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Notes on fetching the web
Longer notes, shipped as HTML and as Markdown. Append .md to any post URL for the twin.
Compare Google News APIs
No official News API vs NewsAPI.org vs google-news.fetcher.sh.
Compare Apple App Store APIs
Connect vs iTunes Search vs appstore.fetcher.sh listings and reviews.
Compare Google Play APIs
Play Console vs Android API-level talk vs googleplay.fetcher.sh listings.
Compare TikTok APIs
TikTok for Developers / Research API vs Apify/TikHub vs tiktok.fetcher.sh.
Compare Yelp APIs
Fusion excerpts vs Outscraper/Apify vs yelp.fetcher.sh review text.
Compare Instagram APIs
Graph API vs Apify/HikerAPI vs instagram.fetcher.sh. Basic Display is dead.
Compare Google Maps / Places APIs
Places API (five reviews) vs SerpAPI/Outscraper vs google-maps.fetcher.sh.
Compare Reddit APIs
Official Data API vs Arctic Shift/PullPush vs reddit.fetcher.sh. History is not now.
Compare Twitter/X APIs
Official X API vs TwitterAPI.io/Apify vs twitter.fetcher.sh. Not a firehose.
Compare YouTube data APIs
Data API v3 vs a local InnerTube client vs youtube.fetcher.sh. Transcripts are not on this host.
Compare Google SERP APIs
Custom Search vs SerpAPI/Serper vs google.fetcher.sh. Three contracts, no invented prices.
Compare public data APIs
Official path, a named hosted neighbor, then this host — one bake-off per fetcher.sh service.
Google News API alternatives
There is no official Google News API. NewsAPI.org is a different index. This host is news.google.com.
Apple App Store API alternatives
Connect for publishers. iTunes Search for a thin lookup. This host for reviews and similar.
Google Play API alternatives
Play Console for your apps. Sensor Tower for estimates. This host for listings and reviews.
TikTok API alternatives
Official login and Research API first. Then Apify and TikHub. Then a public GET.
Yelp API alternatives
Fusion first — excerpts, not full text — then Outscraper and Apify, then a reviews GET.
Instagram API alternatives
Graph API for accounts you own. Hosted public reads for the rest. Basic Display is dead.
Google Maps / Places API alternatives
Places API first — five official reviews — then SerpAPI and Outscraper, then a reviews GET.
Reddit API alternatives
Official Data API, Arctic Shift, PullPush, then a live comment-tree GET. History is not now.
Twitter/X API alternatives
Official X API first, then TwitterAPI.io and Apify, then a pay-per-GET host. Not a firehose.
YouTube Data API alternatives
Data API v3, Apify, then a hosted GET without quota units. Not Studio, not transcripts.
Google SERP API alternatives
Custom Search, SerpAPI, Serper, then a pay-per-GET host. Same named set as the 2026 list, framed as alternatives.
Best Google News APIs in 2026
There is no official Google News API. NewsAPI.org is a different index. This host is news.google.com.
Best Apple App Store data APIs in 2026
Connect for publishers. iTunes Search for a thin lookup. This host for reviews and similar.
Best Google Play public-data APIs in 2026
Play Console for your apps. Sensor Tower for estimates. This host for listings and reviews.
Best TikTok public-data APIs in 2026
Official login and Research API first. Then Apify and TikHub. Then a public GET.
Best Yelp business and reviews APIs in 2026
Fusion first — excerpts, not full text — then Outscraper and Apify, then a reviews GET.
Best Instagram APIs in 2026
Graph API for accounts you own. Hosted public reads for the rest. Basic Display is dead.
Best Google Maps / Places APIs in 2026
Places API first — five official reviews — then SerpAPI and Outscraper, then a reviews GET.
Best Reddit APIs in 2026
Official Data API, Arctic Shift, PullPush, then a live comment-tree GET. History is not now.
Best Twitter/X public-data APIs in 2026
Official X API first, then TwitterAPI.io and Apify, then a pay-per-GET host. Not a firehose.
Best YouTube data APIs in 2026
Data API v3, Apify actors, then a hosted GET without quota units. Not Studio, not transcripts.
Best Google SERP APIs in 2026
Custom Search, SerpAPI, Serper, then a pay-per-GET host. Category page, not a price war.
Crypto, regulation, and policy on X, Reddit, and News
Public talk about stablecoins, regulation, and policy. Not a price feed. Not an x402 explainer.
Market research: Reddit, app reviews, YouTube comments
Three public corpora: subreddits, app-store reviews, YouTube comments. Not a survey panel.
OSINT: handles, threads, and open-web search
Three public JSON steps: handle resolve, comment thread, Google site: search. Public accounts only.
SERP data without a Custom Search engine or SerpAPI
Google results as JSON with no CSE id and no SerpAPI account. Category pin, not a vendor takedown.
Grounding an agent on live Google results
An agent fetches live Google SERP JSON and cites it. Not a training dump. How it pays is a different page.
News monitoring for brands, technology, and policy
Headlines in Google News business, technology, and world as JSON. Headlines, not tweets.
Google News headlines, topics, and language editions
Headlines, topics, and language editions as JSON. Not Google Search. Not Apple News.
Google search results as JSON with site: and filetype:
SERP rows as JSON. site:, filetype:, and intitle: pass through. Not Google Ads. Not an SEO retainer.
App storefronts by country: US, Japan, Germany
The same app query on US, Japan, and Germany catalogs. A storefront here is a country’s store, not Shopify.
App store reviews as a product-research feed
Play Store and App Store review text as a qualitative feed. Not Maps reviews. Not YouTube comments.
ASO competitor tracking without Sensor Tower or data.ai
Similar apps, reviews, and storefronts as JSON from Play and the App Store. A feed, not a rank-tracking suite.
Apple App Store apps, bundles, and similar apps
iOS apps, bundles, similar apps, and reviews as JSON. Not App Store Connect. Not Apple the fruit.
Google Play apps, reviews, permissions, and data safety
Play Store apps, reviews, permissions, and data safety as JSON. Not Play Console. Not Play Framework.
Place search by text query vs coordinates
google-maps.fetcher.sh searches by text or by latitude and longitude. Two methods, not Cloud geocoding.
Restaurant and hospitality listings as JSON
Yelp and Google Maps listings and reviews. Not reservations. Not delivery. Not OpenTable.
Local SEO: Maps and Yelp reviews in one monitoring feed
Listings and reviews on Google Maps and Yelp as JSON. Not ranking for blue links. Not ASO.
Yelp business search and reviews without Yelp Fusion
Businesses and reviews as JSON. Not Yelp Fusion. Not the merchant dashboard.
Google Maps places and reviews without a Places API key
Place search, details, and reviews as JSON. Not Places API, not Cloud billing, not Apple Maps.
Resolving a social handle to a stable id
Turn @handles into user ids and channel ids as JSON. Public resolution, not OAuth login.
Creator and influencer lookup from public profiles
Public profile and follower counts on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and X. Lookup, not ad buying.
Brand mention monitoring on X, Reddit, and Google News
A company name in tweets, Reddit posts, and News headlines as JSON. Monitoring, not a tactic to earn LLM citations.
Using Reddit for product and community research
Subreddits and comment trees as a qualitative corpus. Access without API approval is a different page.
YouTube Shorts, live streams, and playlists as JSON
YouTube-native formats: Shorts, live streams, and playlist videos. Not Reels. Not TikTok.
Hashtags, sounds, and trending topics as data
Hashtags, TikTok/IG sounds, X trends, and YouTube trending as JSON. Topic clusters, not accounts, not Google Trends.
Comment threads: YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, X
Replies under a video, post, or tweet as JSON. Not app-store reviews. Not Maps ratings.
Follower and following graphs on X, Instagram, and TikTok
Public follower and following lists as JSON. A graph here means who follows whom — not the Meta Graph API.
X search operators: from, since, until, min_faves
twitter.fetcher.sh search passes X operators through. from: and since: are the product, not a slogan about APIs.
Reddit posts and comment trees without API approval
Posts, nested comments, subreddits, and users as JSON. No OAuth app. No approval queue.
TikTok public posts and profiles without an official API
Public posts, profiles, comments, hashtags, and sounds as JSON. Not TikTok Research, not Marketing API.
Instagram profiles and reels without the Meta Graph API
Public profiles, posts, reels, and stories as JSON. Not the Meta Graph API, not a Facebook developer app.
YouTube public data without a Google Cloud project
Channels, videos, and comments as JSON. No Cloud console, no API key quota, no YouTube Data API v3 signup.
Twitter/X public data, no official developer platform
Search, profiles, timelines, and followers as JSON on twitter.fetcher.sh. Not developer.x.com, not OAuth, not app review.
How an agent pays for a single public-data request
HTTP 402, sign USDC, retry — or a bby_live_ key. The product is the JSON. x402 is how the agent pays for it.
Pay per call vs monthly API plans vs official quotas
Official APIs sell a month of capacity. fetcher.sh sells one GET. Credits are a balance, not a subscription.
A web data API with no official developer account
You do not register an app at X, YouTube, or Google. You call a URL. Public JSON comes back.
Shipping fetcher.sh in thirty minutes, for $0
How fetcher.sh went from idea to a live URL in about half an hour, at a cash cost of zero — and why the first paid GET is the real launch.
