/v1/trending"platform": "zhihu"Zhihu Trending API
What is trending now.
Get what is trending on Zhihu now and get back title, rank and heat, as JSON over HTTP or from your AI client over MCP. A call to the Zhihu Trending 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 2026-10-30.
Last updated:
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 Trending API.
From a recorded answer.
A recorded call returned 30 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 (30 items) is about 16,302 tokens as the platform's raw JSON and about 2,755 as this interface returns it, 83% fewer (measured 2026-11-06). How it was measured
| Field | In the recorded answer |
|---|---|
| title | removed from the sample |
| url | null: Zhihu cannot give it |
| rank | 1 |
| heat | 6,030,000 |
2 credits a call (≈ $0.004–$0.0067): about 1,500 calls for $10.
Zhihu Trending API: request and response
curl https://api.socialtoai.com/v1/trending \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $SOCIALTOAI_API_KEY" \ -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "platform": "zhihu" }'import osimport uuidimport requestsresponse = requests.post( "https://api.socialtoai.com/v1/trending", 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", },)print(response.json())# Connected over MCP? Ask in plain words.What is trending on Zhihu right now?# Your AI calls the trending tool with:{ "platform": "zhihu"}board{ "platform": "zhihu", "status": "ok", "items": [ { "platform": "zhihu", "id": "…", "ref": null, "approx": [ { "field": "heat", "kind": "approximate" } ], "type": "entry", "entry_type": "trend", "title": "…", "url": null, "rank": 1, "heat": 6030000, "fields": {} } ], "unavailable": ["url"], "page": { "has_more": false }, "cost_credits": 2}Names and text were removed from the sample; the numbers are as recorded.
Zhihu Trending API parameters.
2 parameters, 1 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. |
| board | string | Optional | "hot" | Which list: the hot list"hot" |
Zhihu Trending API response fields.
What Zhihu cannot give is marked.
| Field | Type | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| items[].title | string | The entry's title or name. |
| items[].url | stringalways null | A link that opens it; null where the platform's list has none. |
| items[].rank | integer | Position on a board, from 1. |
| items[].heat | integer | The platform's heat score. |
| items[].fields | object | Empty for a trend. |
nullFields Zhihu cannot giveRead null as “Zhihu did not give this”, not as zero. These are always null on this call:
urlA link that opens it; null where the platform's list has none.
Every item also has platform, id, ref, approx and type; the response around the items is the same on every call. Response format
Zhihu Trending 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 Trending API.
What is trending on Zhihu right now?
2 creditstrending {"platform":"zhihu"}
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: What is trending on Zhihu right now?Call the trending tool with {"platform":"zhihu"}. optional: board (hot).It gives its first page only, up to 50 items, with no next page; each call costs 2 credits.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.
Work scenarios that use it.
trend-watchingYour AI reads the trending lists and the posts that are taking off on a subject, and tells you what is rising, on which platform, with links.
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/trending{ "platform": "zhihu" }2 creditsper callRead next.
What its own API allows, who can use it and what it costs, with sources.
Let your AI read Zhihu.