# Google Play Categories API (https://www.socialcrawl.dev/platforms/google_play/categories)

> Returns the list of Google Play app categories used by the `app_category` filter on /v1/google_play/app-list. Static reference data — heavily cached.

TL;DR: `GET /v1/google_play/categories` costs 1 credit per call and returns SocialCrawl's unified JSON schema. Single x-api-key auth, 100 free credits on signup.

## Code example

```bash
curl "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/google_play/categories" \
  -H "x-api-key: sc_YOUR_API_KEY"
```

## FAQ

### How do I get the list of Google Play categories via API?

Send a GET request to /v1/google_play/categories. The response is the full reference list of Google Play app categories, each with its id and display name, ready to scope app search, listings, and chart queries.

### What is the Google Play categories endpoint for?

It is a reference lookup. The category ids it returns are the values you pass as the category parameter on app-list and app-listings-search, so you fetch the list once and reuse the ids to filter other calls.

### What fields does each category include?

Each entry includes the category id (the value other endpoints accept) and a human-readable name such as Games, Productivity, or Health & Fitness. Some responses also group game categories separately from app categories.

### How much does the categories endpoint cost?

Categories run on the standard tier at 1 credit per call, since it is a lightweight reference lookup rather than a live store fetch. New accounts get 100 free credits with no credit card required.

### How often do Google Play categories change?

Google Play's category set is stable and changes rarely, so you can cache the list and refresh it occasionally. Fetching it once gives you the ids needed to scope every category-aware request.

See the full Google Play API: https://www.socialcrawl.dev/platforms/google_play

## 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 to get the list of Google Play app categories via API
- What are the Google Play category ids used by the SocialCrawl API?