/v1/search"platform": "zhihu"Zhihu Search API
Find answers by keyword.
Search Zhihu answers by keyword and get back text, author, likes, comment count and publish time, as JSON over HTTP or from your AI client over MCP. A call to the Zhihu Search API costs 2 credits ($0.004 to $0.0067 depending on the pack), failed calls are free, and the response has the same format as every other call. Last tested 2026-11-05.
Last updated:
limit: 100 and one call pages for you: at most 6 pages, 12 credits. It stops once it has them or the list ends; pages it does not use are not charged, and neither are pages that fail. Reading 1,000 items comes to about 112 credits, about $0.37.Daily watch: tell your AI “watch this daily” and this call runs by itself every day, sending only what is new: at most 62 credits a month, about $0.21. How to set it up
What you get from the Zhihu Search API.
From a recorded answer.
A recorded call returned 17 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 (17 items) is about 194,416 tokens as the platform's raw JSON and about 56,725 as this interface returns it, 70% fewer (measured 2026-11-06). How it was measured
| Field | In the recorded answer |
|---|---|
| url | removed from the sample |
| format | article |
| title | removed from the sample |
| text | removed from the sample |
| published_at | 2026-03-03T08:11:12.000Z |
| author.id | removed from the sample |
| author.username | removed from the sample |
| author.name | removed from the sample |
| author.verified | null: Zhihu cannot give it |
| author.followers | 10,699 |
| metrics.likes | 224 |
| metrics.comments | 3 |
| metrics.shares | null: Zhihu cannot give it |
| metrics.collects | 0 |
| metrics.views | null: Zhihu cannot give it |
| metrics.reposts | null: Zhihu cannot give it |
| images | null: Zhihu cannot give it |
| hashtags | null: Zhihu cannot give it |
| is_pinned | null: Zhihu cannot give it |
2 credits a call (≈ $0.004–$0.0067): about 1,500 calls for $10.
Zhihu Search API: request and response
curl https://api.socialtoai.com/v1/search \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $SOCIALTOAI_API_KEY" \ -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "platform": "zhihu", "query": "咖啡机推荐" }'import osimport uuidimport requestsresponse = requests.post( "https://api.socialtoai.com/v1/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={ "platform": "zhihu", "query": "咖啡机推荐", },)print(response.json())# Connected over MCP? Ask in plain words.Search Zhihu for answers about "咖啡机推荐".# Your AI calls the search tool with:{ "platform": "zhihu", "query": "咖啡机推荐"}valuetypesort{ "platform": "zhihu", "status": "ok", "items": [ { "platform": "zhihu", "id": "…", "ref": "…", "approx": [], "type": "content", "url": "https://example.com/…", "format": "article", "title": "…", "text": "…", "published_at": "2026-03-03T08:11:12.000Z", "author": { "id": "…", "username": "…", "name": "…", "verified": null, "followers": 10699 }, "metrics": { "likes": 224, "comments": 3, "shares": null, "collects": 0, "views": null, "reposts": null }, "images": null, "hashtags": null, "is_pinned": null } ], "unavailable": ["author.verified", "metrics.shares", "metrics.views", "metrics.reposts", "images", "hashtags", "is_pinned"], "page": { "has_more": true, "cursor": "cur_…", "cursor_expires_at": "2026-10-12T19:48:45.000Z" }, "cost_credits": 2}nullcollects 0views nullNames and text were removed from the sample; the numbers are as recorded.
Zhihu Search API parameters.
5 parameters, 2 required.
Send them as a JSON body with POST. Your key goes in the Authorization header, never in the URL.
| Name | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| platform | string | Required | — | Always "zhihu" on this page. |
| query | string | Required | — | Search terms |
| type | string | Optional | — | Answers only, or articles only; both when left out. "user": accounts instead of posts (2 credits)."answer""article""user" |
| sort | string | Optional | "relevance" | By relevance, newest first, or most upvoted first"relevance""latest""popular" |
| cursor | string | Optional | — | Pass page.cursor from the last response to get the next page. |
Zhihu Search API response fields.
What Zhihu cannot give is marked.
| Field | Type | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| items[].url | string | A link that opens the item. |
| items[].format | string | video, image, text or article. |
| items[].title | string | The title. |
| items[].text | string | The body text or caption. |
| items[].published_at | string | When it was published, ISO 8601 in UTC. |
| items[].author.id | string | The author's account ID. |
| items[].author.username | string | The author's handle. |
| items[].author.name | string | The author's display name. |
| items[].author.verified | booleanalways null | Whether the author is verified. |
| items[].author.followers | integer | The author's follower count. |
| items[].metrics.likes | integer | Likes. |
| items[].metrics.comments | integer | Comments. |
| items[].metrics.shares | integeralways null | Shares. |
| items[].metrics.collects | integer | Saves. |
| items[].metrics.views | integeralways null | Views or plays. |
| items[].metrics.reposts | integeralways null | Reposts. |
| items[].images | string[]always null | Image addresses. |
| items[].hashtags | string[]always null | Hashtags, without the #. |
| items[].is_pinned | booleanalways null | Whether the author pinned it. |
nullFields Zhihu cannot giveRead null as “Zhihu did not give this”, not as zero. These are always null on this call:
author.verifiedWhether the author is verified.metrics.sharesShares.metrics.viewsViews or plays.metrics.repostsReposts.imagesImage addresses.hashtagsHashtags, without the #.is_pinnedWhether the author pinned it.
Send the parameter and the call returns something else:
type=useraccounts instead of posts2 creditsCompared with the WeChat Articles Search API, this call also gives author followers and comments.
Every item also has platform, id, ref, approx and type; the response around the items is the same on every call. Response format
Zhihu Search API: paging and billing.
5 calls per second per key, 20 after a purchase; going over is not charged. Rate limits
A failed call costs 0 credits and is never retried on its own. Error codes
“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 Zhihu Search API.
Search Zhihu for answers about "咖啡机推荐".
2 creditssearch {"platform":"zhihu","query":"咖啡机推荐"}Find Zhihu accounts about "人民日报".
2 creditssearch {"platform":"zhihu","query":"人民日报","type":"user"}
Give this to your AI.
Copy it into Claude or ChatGPT.
How to connectUse the SocialToAI MCP server (https://mcp.socialtoai.com/mcp) for this: Search Zhihu for answers about "咖啡机推荐".Call the search tool with {"platform":"zhihu","query":"咖啡机推荐"}. Needed: query; optional: type (answer, article), sort (relevance, latest, popular).For many items pass limit (limit=100 is at most 6 pages) and one call pages for you; each page costs 2 credits and unused pages are not charged.Before you start, work out how many credits it will take in all and ask me; call it only after I agree.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.Paste it into a chat once SocialToAI is connected over MCP. There is no key in it: Claude and ChatGPT sign in, other clients send a key in a header.
These ready-made tools call it when they run.
brand-buzzHow people feel about it on each platform, what comes up most, and the posts behind it
Work scenarios that use it.
china-market-researchYour AI reads what Chinese consumers post on Xiaohongshu, Douyin, Weibo and other Chinese platforms, and answers in your language, with the posts it read and their links.
The same call on other platforms.
All platforms and prices/v1/search{ "platform": "zhihu", "query": "咖啡机推荐" }2 creditsper callRead next.
What its own API allows, who can use it and what it costs, with sources.
Let your AI read Zhihu.