--- title: "Xiaohongshu (RedNote) KOL search API (Pugongying) · SocialToAI" canonical: https://socialtoai.com/xiaohongshu-kol-search-api/ updated: 2026-10-30 --- # Xiaohongshu (RedNote) KOL search API (Pugongying) Search Xiaohongshu creators on PGY by terms, matched against what they write about: creator ID, name, handle, location, content categories, followers. The creator ID the other PGY endpoints take comes from here. A call to the Xiaohongshu (RedNote) KOL search API (Pugongying) costs 24 credits ($0.048 to $0.08 depending on the pack); failed calls are free. Call it over HTTP or from your AI client over MCP. Last tested 2026-11-02. - Page: https://socialtoai.com/xiaohongshu-kol-search-api/ - Last updated: 2026-10-30 - Last tested: 2026-11-02 | Request | Price key | Credits | | --- | --- | --- | | `POST /v1/call/xiaohongshu.kol_search` | `xiaohongshu.kol_search` | 24 | Reading 1,000 items comes to about 1,200 credits, about $4.00. Daily watch: tell your AI “watch this daily” and this call runs by itself every day, sending only what is new: at most 744 credits a month, about $2.48. [How to set it up](https://socialtoai.com/docs/schedules.md#watch) ## What you get from the Xiaohongshu (RedNote) KOL search API (Pugongying) A recorded call returned 20 items; here is the first, field by field. Names and text are removed from the sample; the numbers are as recorded. Lighter for your AI: the same recorded data (20 items) is about 27,374 tokens as the platform's raw JSON and about 2,826 as this interface returns it, 89% fewer (measured 2026-11-06). | Field | In the recorded answer | | --- | --- | | title | removed from the sample | | url | null | | rank | null | | heat | null | | fields.account_id | removed from the sample | | fields.username | removed from the sample | | fields.location | removed from the sample | | fields.categories | 1 entry | | fields.subcategories | 2 entries | | fields.followers | 30,634 | 24 credits a call (≈ $0.048–$0.08): about 125 calls for $10. [Easier with a ready-made tool: Find creators. Creators who make that content, with their size, recent posts and how well each fits.](https://socialtoai.com/tools/find-creators.md) ## Xiaohongshu (RedNote) KOL search API (Pugongying): request and response ```bash curl https://api.socialtoai.com/v1/call/xiaohongshu.kol_search \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $SOCIALTOAI_API_KEY" \ -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "query": "咖啡" }' ``` ```python import os import uuid import requests response = requests.post( "https://api.socialtoai.com/v1/call/xiaohongshu.kol_search", headers={ "Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['SOCIALTOAI_API_KEY']}", # A new key for each request; the same one again retries it without paying twice. "Idempotency-Key": str(uuid.uuid4()), }, json={ "query": "咖啡", }, ) print(response.json()) ``` ## Xiaohongshu (RedNote) KOL search API (Pugongying) parameters | Name | Type | Required | Default | Description | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `query` | string | Required | — | Search terms, matched against what creators' notes are about; for terms no creator matches the platform still returns loosely related creators, not an empty result | | `cursor` | string | Optional | — | Pass page.cursor from the last response to get the next page. | ## Xiaohongshu (RedNote) KOL search API (Pugongying) response fields | Field | Type | Meaning | Given | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | `items[].title` | string | The entry's title or name. | yes | | `items[].url` | string | A link that opens it; null where the platform's list has none. | yes | | `items[].rank` | integer | Position on a board, from 1. | yes | | `items[].heat` | integer | The platform's heat score. | yes | | `items[].fields.account_id` | string | The creator's account ID on the platform, which the platform's account calls take. | yes | | `items[].fields.username` | string | The creator's handle. | yes | | `items[].fields.location` | string | Where the creator is based, in the platform's words. | yes | | `items[].fields.categories` | string[] | Content categories, first level, in the platform's words. | yes | | `items[].fields.subcategories` | string[] | Content categories, second level, in the platform's words. | yes | | `items[].fields.followers` | integer | Followers. | yes | Every item also has platform, id, ref, approx and type; the response around the items is the same on every call. [Response format](https://socialtoai.com/docs/api/response.md) ## Sample response Sample data: names, links and text are replaced by placeholders; the numbers are as recorded. ```json { "request_id": "req_00000000-0000-4000-8000-000000000001", "schema_version": "v1", "fetched_at": "2026-10-12T21:55:09.000Z", "action": "call", "op": "xiaohongshu.kol_search", "platform": "xiaohongshu", "status": "ok", "items": [ { "platform": "xiaohongshu", "id": "…", "ref": "…", "approx": [], "type": "entry", "entry_type": "creator", "title": "…", "url": null, "rank": null, "heat": null, "fields": { "account_id": "…", "username": "…", "location": "…", "categories": ["…"], "subcategories": ["…", "…"], "followers": 30634 } } ], "unavailable": [], "page": { "has_more": true, "cursor": "cur_…", "cursor_expires_at": "2026-10-12T22:25:09.000Z" }, "warnings": [], "applied_params": { "query": "咖啡" }, "cost_credits": 24, "billing": { "cost_credits": 24, "balance_credits": 76, "today_spend_credits": 24, "daily_limit_credits": null, "daily_remaining_credits": null, "display": "This call: 24 credits (≈ $0.08). Balance: 76 credits (≈ $0.25)." }, "replayed": false } ``` ## Xiaohongshu (RedNote) KOL search API (Pugongying): paging and billing - One call returns a page of up to 20 items. When page.has_more is true, send page.cursor back as cursor for the next page; each page costs 24 credits and a cursor works for 30 minutes. - A call that runs and finds nothing is a successful call: status is "empty", items is empty, and it costs 24 credits. - 5 calls per second per key, 20 after a purchase; going over is not charged. [Rate limits](https://socialtoai.com/docs/credits-and-billing.md#rate-limits) - A failed call costs 0 credits and is never retried on its own. [Error codes](https://socialtoai.com/docs/api/errors.md) - “Last tested” above is the last day a real call of this interface succeeded. Each call reads from the platform, and `fetched_at` in the answer is when it was read. The same request sent again with the same key within 5 minutes is a replay (`replayed: true`): 0 credits, and the answer as first read. ## Once connected over MCP, these questions use the Xiaohongshu (RedNote) KOL search API (Pugongying) - Search Xiaohongshu creators on PGY by terms, matched against what they write about: 咖啡. → `call {"op":"xiaohongshu.kol_search","query":"咖啡"}`, 24 credits ## Give this to your AI ``` Use the SocialToAI MCP server (https://mcp.socialtoai.com/mcp) for this: Search Xiaohongshu creators on PGY by terms, matched against what they write about: 咖啡. Call the call tool with {"op":"xiaohongshu.kol_search","query":"咖啡"}. Needed: query. For more, send page.cursor back as cursor; each page costs 24 credits. Before you start, work out how many credits it will take in all and ask me; call it only after I agree. What usually comes next, with the ref or username it returns: call xiaohongshu.kol_profile (PGY creator detail), call xiaohongshu.kol_audience (PGY creator audience profile). If SocialToAI is not connected yet, tell me how to connect it; never ask me to paste a key into the chat. Answer with a link to every item you used, and tell me how many credits it cost. ``` ## These ready-made tools call it when they run - [Find creators](https://socialtoai.com/tools/find-creators.md): Creators who make that content, with their size, recent posts and how well each fits - [Creator profile](https://socialtoai.com/tools/creator-card.md): Their accounts on other platforms, the numbers on each, and how sure the match is ## The same call on other platforms | Interface | Price key | Credits | | --- | --- | --- | | [Douyin KOL search API (Xingtu)](https://socialtoai.com/douyin-kol-search-api.md) | `douyin.kol_search` | 3 | ## More on Xiaohongshu | Interface | What it does | Price key | Credits | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Xiaohongshu (RedNote) KOL detail API (Pugongying)](https://socialtoai.com/xiaohongshu-kol-profile-api.md) | Get a Xiaohongshu creator's profile on PGY by creator ID. | `xiaohongshu.kol_profile` | 24 | | [Xiaohongshu (RedNote) User Posts API](https://socialtoai.com/xiaohongshu-user-posts-api.md) | The recent notes of one account. | `xiaohongshu.user_posts` | 12 | | [Xiaohongshu (RedNote) product search API](https://socialtoai.com/xiaohongshu-product-search-api.md) | Search the products of Xiaohongshu's shop by terms. | `xiaohongshu.product_search` | 12 | | [Xiaohongshu (RedNote) topic notes API](https://socialtoai.com/xiaohongshu-topic-notes-api.md) | Get the trending notes under a Xiaohongshu topic by its page ID. | `xiaohongshu.topic_notes` | 12 | | [Xiaohongshu (RedNote) topic detail API](https://socialtoai.com/xiaohongshu-topic-api.md) | Get one Xiaohongshu topic by its page ID. | `xiaohongshu.topic` | 12 | | [Xiaohongshu (RedNote) Search API](https://socialtoai.com/xiaohongshu-search-api.md) | Find notes by keyword: text, author, likes, comment count and publish time. | `xiaohongshu.search` | 12 | | [Xiaohongshu (RedNote) product reviews API](https://socialtoai.com/xiaohongshu-product-reviews-api.md) | Get the first page of buyers' reviews of a product of Xiaohongshu's shop by the product's ID. | `xiaohongshu.product_reviews` | 12 | | [Xiaohongshu (RedNote) Detail API](https://socialtoai.com/xiaohongshu-detail-api.md) | One note by ID or link: text, author, likes, comment count and publish time. | `xiaohongshu.detail` | 12 | | [Xiaohongshu (RedNote) User Profile API](https://socialtoai.com/xiaohongshu-user-profile-api.md) | One account: name, bio, followers, following and post count. | `xiaohongshu.user_profile` | 12 | | [Xiaohongshu (RedNote) KOL audience profile API (Pugongying)](https://socialtoai.com/xiaohongshu-kol-audience-api.md) | Get who follows a Xiaohongshu creator, by PGY creator ID. | `xiaohongshu.kol_audience` | 24 | ## Read next - [Xiaohongshu official API: access, prices and limits](https://socialtoai.com/does-xiaohongshu-have-an-api.md): What its own API allows, who can use it and what it costs, with sources. - [Creator data API, every platform](https://socialtoai.com/creator-api.md): Finding creators and reading their data, platform by platform. - [How to let ChatGPT read Xiaohongshu (RedNote)](https://socialtoai.com/how-to/let-chatgpt-read-xiaohongshu.md): connect ChatGPT to Xiaohongshu notes and comments - [Let Claude Code and Cursor read Xiaohongshu and Douyin, with no QR code or cookie](https://socialtoai.com/how-to/let-claude-code-and-cursor-read-xiaohongshu-and-douyin.md): connect Claude Code and Cursor to Xiaohongshu and Douyin with no QR code or cookie, and what a self-run server costs you - [How brands outside China monitor Xiaohongshu (RedNote), Douyin and Weibo with AI](https://socialtoai.com/how-to/monitor-xiaohongshu-douyin-weibo-from-outside-china.md): monitor Xiaohongshu, Douyin and Weibo from outside China with AI, in English, with original links - [How to find creators on Xiaohongshu PGY and Douyin Xingtu](https://socialtoai.com/how-to/find-creators-on-xiaohongshu-and-douyin.md): PGY and Xingtu by interface: how each search matches, the IDs they take, what a shortlist costs - [Xiaohongshu (RedNote) MCP server](https://socialtoai.com/mcp/xiaohongshu.md): Let your AI read Xiaohongshu. ## Xiaohongshu (RedNote) KOL search API (Pugongying): questions **Do I need a Xiaohongshu account or Xiaohongshu's own API access?** No. You only need a SocialToAI key. The call returns content and account information publicly visible on Xiaohongshu; you never sign in to Xiaohongshu or apply for anything there. **What does one call cost in dollars?** 24 credits: $0.08 at 300 credits per dollar (purchases from $10), $0.048 at 500 per dollar (from $200). Credits never expire and there is no subscription. 100 free credits on sign-up, no card. **Am I charged when a call fails or finds nothing?** A failed call costs 0 credits and is never retried on its own. A call that runs and finds nothing is a successful call: status is "empty" and it costs 24 credits. **How much does one call return?** One call returns a page of up to 20 items. When page.has_more is true, send page.cursor back as cursor for the next page; each page costs 24 credits and a cursor works for 30 minutes. **Is there a rate limit?** 5 calls a second per key, 20 a second after your first purchase. A request over the limit is told how long to wait and is not charged. **How do I use it from Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor?** Yes. In Claude or ChatGPT, add the MCP address https://mcp.socialtoai.com/mcp as a custom connector, sign in with the code we email you and press Allow; there is no key to paste. In Claude Code, run one command, type /mcp, pick socialtoai and sign in; Codex and Cursor sign in too, with their steps on the connect page. Then ask in plain words and your AI calls call for you.