TikTok API for Developers — REST, MCP, Datasets
TikTok API for Developers
LamaTok is an unofficial TikTok Private API — a fault-tolerant REST API that exposes public TikTok data (users, followers, videos, comments, hashtags, search, playlists, video and music downloads) without TikTok's OAuth approval process. It is read-only: you read data, it never acts on an account. You get an API key, you make HTTP calls, you get JSON back. Account pool, proxies, and challenge handling are managed for you.
Whether you're building an analytics dashboard, a creator-discovery tool, an automation workflow, or a research pipeline, LamaTok delivers a single REST surface from $0.0006 per request.
What You Get
LamaTok exposes a single coherent REST surface across the TikTok entity graph:
| Resource | Endpoints | Lookup by |
|---|---|---|
| User profile | /v1/user/by/username, /v3/user/by/username (also profiles TikTok does not serve on the web) | username |
| Followers / following | /v1/user/followers/by/username, /v1/user/following/by/username (also by/secUid and v2 versions) | username or secUid, paginated |
| Suggested accounts | /v1/user/suggested/by/username, /v1/user/suggested/by/secUid | username or secUid, paginated |
| User videos & liked videos | /v2/user/medias/by/secUid, /v2/user/likes/by/secUid | secUid, paginated |
| Playlists | /v1/user/playlists/by/username, /v1/user/playlists/by/secUid | username or secUid, paginated |
| Video | /v1/media/by/id, /v1/media/by/url | video ID or share URL |
| Comments & replies | /v1/media/comments/by/id, /v1/media/comment/replies/by/id | video ID (and comment ID), paginated |
| Hashtags (challenges) | /v1/hashtag/info, /v1/hashtag/medias | hashtag name, then hashtag ID |
| Search | /v2/search | keyword, paginated |
| Video & music download | /v1/media/video/download/by/url, /v1/media/music/download/by/url (also by/id) | video ID or share URL; video with or without watermark |
All 28 endpoints are read-only: LamaTok returns public TikTok data and never acts on an account — no posting, uploads, likes, follows or direct messages.
For the full interactive spec, see api.lamatok.com/docs (Swagger) or api.lamatok.com/redoc (ReDoc).
Why a Private API Instead of the Official TikTok APIs
TikTok ships two official APIs, both heavily gated:
- TikTok Research API — academic researchers only. Requires institutional approval, restricted to public posts whose owners opted into research, capped query volume.
- TikTok for Developers (login API) — OAuth-based, limited to your own authenticated account. Cannot read arbitrary public profiles or videos.
If you're building a commercial product or doing research that doesn't fit the academic gate, you need an unofficial private API. LamaTok exposes the surface developers actually want: any public user, any public video, full engagement metrics and downloads.
Pricing
LamaTok charges per request based on top-up tier. Funds never expire, no monthly subscription:
| Plan | Min deposit | Price/request | Effective $/1k |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start | $20 | $0.02 | $20 |
| Basic | $50 | $0.0025 | $2.50 |
| Standard | $100 | $0.001 | $1.00 |
| Premium | $300 | $0.0006 | $0.60 |
- 100 free requests on signup, no credit card required
- We charge only for successful responses (200, 403, 404). 5xx server errors are not billed.
- Funds never expire
- Volume discounts auto-apply as deposit tier increases
- Payment methods: Visa/Mastercard, USDT (TRC-20, ERC-20, BEP-20)
Compared with Alternatives
| Provider | Type | Write ops | Account pool | Per-request floor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LamaTok | Unofficial private API | No (read-only) | Yes — managed | $0.0006 |
| TikTok Research API | Official (academic) | No | — | Free (gated) |
| TikTok for Developers | Official (OAuth) | Own account only | — | Free (OAuth) |
| Apify TikTok Scraper | Actor-based scraper | No | You manage | ~$0.0023 |
| Bright Data TikTok Dataset | Enterprise dataset | No | — | ~$1 per profile |
| DataLikers TikTok API | Cached read API | No | — | $0.0003 |
LamaTok vs DataLikers TikTok API — sibling products under the same operator. LamaTok is the live private API; DataLikers is the cached layer with bundled Instagram + TikTok and an MCP Server for Claude. Pick LamaTok if you need sub-second freshness. Pick DataLikers if Instagram+TikTok at $0.0003 per cached record fits the workload.
Three Integration Patterns
1. REST API (the default)
Standard HTTP, JSON in and JSON out. Best for production apps, analytics dashboards, ETL pipelines, and AI agents.
import requests
API_KEY = "your_lamatok_key"
BASE = "https://api.lamatok.com"
# Fetch a TikTok user by unique_id (handle)
resp = requests.get(
f"{BASE}/v1/user/by/username",
params={"username": "khaby.lame"},
headers={"x-access-key": API_KEY},
)
data = resp.json()
print(f"Followers: {data['follower_count']:,}")
print(f"Videos: {data['video_count']:,}")const API_KEY = "your_lamatok_key";
const resp = await fetch(
"https://api.lamatok.com/v1/user/by/username?username=khaby.lame",
{ headers: { "x-access-key": API_KEY } }
);
const data = await resp.json();
console.log(`Followers: ${data.follower_count.toLocaleString()}`);2. MCP Server (for Claude / Cursor / Zed / Windsurf)
LamaTok ships a stdio MCP server published on npm as lamatok-mcp — 23 read-only TikTok tools by default (LAMATOK_TOOLS=all exposes all 28 endpoints).
# Claude Code
claude mcp add lamatok -e LAMATOK_KEY=your-key -- npx -y lamatok-mcpSame LAMATOK_KEY, same pricing. Works with Claude Desktop, Cursor, OpenAI Codex, Zed, Windsurf, or any MCP-compatible AI client. Source: github.com/subzeroid/lamatok-mcp.
3. Bulk / Research (Dataset Builder via DataLikers)
For pre-built TikTok datasets or millions-of-records research workloads, use the sibling product DataLikers Dataset Builder which caches LamaTok output at lower per-record cost.
Use Cases
- Creator discovery and influencer outreach — search creators by hashtag, follower band, engagement rate
- Brand monitoring across TikTok — comment search, brand-mention detection, sentiment summarization
- Content / trend research — top videos under a hashtag, music-track propagation, regional differences
- Machine learning pipelines — engagement features, audience modeling, viral-prediction training data
- AI agents — give Claude / Cursor live TikTok data via the MCP server for content strategy, competitive analysis, creator outreach
FAQ
What is a TikTok private API and how is it different from the official one? The official TikTok APIs (Research API and TikTok for Developers) are gated — academic researchers only, or OAuth-restricted to your own account. A private API like LamaTok speaks directly to TikTok's internal endpoints and returns the same data the TikTok app sees, without OAuth or research approval.
Is LamaTok legal? LamaTok accesses public TikTok data — content that anyone with a TikTok account can see. Private accounts and logged-in-only data are not exposed. Check your local laws and TikTok's Terms of Service for your jurisdiction; for commercial use, consult counsel.
Do I need my own TikTok account to use LamaTok? No — LamaTok manages an account pool internally. You get an API key and make HTTP calls; the account management, proxy rotation, and challenge handling are all on our side.
What's the rate limit? There is no published per-request rate limit. We bill per successful response; concurrency is handled by our infrastructure. For sustained high-volume workloads (>100 RPS), contact us at support@lamatok.com or @LamaTokSupportBot on Telegram for custom plans.
Can LamaTok post, upload or send messages? No. LamaTok is read-only: it returns public TikTok data and never acts on an account — no posting, uploads, likes, follows or direct messages.
How does LamaTok compare to DataLikers TikTok API? Sibling products. LamaTok is the live private API with sub-second freshness. DataLikers caches the same data and bundles it with Instagram + an MCP server for Claude, at $0.0003 per cached record. Pick LamaTok for maximum freshness; pick DataLikers for bulk or cross-platform Instagram + TikTok.
Where are the docs?
- Interactive Swagger: api.lamatok.com/docs
- ReDoc: api.lamatok.com/redoc
- Status: lamatok.com/status
Getting Started
Register for a LamaTok account to receive 100 free requests instantly. Try the TikTok endpoints in the interactive API docs, or wire up the MCP Server and let Claude do the TikTok research for you.
Related: LamaTok vs Apify TikTok, LamaTok vs TikTok Research API, Best TikTok API for Developers 2026, TikTok Private API Alternatives 2026.