# mastodon.search_accounts

**stable** **Advanced**

Search Mastodon accounts.

`GET /v1/mastodon/search_accounts`

## What you get

A list of Mastodon results in Onekey's unified shape, in `data` (an array). An empty array is a normal, successful answer and is charged like any other; a source that reports "nothing found" as an error returns a free `404 not_found` instead.

**Also works with:** [Multi-platform search](https://onekey.dev/docs/search-multi.md#multi-platform-search) as the Mastodon search leg. Any [batch](https://onekey.dev/docs/batch.md) can include it.

## What it costs

- **Advanced · 5 credits** for a fresh fetch, charged only when it succeeds.
- **Free when served from cache (0.2 credit for a cached response over 100 KB).**
- **Free** if the request is invalid (never charged) or the source fails or reports not found (refunded).

## Parameters

| Name | Type | Required | Default | What it is | Constraints |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `instance` | string | no | - | Known Mastodon instance (allowlisted), default mastodon.social | max 253 chars; must match `[a-z0-9.-]{3,253}`; trimmed, lowercased |
| `q` | string | yes | (required) | Search query | max 200 chars; trimmed, repeated spaces collapsed |

## Request

```bash
curl "https://api.onekey.dev/v1/mastodon/search_accounts?q=python" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
```

```python
import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.onekey.dev/v1/mastodon/search_accounts",
    params={"q": "python"},
    headers={"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
)
body = res.json()

if body["success"]:
    print(body["data"])
else:
    print(body["error"]["code"], body["error"]["message"])
```

```javascript
const params = new URLSearchParams({ q: "python" });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.onekey.dev/v1/mastodon/search_accounts?${params}`, {
  headers: { "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY" },
});
const body = await res.json();

if (body.success) console.log(body.data);
else console.error(body.error.code, body.error.message);
```

## Recorded response

A real Mastodon response, recorded and returned in Onekey's shape. Fields the platform does not provide are `null`.

```json
{
  "success": true,
  "data": [
    {
      "author": {
        "id": "110544310196350417",
        "username": "python",
        "displayName": "Python",
        "url": "https://programming.dev/u/python",
        "avatarUrl": "https://mastodon.social/avatars/original/missing.png",
        "followers": 6033,
        "following": 0
      },
      "content": {
        "text": "25 y/o programmer from Germany",
        "createdAt": "2023-07-01T00:00:00Z"
      },
      "engagement": {
        "comments": 0
      }
    },
    {
      "author": {
        "id": "110798253605568904",
        "username": "Python",
        "displayName": "Python",
        "url": "https://techhub.social/@Python",
        "avatarUrl": "https://files.mastodon.social/cache/accounts/avatars/110/798/253/605/568/904/original/38e005c8590a4441.png",
        "followers": 1034,
        "following": 1
      },
      "content": {
        "text": "Python, v. n. & lifestyle /ˈpʌɪθn/ Welcome to the enchanting realm of Python :python: Join us on an exciting journey full of shenanigans and curiosity to discover all # Python has to offer! 🚀 Our bot, ensures that only the top discussions and threads find their way to the top 💯. We defeat ⚔️ any irrelevant, inappropriate, or spammy intruders! 🥷 Just follow and mention me in your post, it's that simple! 📈 I will # boost it and share your post with the community! 🔥",
        "createdAt": "2023-07-29T00:00:00Z"
      },
      "engagement": {
        "comments": 8111
      }
    }
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "platform": "mastodon",
    "endpoint": "search_accounts",
    "cached": false,
    "stale": false,
    "age_s": 0,
    "fetched_at": "2026-01-01T12:00:00+00:00",
    "credits_charged": 5,
    "request_id": "7f3a9c2e5b1d4c8fa2e6d0b9c4f18e37"
  },
  "error": null
}
```

## Field mapping

How this endpoint's source fields become Onekey's [unified schema](https://onekey.dev/docs/schema.md). Fields the source lacks come back as `null`.

| Source path | Onekey field | Transform |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `id` | `author.id` | - |
| `username` | `author.username` | - |
| `display_name` | `author.displayName` | - |
| `url` | `author.url` | `safeUrl` |
| `avatar` | `author.avatarUrl` | `safeUrl` |
| `note` | `content.text` | `stripHtml` |
| `followers_count` | `author.followers` | `toNumber` |
| `following_count` | `author.following` | `toNumber` |
| `statuses_count` | `engagement.comments` | `toNumber` |
| `created_at` | `content.createdAt` | `toIsoDate` |

## Caching and freshness

- Fresh for about 2 minutes. Repeat calls in that window are served from cache and are free.
- Between 2 minutes and 15 minutes the cached copy is still served instantly and marked `stale: true` while Onekey refreshes it in the background.
- If the source is down when a refresh is needed, the last copy can be served for up to 1 hour more (marked stale).
- A "not found" is remembered for 1 minute and is free.
- The cache is shared across all customers, which is what keeps repeat calls cheap.

## What can go wrong

| Status | Code | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 401 | `unauthorized` | Check the `x-api-key` header. |
| 402 | `insufficient_credits` | [Add credits](https://onekey.dev/pricing); your balance must cover the price. |
| 404 | `not_found` | Unknown endpoint path. |
| 422 | `invalid_params` | Fix the parameters using the table above. Free. |
| 429 | `rate_limited` | Wait `Retry-After` seconds, then retry. |
| 502 | `upstream_error` | The source failed. Refunded; retry with backoff. |

See [Errors](https://onekey.dev/docs/errors.md) for the full list and retry guidance.

Status: stable (verified against the live source).