Field notes

Writing on scraping,
data, and building on APIs.

Tutorials, playbooks, and field notes from building one of the most complete social APIs on the market.

Decision map matching seven Twitter scraper tools to public lookups, search, official access, enterprise exports, and do-it-yourself projects

Latest post

7 Best Twitter Scrapers and APIs in 2026

Compare seven current Twitter and X scrapers for public profiles, exact posts, search, bulk exports, official access, and open source projects. Prices and limits verified August 25, 2026.

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Decision matrix for choosing a LinkedIn scraper by access method and workflow

7 Best LinkedIn Scrapers in 2026: APIs, No-Code, and Bulk Data

Compare seven LinkedIn scrapers for public profile APIs, bulk records, Sales Navigator exports, no-code automation, emails, and official access.

Decision matrix comparing six TikTok scrapers by workflow and billing unit

6 Best TikTok Scrapers and APIs in 2026

Compare six TikTok scrapers for app APIs, Actor runs, bulk records, daily quotas, custom parsers, and self-hosted code, with current pricing and honest limits.

Speed, cost, and profile coverage from an Instagram Reels scraper comparison

Apify Instagram Reels Scraper vs ScrapeCreators: 50 Profiles Tested

I requested up to 12 Reels from each of 50 major Instagram profiles. ScrapeCreators was 13.6 times faster and much cheaper, while Apify covered more profiles on the first attempt.

Results from a 600-post Instagram feed benchmark comparing Apify and ScrapeCreators

Apify Instagram Posts Scraper vs ScrapeCreators: 600 Posts Tested

I fetched 12 recent posts from each of 50 major Instagram profiles. ScrapeCreators returned 600 posts for 50 credits and finished almost 12 times faster than Apify.

Apify and ScrapeCreators results from a 50-profile Instagram scraper benchmark

Apify Instagram Profile Scraper vs ScrapeCreators: 50 Profiles Tested

I fetched the same 50 major Instagram profiles through Apify and ScrapeCreators. Both returned every profile, while ScrapeCreators was 2.43 times faster and 14.9% cheaper.

Results from a 1,000-URL Instagram scraper benchmark comparing ScrapeCreators and Apify

Apify Instagram Scraper vs ScrapeCreators: 1,000 URLs Tested

I ran 1,000 public Instagram post and Reel URLs through Apify and ScrapeCreators. Here are the actual costs, first-attempt success rates, and speed results.

Decision map comparing six YouTube scrapers by workflow and billing unit

6 Best YouTube Scrapers and APIs in 2026

Compare six YouTube scrapers for app APIs, search feeds, Actor runs, subtitles, daily quotas, and bulk records, with current pricing and honest limits.

Decision matrix for choosing among five Facebook Marketplace APIs and scraper tools

5 Best Facebook Marketplace APIs and Scrapers in 2026

Compare five ways to collect Facebook Marketplace listings, from Meta's research API to managed APIs, Actors, data pipelines, and browser bots.

Decision map for choosing a social media API by job

Best Social Media Scraping APIs to Use in 2026

A practical comparison of 10 social media scraping APIs for developers and AI agents, including ScrapeCreators, SociaVault, Apify, EnsembleData, Supadata, and Bright Data.

Infographic showing four new Instagram APIs for search, popular topics, tagged posts, and comment replies

4 New Instagram APIs for Search, Replies, and Tagged Posts

ScrapeCreators added native Instagram search, Popular topic search, user tagged posts, and public comment replies. Here is what each endpoint returns and when to use it.

Flowchart showing a shared API cache hit costing zero credits and a cache miss triggering a live fetch

Why ScrapeCreators API Cache Hits Cost 0 Credits

Use cache_max_age on supported ScrapeCreators endpoints. A valid cache hit returns in about a second for 0 credits, while a cache miss runs a normal live fetch.

Workflow showing public Instagram Reels collected from selected profiles, compared fairly, and explained with view-count caveats

Research Public Instagram Reels With an AI Skill

A copyable AI skill for comparing public Instagram Reels from selected profiles, pulling post context where needed, and reporting the limits behind play-count comparisons.

Workflow showing public ad creative saved as a baseline, compared over time, then reviewed with clear caveats

Monitor Meta Ad Library Creative With an AI Skill

A copyable AI skill for monitoring public Meta Ad Library creative. Save a baseline, compare visible changes, and return source URLs and caveats instead of overclaiming ad performance.

Workflow showing a public TikTok video become a timestamped transcript and then a reviewable content brief

Turn TikTok Transcripts Into Content Briefs With an AI Skill

A copyable AI skill that turns public TikTok transcripts into an auditable content brief: source URLs, hooks, themes, evidence, and ideas that still need human review.

AI creator research workflow showing focused searches, transcript evidence, and recent view analysis

How to build a TikTok creator research skill with AI

Use an AI skill to turn a niche and customer into TikTok searches, analyze what creators say, calculate recent average views, and collect only business emails they publish in public bios.

Phone Reel silhouette beside a transcript document with highlighted hook lines

How to Write Instagram Reel Hooks From Transcripts

I stopped guessing at hooks. I scraped a creator's top Reels, saved the transcripts, and turned first lines into a hook bank I can open in Cursor.

Decision map comparing hosted, official, and self-maintained ways to scrape public Facebook comments.

How to Scrape Facebook Comments from Posts and Reels

Scrape public Facebook comments from posts and reels with an API. Compare the official Graph API, hosted scrapers, no-code tools, and Python.

Decision map comparing SERP APIs by output depth, delivery speed, and billing unit

Best SERP API in 2026: 10 tools priced and compared

Compare 10 SERP APIs by search coverage, result depth, billing unit, delivery mode, and fit for SEO tools or AI agents. Prices verified August 29, 2026.

Flow diagram from TikTok video URL to MP4 download and upload to cloud CDN storage.

How to Download TikTok Videos and Store Them on a CDN

Learn how to programmatically download TikTok videos and store them in cloud CDNs like Supabase, S3, or Cloudinary.

Decision map for choosing an Instagram scraper based on account access, workflow, and output needs

7 Best Instagram Scrapers in 2026: APIs and No-Code Tools

Compare seven Instagram scraper APIs and no-code tools by coverage, workflow, pricing, and limits. Includes a clear pick for each use case.

Why Scrape Creators is the Go-To API for Social Media Intelligence

What Are Social Media Intelligence APIs? How to Use Them

Discover how Scrape Creators API enables rapid social media data extraction across all major platforms.

Google search results page beside HTML showing the AdsBot-Google user-agent returning a normal SERP.

How to Bypass Google's Anti-Scraping Restrictions

Learn how to scrape Google search results using a straightforward approach with the Impit package and custom parsing logic.

Amazon Creator Shop product grid beside JSON listing influencer SKUs and prices.

How to Scrape Amazon Creator Shops for Influencer Product Data

Scrape Creators now supports extracting product data from Amazon Creator Shop pages

The JavaScript Utility That Should Be Built Into Node.js

How to Search Nested JavaScript Objects by Key

Function that searches deeply nested JavaScript objects for specific keys when working with complex API responses and scraped data structures.

Logo.dev: The Simple API That Solves a Universal Developer Problem

What Is Logo.dev? A Simple API for Adding Company Logos

Logo.dev is a simple HTTP API for company logos by domain—the practical successor many teams wanted after Clearbit's logo product changed. Every SaaS dashboard, CRM, and email template still needs crisp brand marks without maintaining your own asset library. I…

How I Built a Twitter Thread Scraper in 5 Simple Steps

How to Build a Twitter Thread Scraper in 5 Simple Steps

Learn how to build a complete Twitter thread scraper using Old Bird v2 API and AI code generation in just 5 steps.

Firecrawl interface showing a blocked social media URL with a "no longer supported" error.

Firecrawl vs Scrape Creators: Which Social Scraping API Should You Use?

Firecrawl actively blocks Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok scraping, creating a significant market gap for social media data extraction services.

Decision map comparing a hosted YouTube channel scraper, the official YouTube Data API, and a self-hosted yt-dlp workflow.

How to Scrape All Videos from a YouTube Channel

Scrape every public video from a YouTube channel with a hosted API, the official YouTube Data API, or yt-dlp. Compare setup, pagination, costs, and limits.

new feature: TikTok Shop Product Detection

How to Detect TikTok Shop Products in Creator Videos

Scrape Creators API now identifies specific TikTok Shop products that creators promote in their videos.

3 ways to use proxies

3 Ways to Use Proxies in Node.js: Impit, Axios, and Fetch

Learn three different methods for implementing proxy support in Node.js applications using Impit, Axios, and Fetch.

scraping infrastructure of scrape creators

How to Build Production-Ready Scraping Infrastructure

This deep dive on Scrape Creators reveals the technical architecture powering a production scraping service thousands of requests daily.

Decision map comparing free ad libraries, a managed API, Meta's official API, and a Reddit-specific API

The Ultimate Guide to Ad Library APIs: Facebook, Google, LinkedIn & Reddit

A practical guide to choosing an ad library API for Meta, Google, LinkedIn, TikTok, and Reddit, with current access limits, costs, and tested request examples.

Split view of public versus login-only Instagram data available for scraping.

How to Scrape Instagram Data: The Complete Guide (2026)

This comprehensive guide covers profiles, posts, comments, and creative workarounds for Instagram's restrictions.

Decision and cost map comparing the official X API with a public Twitter data API

X (Twitter) API Pricing in 2026: Pay-Per-Use Costs and Alternatives

X now charges per resource read and per write action. See the current rates, real cost examples, and when a public-data API is the better fit.

TikTok creator profile with region field highlighted in scraped video metadata JSON.

How to Find TikTok Creator Regions: The Hidden Method TikTok Doesn't Want You to Know

TikTok removed the region display from creator profiles, but the location data still exists hidden in video metadata. This simple scraping method uncovers it.

Personal story about building a profitable scraping API

How I Built a Profitable Scraping API from a Lululemon Problem

The unexpected journey from coding bootcamp graduate to successful API entrepreneur and why the best business ideas come from solving real problems

social media extraction process

How I Built a One-Person API Business That Extracts Structured Data from Every Social Platform

Learn how I built Scrape Creators as a solo developer, a profitable API business that provides instant access to structured data from social platforms.

Simple diagram comparing recurring lawn care routes to recurring API data products.

What Are API Businesses? A Practical Guide for Solo Developers

API businesses are the lawn-mowing services of the internet. Simple, steady, and boring, but perfect for solo developers seeking freedom.

api calls reveal social media scraping trends in 2025

Social Media Scraping Trends: What 10M+ API Calls Reveal

Analysis of over 10 million Scrape Creators API calls reveals that Instagram profiles dominate scraping activity but TikTok transcripts are the surprising #2.

Scrape Creators Community Node announcement

How to Use the Scrape Creators n8n Node Without HTTP Calls

The Scrape Creators Community Node is now available on n8n Cloud, eliminating the need for complex HTTP requests and API calls when scraping social media data.

Platform logos with warning icons for account bans, cease-and-desist letters, and IP blocks.

What Happens When Social Media Companies Catch You Scraping? A Platform-by-Platform Guide

Here's what you can realistically expect from each major platform when they discover your scraping operations.

legal or illegal web scraping

Is Web Scraping Legal? A Guide Based on Recent Court Rulings

Multiple federal court rulings against Meta and Twitter, have established that web scraping publicly accessible data is legal

Price comparison chart of budget residential proxy providers for web scraping.

Best Cheap Residential Proxies for Web Scraping

Cheap and reliable residential proxy options for web scraping include Evomi at $0.49/GB, Dataimpulse at $1/GB, and Webshare for $230/month.

Tiktok slider captcha and web scraping by scrape creators

How to Solve TikTok Slider Captchas: A Developer's Guide

Learn how to programmatically solve TikTok's slider captchas using Puppeteer and SadCaptcha API when scraping TikTok Shop or other TikTok content.

Decision map for choosing a Firecrawl alternative by data job and output contract

Firecrawl vs Scrape Creators: Which Tool Should You Use?

Firecrawl handles general web scraping, while Scrape Creators specializes in social media. Compare features, pricing, and when each one fits.

Decision matrix showing when to choose Scrape Creators or Apify

Apify vs Scrape Creators: Which One Fits Your Scraping Job?

Compare Apify and Scrape Creators by workflow, pricing, API design, social-data coverage, and a dated 1,000-URL Instagram benchmark.

Decision flow comparing Scrape Creators social JSON with ScrapingBee general web page extraction

Scrape Creators vs ScrapingBee: A Comprehensive Comparison

Scrape Creators is a focused ScrapingBee alternative for social media data. Compare current pricing, credits, concurrency, outputs, and honest limits.

An image illustrating the varied responses of social media platforms to data scraping

Social Media Scraping in 2026: Platform Rules, Risks, and Workarounds

Social media scraping enforcement varies wildly across platforms. Learn which platforms fight back and which don't care.

Treasure chest with ESPN logo spilling JSON labeled Stats, Scores, and API endpoints.

How to Access ESPN's Hidden API for Free Sports Data

Discover how to access ESPN’s hidden API and pull live sports data for free with simple GET requests.

Dusty toolbox labeled Last Resort with Puppeteer and Selenium logos inside, beside clean tools labeled API, HTTP, and JSON

Why You Shouldn't Use Puppeteer or Selenium for Web Scraping

Puppeteer and Selenium are slow, costly, and detectable. Learn why they’re a last resort for scraping and what to use instead.

Twitter bird in jail

The Legality of Scraping Twitter: A Developer's Guide

Scraping Twitter in 2025? Learn what’s legal, what’s not, and how developers can safely access Twitter data without risking lawsuits or bans.

Infographic titled ‘5 Web Scraping Mistakes’ showing icons and checklist for common errors: relying on Puppeteer, scraping behind a login, parsing HTML instead of APIs, using a plain HTTP library, and scraping without a proxy

Web Scraping Best Practices: 5 Common Mistakes to Avoid

Learn the 5 most common web scraping mistakes (and how to avoid them). From Puppeteer pitfalls to proxy best practices, here’s how to scrape smarter.

TikTok comment bubbles over trending products with a rising stock chart labeled "It was all in the comments."

How to Use TikTok Comments for Investment Research

Discover how one investor turned $20K into $80M by reading TikTok comments, and how you can automate the process with Scrape Creators API.

YouTube search results beside JSON for videos, Shorts, transcripts, and comments.

How to Scrape YouTube Videos, Shorts, Transcripts, and Comments

Scrape Creators Unofficial YouTube API lets you search videos & shorts, fetch channel details, get lightning fast transcripts, and extract comments. In real time

image of tiktok shop searching for makeup brush and the json representation of that search on the right

How to Search and Scrape TikTok Shop Products

Search TikTok Shop by keyword, list every product in a store, then hydrate details and promo videos. Covers search, shop catalog, product detail, and analytics workflows.

Decision map comparing Twitch Helix, ScrapeCreators, Bright Data, and a DIY Twitch scraper

How to Scrape Twitch Creator Profiles with an Unofficial API

A practical guide to Twitch profile scraping: compare Twitch Helix, managed scraper APIs, no-code collectors, and DIY requests, then make a real profile API call.

Zuckerberg Threads profile beside JSON from the Scrape Creators profile API response.

How to Scrape Threads Profiles, Posts, and Keywords

Scrape public Threads profiles, posts, and keywords instantly with the Scrape Creators Unofficial Threads API, no business account or app required.

Pinterest chocolate cake search results beside JSON pin data with images and recipe links.

How to Get Pinterest Data with an Unofficial Pinterest API

Scrape Pinterest pins, boards, and user pins instantly with JSON results, no business account needed. Get images, links, videos, recipes, and more fast.

Decision matrix comparing five pay-as-you-go scraping API pricing models

Best Pay-As-You-Go Scraping APIs (No Monthly Commitment Required)

Compare five pay-as-you-go scraping APIs by billing unit, minimum purchase, credit expiration, target coverage, and the real cost of a usable result.

Bold headline reading Top Proxy Providers in 2025 on a dark scraping-themed background.

5 Best Proxy Providers for Web Scraping (Pricing and Performance)

Looking for the best proxy for scraping in 2025? Here's my honest review of 5 proxy providers I've actually used, what works, what sucks, and what's worth it.

Instagram profile photo beside JSON with estimated age and gender from Rekognition.

How to Get the Estimated Age & Gender of a Social Media Creator (Using Just Their Profile Pic)

Learn how to detect a creator’s age and gender using Amazon Rekognition or the Scrape Creators API. Perfect for influencer analysis or ad targeting.

Image of Goli bottle with estimated daily revenue

How to See How Much a TikTok Shop is Making Daily (And Build Your Own FastMoss/Kalodata)

Learn how to estimate daily sales of any TikTok Shop product using Scrape Creators. Build your own FastMoss or Kalodata style tracker fast.

Screenshot of the new TikTok Shop

How to Access TikTok Shop on Desktop Without Logging In

TikTok Shop is now publicly available on desktop with no login required. Scrape product data, stock, affiliate videos, and more, easily and at scale.

TikTok follower list beside JSON response with usernames, regions, and avatars.

How to Get Someone’s TikTok Followers (and What You Can Do With Them)

Learn how to scrape someone’s TikTok followers with Scrape Creators. Get usernames, regions, avatars, then enrich the data to reveal demographics.

Mock Linktree profile page beside JSON from __NEXT_DATA__ showing email and social link fields.

How to Scrape Linktree (and Find Emails or Social Links)

Learn how to scrape Linktree pages to find emails and social links using Node.js. A step-by-step guide with real-world examples and bonus tips.

Mock YouTube channel page beside JSON showing a public business email from the channel bio.

How to Find Emails of YouTube Creators (Without Breaking the Rules)

Learn how to find YouTube influencer emails the right way. Explore software tools, APIs, and the best methods to get contact info from public profiles.

Image representing getting emails from Instagram

How to Find Emails and Followers of Public Instagram Accounts (3 Proven Methods)

Learn how to find emails and followers of public Instagram accounts using paid tools, scrapers, or behind the login APIs. Get results fast, even without coding.

Decision map for choosing a web scraping API by target, output, billing unit, and real fixture

10 best web scraping APIs in 2026

The best web scraping API depends on the target. Compare 10 options by data type, billing unit, rendering, extraction, and maintenance burden.

Decision map showing which Snapchat follower, Story, and Spotlight fields an API can return and which private data stays unavailable.

How to Get Snapchat Follower Counts, Stories, and Spotlights

Use a Snapchat follower count API to read public profile counts, Stories, and Spotlights. See the exact fields, limits, live test results, and tracking code.

Decision map comparing Meta's comments API, a public Instagram comments API, and a one-off browser export

How to Scrape Instagram Comments from Any Public Post

A practical guide to scraping comments and replies from public Instagram posts, handling cursors, filtering dates, and choosing between Meta's API and a public-data API.

Decision flow matching known public X objects, search and write needs, and custom page jobs to hosted APIs, official or search APIs, and browser libraries

How to Scrape Twitter (X) Data in 2026: 3 Practical Methods

Learn how to scrape Twitter and X data with a hosted API, the official X API, or your own browser workflow. Includes current limits, costs, code, and honest tradeoffs.

Decision workflow for choosing a LinkedIn scraping method and mapping public data to API endpoints

How to Scrape LinkedIn Public Data in 2026: Four Practical Methods

A practical guide to LinkedIn scraping with official APIs, managed public-data APIs, hosted tools, and self-built browser automation.

Decision map for collecting public Facebook group metadata, posts, comments, and replies through an API.

Facebook Group Scraper API: Posts, Comments, and Workflow

Scrape public Facebook group posts, comments, and group metadata through a REST API. See the real request flow, limits, pricing, and safer use cases.

Headline reading The Unofficial Reddit API that Actually Works for You on a Reddit-themed graphic.

How to Get Reddit Posts, Comments, and Trends with an Unofficial API

Skip Reddit’s rate limits and complexity. This unofficial Reddit API gives you fast, reliable access to posts, comments, and search, with pay-as-you-go pricing.

Image with the text Track Influencers and Analyze Instagram Bios at scale

How to Track Influencers and Analyze Instagram Bios at Scale

Get real-time access to Instagram bios, follower counts, recent posts, and related creators, with no login, no rate limits, and no app approval. Ideal for influencer tracking and marketing tools.

Article

How to Spy on Your Competitors’ Facebook Ads with One API Call

Stop scrolling and start scraping. Learn how to spy on your competitors’ Facebook ads with just one API call using Scrape Creators, no login or rate limits required.

image of goli nutrition tiktok page

How to Find Out If a TikTok User Has a TikTok Shop

Learn how to programmatically detect if a TikTok user has a TikTok Shop using Scrape Creators. Great for marketers, UGC creators, SaaS tools, and agencies looking to sell services or analyze shop data at scale.

TikTok video page HTML in DevTools with the isAd JSON field highlighted as true.

How to Tell If a TikTok Video Is an Ad

Want to know if a TikTok video was turned into an ad? Learn how to check the isAd flag in the HTML and why it matters for influencer and ad strategy.

Example of a TikTok Shop video with eligible for commission label

How to Tell If a TikTok Video Is Promoting a TikTok Shop Product

Learn how to spot the “Eligible for commission” label, identify affiliate content, and get this data via API.

Truth Social feed mockup with Trump's silhouette beside structured post JSON.

Best Truth Social API for Tracking Trump's Posts

Want to get Trumps but not sure how? Automatically get them with our unofficial Truth Social API

TikTok photo carousel beside JSON image_post_info URLs without watermarks.

How to Scrape Images from TikTok Slideshows

Ever wondered how to extract TikTok images from a TikTok photo carousel? This article explains exactly how to do it

Image of how to get youtube transcripts with youtube and node.js logos

How to Scrape YouTube Transcripts with Node.js

Scrape YouTube Transcripts fast with this method

Speed limit sign with infinity symbol representing Instagram public data without rate limits.

How to Access Instagram Public Data Without Rate Limits

An Instagram public data API serves profiles and posts as JSON—without the Graph API's approval maze for read-only public fields. Official limits and app review slow down prototypes. Unofficial public endpoints help when you only need what's visible without lo…

Decision map comparing Facebook Ad Library scraper formats by workflow and output

6 Facebook Ad Library scrapers compared for 2026

Compare six Facebook Ad Library scraper options for APIs, no-code workflows, browser exports, creative research, and official ad-transparency research.

Decision map comparing five YouTube transcript API options by workload, billing, and access

5 Best YouTube Transcript API Options in 2026

Compare five practical ways to get YouTube transcripts, including hosted APIs, an open-source Python library, and Google's owner-only captions API.