# Meta Ad Library API for Ads, Advertisers and Ad analysis > For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://www.shortsintel.com/llms.txt). Every docs page is also available as markdown: add .md to its URL. To connect, read [agents.md](https://www.shortsintel.com/agents.md). Updated 6 November 2026. ShortsIntel reads the public Meta Ad Library, the record of Ads running on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Threads and the Audience Network, and returns it as JSON from /v1. Commercial Ads come back for any country, not only for Ads that reached the EU. Meta's official Ad Library API returns commercial Ads only when they were delivered in the EU, and needs identity confirmation first. Here you send a bearer key and pay per Ad delivered. Below is each Meta operation with its price and MCP tool, and one real Ad read with its analysis. - Operations: 7 - Free operations: 3 - Paid prices: From 1 credit - To start: 1,000 credits free ## One call and its real response, trimmed Look up a Meta Ad by id: `GET /v1/ads/meta/{library_id}`. Price: 23 credits: 3 credits for the Ad and 20 credits for its analysis. ### Request ```bash curl "https://www.shortsintel.com/v1/ads/meta/1198358815416386?analyze=true" \ -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_YOUR_KEY" ``` ### Response ```json { "result": { "ad": { "advertiser": { "name": "Train Fitness" }, "media_type": "video", "first_shown": "2025-05-13T07:00:00.000Z", "last_shown": "2026-07-10T07:00:00.000Z", "days_running": 423, "creative": { "body": "I was so skeptical but it actually detects keeps track of my exercises accurately!", "cta": "Install now" }, "intelligence": { "hook": { "type": "CURIOSITY_GAP", "opening_line": "Cool gym hack. If you have an Apple Watch, you need this app.", "visual_hook": "man working out in the gym doing lat pulldowns" }, "visual": { "format": "PRODUCT_DEMO", "face_visibility": "HANDS_ONLY", "on_screen_text": [ "If you have an apple watch you need this app", "It automatically detects what exercise you're doing and counts how many reps you've completed", ... "It's free to download Go give it a try!" ] }, "tone": { "speaking_style": "CONVERSATIONAL", "primary_emotion": "Joy" }, "persuasion": { "sponsored": false, "call_to_action": { "type": "VISIT_SITE" } } } } } } ``` Real response from our own account for a US fitness app Ad, trimmed: the run block, ids, media links and some analysis fields are cut, and `...` marks a cut list. Captured 1 November 2026. Every field: [Look up a Meta Ad by id reference](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/ads/get-meta-ad). ## What developers build on the Meta Ad Library API - List a competitor's running Ads in the US and sort them by how long they have run. - Find the Ads in a category that last longest and add variants, using the winner Score. - Get the hook, on-screen text, format and offer of a video, image or carousel Ad for a swipe file. - Track an Advertiser daily and get a Change Report when it launches or stops Ads or moves into new countries. - Keep a dated history of an Ad's placements and variant count, even after Meta removes it. ## Every Meta Ad Library API operation and its price Prices are in Credits. A failed Run costs nothing. The MCP tool on each card reaches the same operation from Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor through the [Meta Ad Library MCP server](https://www.shortsintel.com/mcp/meta-ads). ### Search the Meta Ad Library Search by keyword or Advertiser, filtered by country, status, kind, media type, placement and start date, in four sort orders. #### Search ad libraries `POST /v1/ads/search` Up to 500 Ads a call, 50 by default, with a cursor for the next page. - Price: 1 credit per Ad delivered with `library: "meta"`. With `analyze`, 20 credits more per Ad analysed. - MCP tool: `search_ads` [Reference: Search ad libraries](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/ads/search-ads) ### One Ad Read an Ad by its Ad Library id, then its stored analysis and its Snapshot history. #### Look up a Meta Ad by id `GET /v1/ads/meta/{library_id}` An Ad Meta has removed still comes back from the stored copy. - Price: 3 credits. With `analyze=true`, 20 credits more. - MCP tool: `get_ad` [Reference: Look up a Meta Ad by id](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/ads/get-meta-ad) #### Get a Meta Ad's analysis `GET /v1/ads/meta/{library_id}/intelligence` - Price: Free. - MCP tool: REST only [Reference: Get a Meta Ad's analysis](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/ads/get-meta-ad-intelligence) #### Read a Meta Ad's history `GET /v1/ads/meta/{library_id}/snapshots` - Price: Free. - MCP tool: REST only [Reference: Read a Meta Ad's history](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/ads/list-meta-ad-snapshots) ### Advertisers An Advertiser by Facebook Page id: name, Page, linked Instagram account and running Ad count. #### Look up an advertiser profile `GET /v1/advertisers/{page_id}` Reads all of the Advertiser's Ads before it answers. - Price: 15 credits, the same when served within 6 hours of a complete observation. - MCP tool: `get_ad` [Reference: Look up an advertiser profile](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/ads/get-advertiser) ### Advertiser Trackers Check an Advertiser every day and read the Change Reports it writes. #### Start tracking a target `POST /v1/trackers` - Price: 30 credits per daily Advertiser cycle. With analysis, 20 credits more per new Ad. - MCP tool: `track` [Reference: Start tracking a target](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/trackers/create-tracker) #### List change reports `GET /v1/trackers/{id}/changes` - Price: Free. - MCP tool: `get_changes` [Reference: List change reports](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/trackers/list-tracker-changes) Data limits ## What the Meta Ad Library API does not cover - Only what the public library shows. Clicks, conversions and return on ad spend from an ad account are never visible. - Spend, impressions and audience are filled only when Meta discloses them, which for most commercial Ads it does not. - Keyword search matches words in the Ad, so some results are off topic. - Analysis on a search covers its first 50 Ads. Analyse the rest one at a time. - Snapshot history starts the day ShortsIntel first stores an Ad. - TikTok Ads are on the [TikTok API](https://www.shortsintel.com/tiktok-api) hub, through the same search with `library: "tiktok"`. ## Questions - Is this the official Meta Ad Library API?: No. ShortsIntel is not affiliated with Meta. Meta's API returns political and issue Ads anywhere but commercial Ads only when they reached the EU, and it asks for identity and location confirmation first. ShortsIntel reads the public Ad Library, directly or through third-party data providers, so a commercial Ad that ran only in the US, Canada or Australia comes back too. The [Meta Ad Library API guide](https://www.shortsintel.com/guides/meta-ad-library-api) compares them field by field. - What does a Meta Ad search cost?: 1 credit per Ad delivered, and a search returns 50 Ads unless you set `limit`. Ad analysis adds 20 credits per Ad. Pass estimate=true for the price before any charge. A Run that fails costs nothing, and a partial one is charged only for what finished. - What is the winner Score?: A 0 to 100 Score on each Ad, from how long it has run and how many variants the Advertiser added, compared with that Advertiser's other Ads. It is marked low confidence when the Advertiser has few Ads to compare. The [winning Ads guide](https://www.shortsintel.com/guides/find-winning-ads) shows how to read it. - How current is an Ad?: An Ad read may come from a copy observed under 6 hours ago, and an Advertiser read from a complete observation under 6 hours old, at the same price. - Is the Meta Ad Library API production ready?: Yes for reading the library, with limits. It is a versioned /v1 API, keys allow 60 requests per minute, and a Customer can have 10 running Runs. A library that fails part-way leaves a partial Run charged for the Ads delivered. Because it is unofficial, Meta can change the public library at any time. - Do I need a card to search Ads?: No. New accounts get 1,000 credits free, valid for 90 days. You need a card only for a Top-up, from $10. - Can my Assistant search Meta Ads too?: Yes. The [Meta Ads MCP server](https://www.shortsintel.com/mcp/meta-ads) gives Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor the search_ads, get_ad and track tools over these operations, at the same prices. ## More on this API - [Meta Ads MCP What an Assistant can do with the Meta Ad Library through the ShortsIntel MCP server: Ad and Advertiser search, Ad analysis, Snapshots and Advertiser Trackers.](https://www.shortsintel.com/mcp/meta-ads) - [Meta Ad Library API What Meta's official Ad Library API returns, what it leaves out for commercial Ad research, and another way to read those Ads.](https://www.shortsintel.com/guides/meta-ad-library-api) - [Meta Ad Library search How to search Meta's Ad Library by keyword, Advertiser and country, by hand and through an Assistant, with real sample output.](https://www.shortsintel.com/guides/meta-ad-library-search) - [Find winning Ads How to tell a winning Ad from a test using days running, variants added, placements, Snapshots and the winner Score.](https://www.shortsintel.com/guides/find-winning-ads) - [UGC Ad research How to research UGC Videos and Ads by format and hook, with real examples, and turn the findings into briefs for UGC creators.](https://www.shortsintel.com/guides/ugc-ad-research) - [API reference Every /v1 operation with its parameters, schemas and error codes.](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference) ## Start with the Starter Grant New accounts get 1,000 credits free, valid for 90 days. No card and no subscription. Create a key in the Console and make the call above. [Get 1,000 credits free](https://www.shortsintel.com/register)[API quickstart](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/quickstart)