Article
Is PRAW Shutting Down? Reddit's API Closes in March 2027
PRAW still works, but Reddit closes the Data API it calls: no new access after Oct 31, 2026, fully closed March 2027. Dates, who's affected, and a 5-line fix.
Written by Alex P.
- PRAW
- PRAW shutting down
- PRAW not working
- reddit API shutdown
- reddit API March 2027
- reddit data API closing
- PRAW alternative
- python reddit api
Short answer: PRAW, the library, is not shutting down. Its maintainers released PRAW and Async PRAW 8 in June 2026. What is shutting down is the thing PRAW talks to. Reddit is closing its public Data API to third-party apps: no new access requests after October 31, 2026, access removed from January 12, 2027 for apps that haven’t registered, and public access closed for everyone in March 2027.
Every praw.Reddit(...) call ends at that API. When it closes, PRAW code that reads Reddit stops working, unless you point it somewhere else. This guide covers the dates (with Reddit’s own posts as sources), who is affected, and the five-line change that keeps your PRAW code running.
What Reddit actually announced
Reddit announced this in two posts in r/redditdev, plus a companion post in r/modnews about RSS.
August 5, 2026. Admin u/KeyserSosa, in Our Plans for the Future of Reddit’s Public Data API and the Developer Platform:
while we’ll continue to support limited public API access, we’ll gradually start restricting all new requests and third-party apps will be required to port and operate through our Developer Platform.
The same post on Python:
While we’ve heard from mods in the past hoping for Python support, we don’t currently have it on our roadmap.
September 30, 2026. Admin u/boat-botany, in Moving Data API Apps to the Developer Platform: migration dates and next steps, gave the timeline:
| Date | What Reddit says happens |
|---|---|
| October 31, 2026 | New requests for public API access will no longer be accepted. |
| November 10, 2026 | Migration progress update and deadline reminder. |
| November 13, 2026 | RSS feeds stop (r/modnews announcement, reported by PPC Land). |
| November 30, 2026 | Registration closes for the migration bounty program. |
| January 12, 2027 | API access starts to close for apps and users that haven’t registered or responded to Reddit’s outreach. |
| February 23, 2027 | Another progress update. |
| March 2027 | ”Public access will close for all remaining apps and users.” |
The post says over 14,000 apps and bots have registered. Reddit is paying $1,000 to eligible apps that migrate, from a $1M App Migration Program.
This is the last step of a longer closure:
- November 11, 2025: self-service API access closed. New apps need Reddit’s approval.
- May 30, 2026: unauthenticated
.jsonrequests return 403. - March 2027: the public Data API itself closes.
Who is affected
| You are… | What happens |
|---|---|
| New developer following a PRAW tutorial | You can’t create the app PRAW needs. Since November 2025, reddit.com/prefs/apps shows the Responsible Builder Policy page instead, and new requests stop entirely after October 31, 2026. |
| Existing PRAW script with working credentials | It keeps working for now. If the app isn’t registered, access can be removed from January 12, 2027. Registered or not, public access ends in March 2027. |
| Moderator bot | Reddit wants it rebuilt on its Developer Platform (Devvit), in TypeScript. Reddit offers migration help and a PRAW migration guide. |
| Researcher / data pipeline / analytics | Devvit doesn’t help here: it’s for apps that live on Reddit, not for reading Reddit data into your own code or database. Without a written agreement with Reddit, your access ends with the public API. |
| Commercial product | Commercial use already needed a written agreement with Reddit. Apps with one (Reddit names accessibility apps and mobile clients such as Narwhal, per PPC Land) are not covered by the closure. |
If your PRAW code writes to Reddit (posts, comments, votes, moderation), Devvit is Reddit’s supported route. If it reads Reddit (listings, posts, comment trees, users, search), Devvit is no replacement, so read on.
”PRAW not working”: which wall did you hit?
| Symptom | Cause |
|---|---|
/prefs/apps shows a policy page, no “create app” button | Self-service app creation closed November 2025. |
prawcore.exceptions.ResponseException: received 401 HTTP response | The credentials are wrong or no longer valid. |
prawcore.exceptions.OAuthException: invalid_grant | Password-flow login failed, often because of 2FA or a changed password. |
Your requests.get("https://www.reddit.com/r/x.json") fallback returns 403 | Unauthenticated .json access was blocked on May 30, 2026. |
| Your access request got no answer | Reddit stops accepting new requests on October 31, 2026. |
None of these can be fixed in your code. They are access problems. The fix is to change where PRAW gets its data.
The 5-minute fix: keep PRAW, change where it points
FetchLayer offers a PRAW-compatible Reddit API. PRAW, unmodified, talks to praw.fetchlayer.dev as if it were Reddit. You keep the same objects and the same code, and you don’t need a Reddit app, a Reddit account or Reddit’s approval.
1. Get a key. Sign up. You get 30 free requests and don’t need a card.
2. Create a praw.ini in your user config directory (~/.config/praw.ini on Linux and macOS, %APPDATA%\praw.ini on Windows):
[DEFAULT]
oauth_url=https://praw.fetchlayer.dev
reddit_url=https://praw.fetchlayer.dev
client_id=ss-your-fetchlayer-key
client_secret=unused3. Run your code unchanged:
import praw
reddit = praw.Reddit(user_agent="my-app")
for submission in reddit.subreddit("python").hot(limit=25):
print(submission.score, submission.title)
submission = reddit.submission(id="1xehnro")
submission.comments.replace_more(limit=32)
for comment in submission.comments.list():
print(comment.depth, comment.author, comment.body[:80])Prefer not to use a config file? Pass the same values to the constructor:
reddit = praw.Reddit(
client_id="ss-your-fetchlayer-key",
client_secret="unused",
user_agent="my-app",
oauth_url="https://praw.fetchlayer.dev",
reddit_url="https://praw.fetchlayer.dev",
)Async PRAW works with the same praw.ini. The full migration guide covers environment variables, the endpoint-override warning, costs per method and troubleshooting. Running PRAW in production? Keep your PRAW code has a codebase audit, a rollout checklist for Docker, CI and multiple environments, and cost examples.
What works
Read-only PRAW:
- subreddit listings (
hot,new,top,rising,controversial, includingr/alland the front page); reddit.submission(id=...)andsubmission(url=...)with comments,replace_more()andcomments.list();subreddit.search();- redditor submissions and comments;
reddit.info();- subreddit and redditor attributes;
subreddit.stream.submissions().
What doesn’t
Anything that writes or acts as an account: voting, submitting, commenting, editing, messages, moderation and reddit.user.me(). These return 403, which PRAW raises as prawcore.exceptions.Forbidden. Wikis and multireddits aren’t available either. If your bot posts or moderates, that part belongs on Devvit.
What it costs
You pay for what you read, at the same rates as our REST API:
- a post with its comment tree: 1 credit;
- each “load more comments” that
replace_more()expands: 1 credit; - listings: 1 credit per 25 items, so PRAW’s default page of 100 is 4 credits;
- search: 1 credit per page of results; Reddit’s search pages hold 7 to 18 posts, so 25 results is usually 3 credits.
The pricing page has the plans; pay-as-you-go is $1.99 per 1,000 credits.
Not using Python?
- Node.js / snoowrap: snoowrap can’t be pointed at another host without changing its code, and its last commit was in 2023. Use plain HTTP against the same PRAW-compatible API, or our REST API. See PRAW alternatives for JavaScript.
- Any language: the PRAW-compatible API answers plain HTTP with Reddit-shaped JSON:
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer ss-your-fetchlayer-key" \
"https://praw.fetchlayer.dev/r/python/hot?limit=100"- AI agents: FetchLayer’s MCP server gives Claude, Cursor, VS Code and other agents Reddit search, posts, comment trees and user history as tools. Start with Reddit MCP.
Other options, honestly
FetchLayer isn’t the only route. Here is when each option makes sense:
- Register your app with Reddit. Do it if you have a working app. Registration buys time until March 2027, and the bounty registration closes November 30.
- Devvit is not a data option. It’s Reddit’s platform for building apps and games that live on Reddit, such as moderation bots and community tools. It’s the right home for those, but it doesn’t let your own code, pipeline or database read Reddit, so it doesn’t replace PRAW for data work.
- A written data agreement with Reddit. For large commercial use. Reddit doesn’t publish the price.
- Historical archives such as Arctic Shift. Good for past data, not for live data.
- Third-party Reddit APIs, FetchLayer among them. We are the only one we know of that runs unmodified PRAW code.
The full comparison is in PRAW Alternatives in 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is PRAW shutting down?
No. PRAW is an open-source library and is still maintained; version 8 came out in June 2026. Reddit is closing the public Data API that PRAW calls, in phases ending in March 2027. Pointed at a compatible API, PRAW keeps working.
When will PRAW stop working?
PRAW stops working against Reddit when your app loses API access. That happens from January 12, 2027 for apps that haven’t registered with Reddit, and in March 2027 for everyone else without a written agreement. New developers already can’t get access, and new requests close on October 31, 2026.
Does Reddit’s Developer Platform support Python?
No. Devvit apps are written in TypeScript. Reddit said in August 2026 that Python support is not on its roadmap, though it offers a PRAW migration guide. Devvit is also for apps that run inside Reddit, not for reading Reddit data into your own systems, so for data work it isn’t a PRAW replacement in any language.
Can I still create a Reddit API app for PRAW?
Not through self-service. That closed in November 2025, and Reddit stops accepting new access requests after October 31, 2026.
Can I keep my existing PRAW code?
For reading Reddit, yes. Point PRAW at praw.fetchlayer.dev with four lines of praw.ini and your code runs as it is. Writing to Reddit (posting, voting, moderating) is not supported.
Does this affect Async PRAW?
Yes, in the same way: it calls the same API. It also works with the same praw.ini change.