Zhihu hot_list API

Zhihu hot_list data in one REST call — normalized to the stable JSON schema shared across every FetchPI platform.

1 documented endpoints
GET /v1/zhihu/hot-list

Contract summary (English): Get the Zhihu hot list (capability zhihu.hot_list)

Normalized response entity: zhihu/hot_list
capability: zhihu.hot_list

Every response also carries freshness (cache / default / live) and billing metadata.

Use cases

Find {{platform}} content and accounts matching a keyword, with normalized results ready for scoring.
Follow trending topics and hot lists to catch emerging conversations early.
Alert on search and trend queries so your team sees shifts as they happen.

Response fields

Zhihu hot list (normalized non-entity payload)

Non-entity payload (type hot_list) — the entity layer clean-skips it; served by the /v1/zhihu surface.

Field	Type	Required	Description
items	object[]	Required	—
platform	"zhihu"	Required	—
type	"hot_list"	Required	—
fetched_at	string	Required	Normalization time (UTC).

Field notes are shown in the contract's original English.

Response meta

Field	Type	Required	Description
mode	cache \| default \| live	Required	Effective mode after merging param > max_age > source policy (D-004).
age_seconds	integer \| null	Optional	Age of served data; null when unknown.
source_layer	cache \| db \| upstream	Required	Which layer served the response (PRD §10).
stale	boolean	Optional	True when stale data was served under stale_if_error / SWR (D-004).
billing.amount_credits	integer	Required	Micro-USD (1e-6 USD) actually charged for this request.
billing.cache_hit	boolean	Required	—

Field notes are shown in the contract's original English.

Example request & response

GET/v1/zhihu/hot-list

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $MESHDATA_API_KEY" \
  "https://api.fetchpi.com/v1/zhihu/hot-list"

{
  "data": {
    "platform": "zhihu",
    "type": "hot_list",
    "items": [
      {
        "title": "实体层是如何炼成的？",
        "question_id": "7701000000001001",
        "heat": 4821000
      },
      {
        "title": "数据开放意味着什么？",
        "question_id": "7701000000001002",
        "heat": 3120004
      }
    ],
    "fetched_at": "2026-09-21T09:00:00Z"
  },
  "meta": {
    "request_id": "req_01HTXQ8Z9HTQ",
    "freshness": {
      "mode": "default",
      "age_seconds": 0,
      "source_layer": "upstream",
      "stale": false
    },
    "billing": {
      "amount_credits": 100,
      "cache_hit": false
    }
  }
}

Free demo

Create a free account, grab an API key and call this endpoint from the browser-based Playground.

Try it in the Playground

Parameter tables, error codes and response semantics for this endpoint live in the API documentation.

Open the endpoint reference

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between cache and live freshness?

cache answers from the stored snapshot without touching the upstream; live queries fresher data and may cost extra credits — see the freshness section of the docs.

Can I try this endpoint for free?

Yes — register an account, grab an API key and call it from the Playground in the console.

How is the hot_list capability billed?

Data API calls are billed per request in credits, with different cache/live freshness multipliers. Current per-capability prices live on the pricing page.

Pricing

Per-request credit billing with cache/live freshness options — current prices live on the pricing page.

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