Answers
Is there an API for Xiaohongshu trending topics?
Short answer
Yes. The okdata Xiaohongshu hot topics endpoint returns the topics Xiaohongshu currently suggests to creators, each with a heat score, about 20 per call at $0.02; a daily snapshot for a month costs $0.60. It is the creator inspiration list, not the in-app search hot list, so pair it with note search to see what is actually being posted.
A content team plans next week's Xiaohongshu posts every Monday and wants to start from what the platform is pushing, not from guesses. The creator center shows suggested hot topics inside the app, but there is no export, and copying them into a planning doc every week is tedious. The hot topics endpoint gives you that list as data, ready for the planning doc.
What the endpoint returns
Xiaohongshu hot topics returns the hot topics Xiaohongshu suggests to creators right now. Each row has a rank, the topic name, a heat score and a url that opens a Xiaohongshu search for that topic. One call returns about 20 topics; follow page.next_cursor for more if the list continues.
Be clear about what it is: the creator inspiration feed, the topics Xiaohongshu wants creators to write about. It is not the "hot search" list in the app's search box, and it is not a list of trending notes.
From topic to notes
To see how a topic is landing, search it:
- Pull the hot topics.
- For the topics that fit your brand, call note search with
sort=popularto see the notes already doing well, orsort=latestto see how crowded it is.
| Weekly plan | Calls | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Hot topics, 1 page | 1 | $0.02 |
| 5 chosen topics, 1 search page each | 5 | $0.10 |
| Per week | 6 | {{cost:xiaohongshu.trends.list1+xiaohongshu.notes.search5}} |
Example
curl -s "https://api.okdata.online/v1/xiaohongshu/trends/list" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $OKDATA_API_KEY" | jq -r '.data.items[] | "\(.rank)\t\(.heat)\t\(.name)"'
History and limits
- There is no history endpoint. If you want to see how topics rise and fall, store a snapshot every day with its
meta.fetched_attime. Thirty daily snapshots cost $0.60. - The list reflects what Xiaohongshu shows at the time of the call. It changes during the day.
- Heat scores are Xiaohongshu's own numbers and are only comparable within the same list.
Alternatives
The creator center in the app is free and fine for a person checking once a week. Douyin's and Weibo's hot search boards are covered too (Douyin hot search) if you plan across platforms. For a full topic-planning routine, see trend research.
Updated