Python TikTok API Tutorial (2026): requests, asyncio & Why Playwright Libraries Break

import asyncio
import os
import httpx
import requests

API_KEY = os.environ.get("TIKTOKAPI_KEY", "tk_live_your_api_key")
BASE_URL = "https://api.tiktokapi.io"

# --- A. Synchronous helper (requests) ---
def tiktok_get(path: str, **params) -> dict:
    res = requests.get(
        f"{BASE_URL}{path}",
        params=params,
        headers={"x-api-key": API_KEY},
        timeout=25,
    )
    res.raise_for_status()
    payload = res.json()
    if payload.get("code") != 0:
        raise RuntimeError(f"API error (0 credits charged): {payload.get('msg')}")
    return payload["data"]

# --- B. Concurrent Asyncio Pagination (httpx) ---
async def paginate_user_videos(username: str, max_pages: int = 3) -> list[dict]:
    videos = []
    cursor = 0
    async with httpx.AsyncClient(
        base_url=BASE_URL,
        headers={"x-api-key": API_KEY},
        timeout=25.0,
    ) as client:
        for _ in range(max_pages):
            r = await client.get(
                "/v1/user/posts",
                params={"username": username, "count": 33, "cursor": cursor},
            )
            r.raise_for_status()
            body = r.json()
            if body.get("code") != 0:
                break
            data = body.get("data", {})
            batch = data.get("videos", [])
            videos.extend(batch)
            if not data.get("hasMore"):
                break
            cursor = data.get("cursor", 0)
    return videos

if __name__ == "__main__":
    profile = tiktok_get("/v1/user/info", username="tiktok")
    print("Followers:", profile["stats"]["followerCount"])
    all_videos = asyncio.run(paginate_user_videos("tiktok", max_pages=2))
    print(f"Fetched {len(all_videos)} videos via asyncio")