Reddit Comments Tree contains valuable data -- comment text, authors, scores, depth, and more. Scraping this data directly means dealing with anti-bot detection, CAPTCHAs, IP rotation, and constantly breaking selectors. The Scavio API handles all of that and returns clean, structured JSON from a single POST request.
This tutorial shows you how to scrape Reddit Comments Tree using Ruby and the Scavio API. By the end, you will have a working Ruby script that fetches real-time Reddit Comments Tree data and parses the results.
Prerequisites
- Ruby installed on your machine
- A Scavio API key (free tier includes 50 credits on signup -- no credit card required)
Step 1: Install Dependencies
Install net/http to make HTTP requests:
# net/http and json are in Ruby's standard libraryStep 2: Make Your First Reddit Comments Tree Search
Send a POST request to the Scavio Reddit Comments Tree API endpoint with your query. The API returns structured JSON with comment text, authors, scores, and more.
# Comments are fetched per post: get a post_id from POST /api/v1/reddit/search, or resolve
# a URL with POST /api/v1/reddit/post. Deeper replies come from POST
# /api/v1/reddit/post/comments/replies using a row's reply_cursor.
require "net/http"
require "json"
api_key = "sk_live_your_key"
post_id = "t3_1u1143i"
uri = URI("https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/reddit/post/comments")
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true
request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(uri)
request["Authorization"] = "Bearer #{api_key}"
request["Content-Type"] = "application/json"
request.body = { post_id: post_id, sort: "TOP" }.to_json
response = http.request(request)
data = JSON.parse(response.body)
puts JSON.pretty_generate(data)Step 3: Example Response
The API returns structured JSON. Here is an example response for a Reddit Comments Tree search:
{
"data": {
"comments": [
{
"comment_id": "t1_oz1h216",
"author": "vscoderCopilot",
"text": "Seems like C# to me or maybe they make a new lang for AI usage",
"score": 2,
"depth": 0,
"created_at": "2026-07-22T09:02:17.303000+0000",
"reply_cursor": null
}
],
"next_cursor": null,
"has_more": false
},
"response_time": 2050,
"credits_used": 1,
"credits_remaining": 4810
}Every field is structured and typed -- no HTML parsing, no CSS selectors, no regex extraction. Your Ruby code can access any field directly.
Step 4: Full Working Example
Here is a complete, runnable Ruby script that searches Reddit Comments Tree and prints the results:
require "net/http"
require "json"
# Fetch Reddit Comments Tree data with the Scavio API.
# POST /api/v1/reddit/post/comments - rows come back under data.comments.
# Comments are fetched per post: get a post_id from POST /api/v1/reddit/search, or resolve
# a URL with POST /api/v1/reddit/post. Deeper replies come from POST
# /api/v1/reddit/post/comments/replies using a row's reply_cursor.
API_URL = "https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/reddit/post/comments"
def fetch_reddit_comments_tree(post_id)
api_key = ENV.fetch("SCAVIO_API_KEY")
uri = URI(API_URL)
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true
request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(uri)
request["Authorization"] = "Bearer #{api_key}"
request["Content-Type"] = "application/json"
request.body = { post_id: post_id, sort: "TOP" }.to_json
response = http.request(request)
raise "Scavio API error: #{response.code}" unless response.is_a?(Net::HTTPSuccess)
JSON.parse(response.body)
end
data = fetch_reddit_comments_tree("t3_1u1143i")
puts JSON.pretty_generate(data)Why Use Scavio Instead of Scraping Reddit Comments Tree Directly?
- No proxy management. Direct scraping requires rotating proxies to avoid IP bans. Scavio handles all of this server-side.
- No CAPTCHA solving. Reddit Comments Tree aggressively blocks automated requests. Scavio returns clean data every time.
- Structured JSON output. No HTML parsing or CSS selector maintenance. Get typed, consistent data from every request.
- Multi-platform in one API. Search Google, Amazon, YouTube, and Walmart from the same API key with the same authentication pattern.
- Free tier included. 50 credits on signup with no credit card required. Each search costs 1 credit.