What is requestId?
requestId is Social Fetch's correlation ID for a single API call. Successful responses put it on meta.requestId; errors include it in the typed error envelope. Support and logs start there.
What the field actually looks like
A req_-prefixed string (for example req_9f2c1a4b7e) under meta on every response — success or error — alongside creditsCharged and version.
Generated once per inbound call, server-side, before the upstream lookup runs. Auth errors, validation errors, and rate limits all carry a requestId.
How to use it
Log it on every response next to route and status code. Attach it to user-facing errors ("Reference: req_9f2c1a4b7e") and support tickets — one ID resolves to the exact upstream call.
Send X-Request-Id on the way in to preserve your own trace ID when valid. Useful for queue jobs or distributed tracing.
A debugging walkthrough
A TikTok profile returning not_found: check data.lookupStatus first — 200 with not_found is a real answer, not a transport failure, and retrying still bills.
If the handle is definitely public and the result looks wrong, copy meta.requestId and open a ticket or check /reliability for incidents. Without it, support has to ask you to reproduce.
What it is not
Not a billing invoice ID — use meta.creditsCharged and GET /v1/balance for spend.
Not an idempotency key. Marketplace lookups are reads; requestId doesn't guarantee exactly-once execution.
Not guessable or sequential. Treat it as opaque — internal format can change.
How this compares to other APIs' trace IDs
Same idea as Stripe's Request-Id or Twilio's Sid — opaque token on every response including errors.
Unlike many scraper marketplaces routed through third-party publishers, Social Fetch's requestId always resolves inside Social Fetch.
Across retries and async work
Keep the same requestId when retrying or handing work to a queue so support sees one thread. Reference the original ID when reporting issues.
MCP, Ask, and typed REST all return it. Browser free tools may not surface it in the UI. See /reliability.
FAQ
What is requestId?
A req_-prefixed string under meta on every API response — success or error — correlating one call to what happened server-side.
What does requestId mean if I see it on an error response?
The ID for that specific call. Errors carry requestId too — even auth failures and rate limits.
Is requestId on MCP and Ask too?
Yes. Same envelope on Ask; nested lookup metadata follows the routed operation's shape.
Can I set my own requestId?
Send X-Request-Id on the way in. Social Fetch preserves it when valid instead of minting a new one.
Is requestId the same as a billing or invoice ID?
No. Use meta.creditsCharged and GET /v1/balance for spend.
Do free tools expose requestId?
Browser tools may not show it. API and MCP responses always include it.
Where do I read more?
/unified-schema, /reliability, and /docs/errors.