scraping-tiktok-comments

Scraping TikTok Comments

Exports all comments from any TikTok video URL. Returns the raw comment dataset for sentiment analysis, community research, or product feedback extraction.

Prerequisites

• APIFY_TOKEN environment variable set
• Optional: Apify MCP server installed

Inputs

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Notes
startUrls	array	✅	[]	TikTok video URLs to scrape comments from
includeReplies	boolean	Optional	false	Include reply comments (nested)
maxItems	number	Optional	Unlimited	Maximum comments to return
customMapFunction	string	Optional	—	JavaScript function to transform each output object

Workflow

Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Validate video URLs
- [ ] Step 2: Run tiktok-comments-scraper
- [ ] Step 3: Poll for SUCCEEDED
- [ ] Step 4: Deliver comment dataset

Step 2: Run the Actor

Recommended — run_actor.js (handles waiting, output, and file saving automatically):

# Quick answer (prints table to chat)
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~tiktok-comments-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}'

# Save as CSV
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~tiktok-comments-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}' \
  --output YYYY-MM-DD_results.csv --format csv

# Save as JSON
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~tiktok-comments-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}' \
  --output YYYY-MM-DD_results.json --format json

APIFY_TOKEN must be set in environment or .env file.

If Apify MCP is available:

Tool: apify:run-actor
Actor: "apidojo~tiktok-comments-scraper"
Input:
{
  "videoUrls": ["https://www.tiktok.com/@user/video/123456"],
  "maxItems": 200,
  "includeReplies": false
}

REST API fallback:

curl -X POST \
  "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/apidojo~tiktok-comments-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"videoUrls": ["<url>"], "maxItems": 200}'

Save id as RUN_ID. Poll until status = SUCCEEDED:

curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/actor-runs/$RUN_ID?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" | grep '"status"'

Fetch results:

curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/actor-runs/$RUN_ID/dataset/items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN&format=json"

Step 3: Handle Edge Cases

• 0 comments: Video may have comments disabled or be private. Report to user.
• Video deleted or unavailable: Actor returns error — remove URL from batch and notify.
• Comment count less than expected: TikTok filters spam comments server-side; this is expected.

Output Format

# TikTok Comment Dataset
Video: <url> | Comments collected: N | Includes replies: YES/NO

| Comment ID | Author | Text | Likes | Replies | Timestamp |
|------------|--------|------|-------|---------|-----------|
| ...        | ...    | ...  | ...   | ...     | ...       |

Available fields: id, text, authorUsername, diggCount, replyCount, createTime,
isReply, parentCommentId

Troubleshooting

Comments disabled: Creator has disabled comments — no workaround. Truncated comments: Some comments may be cut off by TikTok's API; full text available via video page.