# TikTok API for Videos, Creators, Sounds and Ads

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Updated 6 November 2026.

ShortsIntel reads public TikTok data and returns it as JSON over one REST API at /v1. You send a bearer key, get a Run back with its charge, and read the result.

TikTok has the widest coverage of any Platform here. It is the only one with Sounds and with on-demand Video Scores, and it carries the TikTok Ad Library. Below are every TikTok operation, its price, the MCP tool that reaches it, and one real response.

- Operations: 24
- Free operations: 5
- Paid prices: From 3 credits
- To start: 1,000 credits free

## One call and its real response, trimmed

Look up a hashtag's trend: `GET /v1/hashtags/{platform}/{tag}`. Price: 3 credits, the same when a Snapshot under 24 h old can answer.

### Request

```bash
curl "https://www.shortsintel.com/v1/hashtags/tiktok/skincaretips" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_YOUR_KEY"
```

### Response

```json
{
  "run": { "kind": "hashtag_lookup", "status": "completed", "charge_credits": 3 },
  "result": {
    "tag": "skincaretips",
    "platform": "tiktok",
    "stats": {
      "sampled_videos": 24,
      "views_total": 48052423,
      "views_median": 681950,
      "views_max": 20200000,
      "likes_total": 3433374,
      "comments_total": 28964,
      "engagement_rate": 0.1121
    },
    "trend": { "since": null, "direction": null, "change_ratio": null },
    "top_videos": [
      { "posted_at": "2024-04-01T03:26:48.000Z", "snapshot": { "views": 20200000, "likes": 1300000, "saves": 702013 },
        "hashtags": ["skincareroutine", "nighttimeskincare", "affordableskincare"] },
      { "posted_at": "2026-01-12T07:02:29.000Z", "snapshot": { "views": 6300000, "likes": 374400, "saves": 197321 },
        "hashtags": ["skincareroutine", "antiagingskincare", "glowingskin", "finelinesandwrinkles"] },
      ...
    ]
  }
}
```

Real response from our own account, trimmed: two of the top Videos are shown, their `id`, `url` and `creator` are cut, and `...` marks the cut. `trend` is null on a first lookup and fills in once an earlier Snapshot exists. Captured 1 November 2026. Every field: [Look up a hashtag's trend reference](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/hashtags/get-hashtag).

## What developers build on the TikTok API

- Flag a Creator's Videos that ran far above their own median, using the outlier Score on each Video.
- Watch a Sound's Video count daily and act when it starts to climb.
- Pull the hook, transcript and visual format of a TikTok Video into a creative brief.
- List the Ads an Advertiser ran on TikTok in Europe, with targeting by country, age and gender.
- Read a Video's comments and replies to find what its viewers keep asking for.

## Every TikTok 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 [TikTok MCP server](https://www.shortsintel.com/mcp/tiktok).

### Search TikTok

Find Videos by keyword, or read what one TikTok search returns.

#### Search videos by keyword

`POST /v1/videos/search`

- Price: 3 credits per page with `platforms: ["tiktok"]`. Analysis of the top results adds 20 credits each.
- MCP tool: `search_videos`

[Reference: Search videos by keyword](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/videos/search-videos)

#### Sample a keyword search

`GET /v1/keywords/{platform}`

- Price: 3 credits, the same when a Snapshot under 24 h old can answer.
- MCP tool: `get_keyword`

[Reference: Sample a keyword search](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/keywords/get-keyword)

### Videos

One TikTok Video by id or link: stats, analysis, transcript, Score, comments and history.

#### Look up a video by URL

`POST /v1/videos/lookup`

- Price: 3 credits, the same when a Snapshot under 24 h old can answer.
- MCP tool: `get_video`

[Reference: Look up a video by URL](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/videos/lookup-video)

#### Look up a video by id

`GET /v1/videos/{platform}/{id}`

- Price: 3 credits. Analysis 23 credits, transcript only 10 credits, download link 3 credits.
- MCP tool: `get_video`

[Reference: Look up a video by id](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/videos/get-video)

#### Analyse a video

`POST /v1/videos/{platform}/{id}/intelligence`

- Price: 23 credits, whether computed now or already stored, and with `refresh: true`.
- MCP tool: `get_video`

[Reference: Analyse a video](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/videos/compute-video-intelligence)

#### Score a video against its creator

`POST /v1/videos/{platform}/{id}/score`

TikTok only.

- Price: 9 credits, always a fresh fetch.
- MCP tool: `score_video`

[Reference: Score a video against its creator](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/videos/score-video)

#### Read a video's comments

`GET /v1/videos/{platform}/{id}/comments`

- Price: 3 credits per page, plus 10 credits with `analyze=true`, whether the analysis is computed now or already stored.
- MCP tool: `get_comments`

[Reference: Read a video's comments](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/videos/get-video-comments)

#### Read a comment's replies

`GET /v1/videos/{platform}/{id}/comments/{comment_id}/replies`

- Price: 3 credits per page, the same when the replies are already stored.
- MCP tool: `get_comment_replies`

[Reference: Read a comment's replies](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/videos/get-comment-replies)

#### Read a video's metric history

`GET /v1/videos/{platform}/{id}/snapshots`

- Price: Free.
- MCP tool: REST only

[Reference: Read a video's metric history](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/videos/list-video-snapshots)

### Creators

A TikTok profile with its recent Videos and the baseline every Score is measured against.

#### Look up a creator and baseline

`GET /v1/creators/{platform}/{handle}`

- Price: 6 credits, the same when a creator Snapshot under 24 h old and a baseline under 7 days old can answer.
- MCP tool: `get_creator`

[Reference: Look up a creator and baseline](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/creators/get-creator)

#### Page a creator's stored videos

`GET /v1/creators/{platform}/{handle}/videos`

- Price: Free. With `intelligence=true`, 20 credits per Video analysed.
- MCP tool: `get_creator`

[Reference: Page a creator's stored videos](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/creators/list-creator-videos)

#### Read follower history

`GET /v1/creators/{platform}/{handle}/snapshots`

- Price: Free.
- MCP tool: REST only

[Reference: Read follower history](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/creators/list-creator-snapshots)

### Hashtags and Sounds

Stats and top Videos for a Hashtag or a Sound, and their Videos page by page. Sounds are TikTok only.

#### Look up a hashtag's trend

`GET /v1/hashtags/{platform}/{tag}`

- Price: 3 credits, the same when a Snapshot under 24 h old can answer.
- MCP tool: `get_hashtag_or_sound`

[Reference: Look up a hashtag's trend](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/hashtags/get-hashtag)

#### Page a hashtag's videos

`GET /v1/hashtags/{platform}/{tag}/videos`

- Price: 3 credits per page.
- MCP tool: `get_hashtag_or_sound`

[Reference: Page a hashtag's videos](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/hashtags/list-hashtag-videos)

#### Look up a sound's trend

`GET /v1/sounds/{platform}/{id}`

- Price: 6 credits, the same when a Snapshot under 24 h old can answer.
- MCP tool: `get_hashtag_or_sound`

[Reference: Look up a sound's trend](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/sounds/get-sound)

#### Page a sound's videos

`GET /v1/sounds/{platform}/{id}/videos`

- Price: 6 credits per page.
- MCP tool: `get_hashtag_or_sound`

[Reference: Page a sound's videos](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/sounds/list-sound-videos)

### TikTok Ad Library

Search the TikTok Ad Library, then read one Ad with its targeting or one Advertiser.

#### Search ad libraries

`POST /v1/ads/search`

- Price: 3 credits per page with `library: "tiktok"`.
- MCP tool: `search_ads`

[Reference: Search ad libraries](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/ads/search-ads)

#### Get a TikTok Ad

`GET /v1/ads/tiktok/{ad_id}`

- Price: 3 credits.
- MCP tool: `get_ad`

[Reference: Get a TikTok Ad](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/ads/get-tik-tok-ad)

#### Look up an advertiser profile

`GET /v1/advertisers/{page_id}`

Pass `library=tiktok` with the Advertiser's library URL or name.

- 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)

#### List a TikTok Ad's snapshots

`GET /v1/ads/tiktok/{ad_id}/snapshots`

- Price: Free.
- MCP tool: REST only

[Reference: List a TikTok Ad's snapshots](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/ads/list-tik-tok-ad-snapshots)

### Research and tracking

Hand off a whole question, or watch a Creator, Hashtag, Sound, Keyword or Advertiser daily.

#### Research a niche

`POST /v1/research`

- Price: 1,036 credits for up to 50 analysed Videos, then 20 credits each.
- MCP tool: `research`

[Reference: Research a niche](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/research/create-research)

#### Run a Creator Breakdown

`POST /v1/breakdowns`

- Price: 9 credits per Creator plus 20 credits per analysed Video, at most 4,090 credits; failed ones are free.
- MCP tool: `breakdown`

[Reference: Run a Creator Breakdown](https://www.shortsintel.com/docs/reference/breakdowns/create-breakdown)

#### Start tracking a target

`POST /v1/trackers`

- Price: A daily cycle: 6 credits per Creator, 3 credits per Hashtag, 6 credits per Sound, 3 credits per Keyword, 30 credits per Advertiser.
- 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 TikTok API does not cover

- The TikTok Ad Library lists Ads shown in the EU/EEA, the UK, Switzerland and Turkey only. Ads that ran only in the US are not in it.
- TikTok Ad search takes no country, status, kind or media type filter, and neither search nor lookup analyses a TikTok Ad. Only a Tracker with `intelligence` does.
- TikTok Ad Library entries often carry no Advertiser name or spend: a title, the first and last day shown and an audience band.
- Hashtag, Keyword and Sound stats come from a sample of top Videos, not TikTok's own totals.

## Questions

- Is the TikTok API official?: No. ShortsIntel is not TikTok and is not affiliated with it. It reads public TikTok data (Videos, captions, public counts, profiles, Hashtag and Sound pages, search results and the TikTok Ad Library), directly or through third-party data providers, and you never log in to a TikTok account. TikTok's own developer APIs need an approved app and serve narrower uses. Use ShortsIntel when you need public TikTok data without that approval.
- How fresh is the data?: A call reads TikTok when you make it, directly or through a third-party data provider. A Video, Hashtag, Sound or Keyword lookup may be answered from a Snapshot under 24 hours old, at the same price. Paging a Hashtag's or Sound's Videos is always fresh, and so is a Score. Lookups write Snapshots, and reading that history back is free.
- Is it production ready?: The API is versioned at /v1 with an OpenAPI 3.1 document. Limits are 60 requests per minute per key and 10 running Runs per Customer. Paid lookups and searches take estimate=true to quote the price before any charge. When TikTok cannot be read, the call answers 503 source_unavailable and is not charged. Because the API is unofficial, TikTok can change what it shows publicly, a count it stops publishing reads 0, and any other field comes back null.
- Do I need a card?: No. New accounts get 1,000 credits free, valid for 90 days. You sign up with email or Google. A card is needed only when you top up, from $10, at 1,000 credits per US dollar.
- Can I use the same operations from Claude or Cursor?: Yes. Each card above names the MCP tool that reaches the operation. Connect the ShortsIntel MCP server and your Assistant calls them for you, at the same prices. Operations marked REST only are free history reads an Assistant rarely needs.

## More on this API

- [TikTok MCP What an Assistant can read on TikTok through the ShortsIntel MCP server, including the TikTok Ad Library, with sample output and connect steps.](https://www.shortsintel.com/mcp/tiktok)
- [TikTok API vs scraping What TikTok's official APIs and the Research API return, who can use them, and how scraping and an MCP server compare for marketers.](https://www.shortsintel.com/guides/tiktok-api-vs-scraping)
- [TikTok Ad Library What TikTok's Ad Library holds, the countries it covers, what each Ad shows, and how to search it from your Assistant.](https://www.shortsintel.com/guides/tiktok-ad-library)
- [TikTok Hashtag research Find the TikTok Hashtags your niche's best Videos share, read the sampled views behind each one, and track the ones that matter.](https://www.shortsintel.com/guides/tiktok-hashtag-research)
- [Find trending Sounds Find the Sounds your niche's top TikTok Videos use, check how many Videos use each and how recent they are, and track the ones you might use.](https://www.shortsintel.com/guides/find-trending-sounds)
- [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)