How to Overcome the Reddit API Limit of 1000 Items

Ever tried scraping your entire Reddit history only to hit that frustrating 1000-item wall? It’s one of those limitations that really gets under your skin, especially when you’re trying to work with your own data.

I’ve been dealing with this issue for a while now, and honestly, it’s the kind of thing that makes you question why Reddit even bothers with an API sometimes. But there are ways to work around it, and some of them are actually pretty clever.

Why Reddit Caps Everything at 1000

Reddit didn’t just randomly pick 1000 as their limit. They’ve got legitimate reasons for this:

Server load is probably a major factor. If everyone could download unlimited data whenever they wanted, Reddit’s infrastructure would be overwhelmed pretty quickly. There’s also the anti-scraping aspect - they don’t want people building competing platforms using their data.

From a business perspective, it makes sense too. They need to monetize somehow, and unlimited free API access doesn’t exactly help with that.

The 1000-item limit applies universally: submissions, comments, saved posts, subreddit listings. It’s consistent across the board.

The PRAW Situation

If you’ve used PRAW (Python Reddit API Wrapper), you’ve probably run into this limitation. Here’s what typically happens:

import praw

reddit = praw.Reddit(
    client_id="your_client_id",
    client_secret="your_client_secret",
    user_agent="your_user_agent"
)

# This will only return up to 1000 items, regardless of the limit parameter
user = reddit.redditor("username")
submissions = list(user.submissions.new(limit=None))
print(f"Got {len(submissions)} submissions")  # Maxes out at 1000

The limit=None parameter basically means “give me everything,” but Reddit’s response is still capped at 1000 items. It’s not a PRAW limitation - it’s baked into Reddit’s API itself.

Method 1: GDPR Data Requests

This is probably the most comprehensive approach, though it requires patience. Under GDPR and similar privacy laws, Reddit must provide you with all your personal data upon request.

How it works:

1. Go to Reddit’s privacy settings and request your data export.
2. Wait 2-4 weeks for processing.
3. Download a complete archive of all your Reddit activity.

The archive contains CSV files with everything - all posts, comments, saved items, voting history, and more. No 1000-item restrictions.

import pandas as pd

# Working with your GDPR export
saved_posts = pd.read_csv('saved_posts.csv')
print(f"Total saved posts: {len(saved_posts)}")

# Filter and analyze your complete dataset
recent_saves = saved_posts[saved_posts['date'] > '2023-01-01']

Method 2: Time-Based Pagination

This approach works by making multiple requests for different time periods. Since the 1000-item limit applies per request (not total), you can collect more data by segmenting your requests.

from datetime import datetime, timedelta
import time

def get_submissions_by_timeframe(reddit, username, days_back=30):
    user = reddit.redditor(username)
    end_time = datetime.now()
    start_time = end_time - timedelta(days=days_back)
    
    all_submissions = []
    
    for submission in user.submissions.new(limit=1000):
        submission_time = datetime.fromtimestamp(submission.created_utc)
        
        if submission_time < start_time:
            break
            
        all_submissions.append(submission)
        time.sleep(0.6)  # Respect rate limits
    
    return all_submissions

# Collect data in chunks
recent_posts = get_submissions_by_timeframe(reddit, "username", 30)
older_posts = get_submissions_by_timeframe(reddit, "username", 60)

This method works well for most users, though very active accounts might still hit limits within specific time periods.

Method 3: Third-Party Services

Sometimes it’s easier to use existing tools that handle these limitations for you:

reddit-saved.com

• Provides searchable access to your saved posts
• Handles API limitations behind the scenes
• Free tier available with some restrictions

Shreddit

• Primarily for bulk post deletion
• Can export data before deletion
• Works with GDPR exports

Browser Extensions

• Reddit Enhancement Suite has basic export features
• Various other extensions offer different capabilities
• Generally more limited than API-based solutions

The RSS Approach

Reddit provides RSS feeds for most content, and these sometimes have different limitations:

import feedparser

# RSS feeds may have different item limits
feed_url = "https://www.reddit.com/user/username/saved/.rss"
feed = feedparser.parse(feed_url)

print(f"RSS entries: {len(feed.entries)}")

RSS feeds are inconsistent and not officially supported for comprehensive data collection, but they can be useful for specific use cases.

Working With the Limitations

Instead of fighting the 1000-item limit, you can design your approach around it:

class RedditArchiver:
    def __init__(self, reddit_instance):
        self.reddit = reddit_instance
        self.cache = {}
    
    def incremental_backup(self, username):
        """Only fetch new items since last backup"""
        user = self.reddit.redditor(username)
        
        # Get last known submission ID from cache
        last_id = self.cache.get(f"{username}_last_submission")
        
        new_submissions = []
        for submission in user.submissions.new(limit=1000):
            if submission.id == last_id:
                break
            new_submissions.append(submission)
        
        # Update cache
        if new_submissions:
            self.cache[f"{username}_last_submission"] = new_submissions[0].id
        
        return new_submissions

# Use incremental backups to stay under limits
archiver = RedditArchiver(reddit)
new_posts = archiver.incremental_backup("username")

This incremental approach works well for ongoing data collection without hitting API limits.

What Actually Works

Based on practical experience, here’s what works reliably:

For complete personal data backup: GDPR requests are the most comprehensive option, despite the wait time.

For research or ongoing monitoring: Time-based pagination and incremental approaches work well.

For specific use cases: Third-party tools can be effective for particular needs.

What doesn’t work: Trying to negotiate higher API limits through official channels, most “unlimited” third-party APIs (they face the same restrictions), or expecting Reddit to change their policies.

Final Thoughts

Reddit’s 1000-item limit is a permanent fixture of their API design. It’s not a bug or an oversight - it’s an intentional business and technical decision.

The key is understanding that Reddit’s API is designed to provide access to recent data and samples, not complete historical datasets. Once you accept this constraint, the various workarounds become more logical and useful.

For anyone building applications that depend on Reddit data, it’s worth planning for these limitations from the beginning rather than trying to work around them later.

Useful Links:

• PRAW Documentation
• Reddit API Guidelines
• Reddit-Saved-Post-Extractor
• Reddit Data Request
• Shreddit Tool