# Zhihu user followers API

The Zhihu user followers API returns a page of the accounts following a Zhihu user, 20 a page: name, headline, avatar, follower count, answer and article counts. One call costs 2 credits ($0.004 to $0.0067 depending on the pack); failed calls are free. Call it over HTTP or from your AI client over MCP. Last tested 2026-10-17.

- Page: https://socialtoai.com/zhihu-followers-api/
- Last updated: 2026-10-17
- Last tested: 2026-10-17

| Request | Price key | Credits |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `POST /v1/call/zhihu.followers` | `zhihu.followers` | 2 |

## Request

```bash
curl https://api.socialtoai.com/v1/call/zhihu.followers \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SOCIALTOAI_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "username": "zhihuadmin"
  }'
```

```python
import os
import requests

response = requests.post(
    "https://api.socialtoai.com/v1/call/zhihu.followers",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['SOCIALTOAI_KEY']}"},
    json={
        "username": "zhihuadmin",
    },
)
print(response.json())
```

## Parameters

| Name | Type | Required | Default | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `username` | string | Required | — | The handle in the profile's address (url_token) |
| `cursor` | string | Optional | — | Pass page.cursor from the last response to get the next page. |

## Where the values come from

- `username`: The handle in the profile's address (url_token) (e.g. `zhihuadmin`)
  Returned as `username` by: [search · type=user](https://socialtoai.com/zhihu-search-api.md)

## Response fields

| Field | Type | Meaning | Given |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `items[].username` | string | The handle. | yes |
| `items[].name` | string | The display name. | yes |
| `items[].url` | string | A link to the profile. | yes |
| `items[].bio` | string | The bio. | yes |
| `items[].verified` | boolean | Whether the account is verified. | always null: Zhihu does not give it |
| `items[].followers` | integer | Follower count. | yes |
| `items[].following` | integer | How many accounts it follows. | always null: Zhihu does not give it |
| `items[].posts_count` | integer | How many posts it has published. | always null: Zhihu does not give it |

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": "2026-10-12T21:53:56.000Z",
  "action": "call",
  "op": "zhihu.followers",
  "platform": "zhihu",
  "status": "ok",
  "items": [
    {
      "platform": "zhihu",
      "id": "…",
      "ref": "…",
      "approx": [],
      "type": "account",
      "username": "…",
      "name": "…",
      "url": "https://example.com/…",
      "bio": "…",
      "verified": null,
      "followers": 235,
      "following": null,
      "posts_count": null
    }
  ],
  "unavailable": ["verified", "following", "posts_count"],
  "page": {
    "has_more": true,
    "cursor": "cur_…",
    "cursor_expires_at": "2026-10-12T22:23:56.000Z"
  },
  "warnings": [],
  "applied_params": {
    "username": "zhihuadmin"
  },
  "cost_credits": 2,
  "billing": {
    "cost_credits": 2,
    "balance_credits": 98,
    "today_spend_credits": 2,
    "daily_limit_credits": null,
    "daily_remaining_credits": null,
    "display": "This call: 2 credits. Balance: 98 credits."
  },
  "replayed": false
}
```

## Paging and failures

- 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 2 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 2 credits.
- 1 call per second per key, 5 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)

## Ask your AI

- Get a page of the accounts following a Zhihu user, 20 a page: zhihuadmin. → `call {"op":"zhihu.followers","username":"zhihuadmin"}`, 2 credits
- Find Zhihu accounts about "人民日报", then for the first 3: get a page of the accounts following a Zhihu user, 20 a page. → `search {"platform":"zhihu","query":"人民日报","type":"user"}`, `call {"op":"zhihu.followers","username":"<username>"}` × 3, 8 credits

## The same call on other platforms

| Platform | Price key | Credits | Page |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| TikTok | `tiktok.followers` | 2 | https://socialtoai.com/tiktok-followers-api.md |
| X | `x.followers` | 12 | https://socialtoai.com/x-followers-api.md |
| Weibo | `weibo.followers` | 2 | https://socialtoai.com/weibo-followers-api.md |

## More on Zhihu

| Interface | What it does | Price key | Credits | Page |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `question_answers` | Get the first 20 answers to a Zhihu question by ID or link, in Zhihu's own order. | `zhihu.question_answers` | 2 | https://socialtoai.com/zhihu-question-answers-api.md |
| `column_articles` | Get a page of the articles in a Zhihu column by the column's ID. | `zhihu.column_articles` | 2 | https://socialtoai.com/zhihu-column-articles-api.md |
| `search` | Find answers by keyword: text, author, likes, comment count and publish time. | `zhihu.search` | 2 | https://socialtoai.com/zhihu-search-api.md |
| `trending` | What is trending now: title, rank and heat. | `zhihu.trending` | 2 | https://socialtoai.com/zhihu-trending-api.md |
| `detail` | One answer by ID or link: text, author and publish time. | `zhihu.detail` | 2 | https://socialtoai.com/zhihu-detail-api.md |
| `comments` | The comments under one answer: text, likes, reply count and time. | `zhihu.comments` | 2 | https://socialtoai.com/zhihu-comments-api.md |
| `user_profile` | One account: name, bio and followers. | `zhihu.user_profile` | 2 | https://socialtoai.com/zhihu-user-profile-api.md |
| `user_posts` | The recent answers of one account. | `zhihu.user_posts` | 2 | https://socialtoai.com/zhihu-user-posts-api.md |

## FAQ

**Do I need a Zhihu account or Zhihu's own API access?**

No. You only need a SocialToAI key. The call returns content and account information publicly visible on Zhihu; you never sign in to Zhihu or apply for anything there.