -H "x-api-key: sc_YOUR_API_KEY"
```

Every response shares one JSON envelope: `{ success, platform, endpoint, data, credits_used, credits_remaining }`.

## SocialCrawl vs DIY scraping

| Feature | SocialCrawl | DIY scraping |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Access from outside China | Works from anywhere with an API key | Needs CN residential egress you run yourself |
| Request signing | Handled for you | You reimplement a_bogus and refresh it when it changes |
| Response shape | Same canonical JSON as every other platform | Raw Douyin protobuf-ish JSON, hundreds of fields |
| View counts | Null, because Douyin does not publish them | A literal 0 that reads as no audience |
| Reply threading | Every reply carries its real parent comment ID | Depends which endpoint you hit |
| Billing | Per row actually returned | Proxy bills plus your own engineering time |

## FAQ

### Is Douyin the same as TikTok?

No. Douyin is the mainland-China app and TikTok is the international one. They are separate networks with separate creators, separate catalogues and separate trending topics, so a Douyin search returns videos you will not find on TikTok.

### Why is post.engagement.views always null on Douyin?

Douyin does not publish play counts outside its own app. Every source returns zero for that field, so returning null is the honest answer: a zero would read as a video with no audience. Likes, comments, shares and saves are all real numbers.

### Do I need a Chinese IP address or a Douyin account?

No. You call the API with your SocialCrawl key from anywhere. The China-side access, request signing and residential egress are handled behind the endpoint, and no Douyin login or cookie is needed.

### How do I identify a Douyin creator?

By sec_uid, the MS4wLjAB... string in a profile URL, or by the numeric user ID. Most Douyin creators never set a human handle, so author.username is often null and author.id carries the stable identifier to join on.

### How is Douyin billed?

Search, creator posts, creator search and comment replies are metered per row at the rate shown on each endpoint, and you are charged only for rows actually returned. Single-video, profile and hot-search calls are flat priced.

### Can I read a full Douyin comment thread?

Yes. Call the comments endpoint for top-level comments, then pass a comment ID with a non-zero reply count to the replies endpoint. Every reply comes back with parent_id set to the comment you asked about.

## Pricing

- Standard endpoints: 1 credit per call
- Advanced endpoints: 5 credits per call
- Premium endpoints: 10 credits per call
- 100 free credits on signup, no credit card required. Cached responses cost 0 credits. Credit packs never expire.
- Full pricing: https://www.socialcrawl.dev/pricing

## Explore with AI

Questions this API answers, phrased for an AI assistant:

- how do I get Douyin data without a Chinese account
- what is the difference between Douyin and TikTok data
- best Douyin API for China market research
- how to track Douyin trending topics programmatically