postdata

Answers / Zhihu

How do I retrieve answers to a Zhihu question with an API?

Call GET /v1/zhihu/answers?id=QUESTION_ID with a prepaid Bearer API key, or use the MCP get_answers tool with platform=zhihu. Pass a numeric question ID or its public /question/ URL. The first page returns available answer text, authors, votes and individual answer URLs; it does not fetch answer comments or subsequent pages.

Zhihu · question answers · $0.003 a call · one verified website trial · updated 2026-11-13

Connect and check access for free

  1. In a supported Claude or ChatGPT client, add https://posttodata.com/mcp as a custom connector. Sign in with Google and approve the PostToData consent screen. Availability depends on the client, plan and workspace permissions.
  2. For Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or a custom application, follow the integration guide and supply your own API key through local configuration or an environment variable. Never paste it into a public prompt, repository or screenshot.
  3. Ask the connected client to call list_platforms and get_account. These checks are free. Confirm the account balance and the supported actions before requesting data.
  4. Review /prices.json or a REST request with dry_run=1 before executing a paid workflow. Each additional page, comment lookup or profile lookup is another call.

Fetch one bounded page with a hard price limit

Answers are normalized as post records with a question title and an individual answer URL. IDs remain strings to preserve all digits. The source may return fewer answers than requested; this endpoint does not claim a complete thread.

The public question-answer endpoint returned three answers in the production upstream test on 2026-11-13. This dated verification is not an uptime guarantee. Other Zhihu detail, comment and profile endpoints failed verification and are not enabled.

One paid call; add dry_run=1 for a free price check
curl --get "https://posttodata.com/v1/zhihu/answers" --data-urlencode "id=2096149013556721446" --data-urlencode "limit=3" --data-urlencode "max_price_usd=0.003" -H "Authorization: Bearer $POSTTODATA_API_KEY"

Limits and failures

This is read-only access to publicly visible content. Supported actions and available fields differ by platform; inspect meta.unavailable instead of assuming every metric exists. Source URLs are included when the upstream platform provides them.

Video transcripts retrieve available caption tracks. They are not speech recognition for arbitrary videos without captions. Search results and captions do not establish what appears in the video footage.

A 402 insufficient_balance response means this call was not charged: check get_account and add credit if needed. Verification or trial limits are not reset by signing in or creating another account. Upstream errors and timeouts are not charged; do not retry indefinitely.

Eligible new accounts receive $0.05 once, limited to one grant per network. Shared networks may already have claimed it. There is no recurring free credit.

Run it live

Calls run only when you press Run. Opening this page does not spend credit.

Loading…

Search and question answers are enabled. Answers require a question ID or /question/ URL, default source order, up to 20 items on the first page. Details, comments and profiles remain unavailable.

Your results will appear here. Choose a platform and action, then press Run.

Real API calls require verification for one trial, or a signed-in account with prepaid credit.

From code

curl
curl "https://posttodata.com/v1/zhihu/answers?id=2096149013556721446&limit=5" -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
Python
import requests

r = requests.get(
    "https://posttodata.com/v1/zhihu/answers",
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"},
    params={"id": "2096149013556721446", "limit": 5},
)
for item in r.json()["data"]["items"]:
    print(item["url"], item.get("text") or item.get("title"))

From your AI

Claude and ChatGPT clients that support OAuth can sign in without pasting a key. Follow the client setup guide. The command below is the API-key option for Claude Code.

Add the MCP server once
claude mcp add --transport http posttodata https://posttodata.com/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Then ask

“Use PostToData get_answers for this Zhihu question, limit 3, max_price_usd 0.003. Make one call, summarize the viewpoints with source links, and do not fetch comments or more pages.”

The model calls get_answers with platform zhihu.

Good to know

  • $0.003 per successful call, independent of how many answers the first page contains. Failed calls do not debit customer credit.
  • Use max_price_usd=0.003 to reject a higher price before fetching or charging. Keep 19-digit IDs as strings.
  • Default source order only; up to 20 answers. No cursor, automatic pagination or retry.
  • Question answers are supported; individual details, comments and profiles remain unavailable. Public content only.

Full reference in the docs. All Zhihu endpoints are on the Zhihu API page.

More answers