SoundCloud API access: registration and public metadata

SoundCloud's official API and Social Fetch's public metadata routes have different credentials and capabilities. This guide helps you choose between them, then fetch a public artist profile with Social Fetch.

Is SoundCloud API registration closed?

SoundCloud's current Get an API key page describes registering an app with an Artist Pro subscription. Older instructions saying registration is closed do not describe that documented process.

For official access, follow that page to create an app through SoundCloud's CLI or Your Apps browser workflow. Keep the Client Secret private, then follow the authentication guide to obtain an access token. Registration and an access token are separate steps.

Choose the access you need

The official API guide covers public resources as well as user-authorised actions. Social Fetch is another option for public metadata; it does not replace SoundCloud account permissions.

Review SoundCloud's API terms and the policies that apply to your use. Public visibility alone does not grant permission to redistribute data or audio.

Try a public profile in the Playground

You'll need a Social Fetch account with credits. You can test in the Playground before creating an API key for your code.

1. Open the Playground.
2. Find Get SoundCloud profile in the endpoint selector, or open the profile request.
3. Enter kehlanimusic as the handle. Use the username from the profile URL, rather than the full URL or display name.
4. Click Send. This runs a paid lookup. Read the response, rather than the static Example response.
5. Check data.lookupStatus. For found, the profile is in data.profile and counts are in data.metrics.

Counts describe the returned snapshot. A null count means unavailable, so keep it distinct from a measured zero. Store meta.requestId with your result if you need to investigate it later.

Make the request from code

Create a key on API keys and store it as SOCIALFETCH_API_KEY in your environment. Keep keys in server-side code. The API key guide explains setup.

In a Bash-compatible shell:

For the TypeScript SDK, install it in your Node project:

Save this as soundcloud.mts, then run npx tsx soundcloud.mts. It makes one profile request and reads the SDK's Result value:

Automatic retries are off by default. The SDK's optional retryOnRetryAfter setting can honour retry instructions; see SDK configuration. Fix authentication, validation or credit errors before retrying.

Read tracks and pagination

To list public uploads, use profile tracks. The SDK method is client.soundcloud.listProfileTracks({ handle: "kehlanimusic" }).

Start without cursor. If data.lookupStatus is found, process data.tracks. Request another page only when data.page.hasMore is true and data.page.nextCursor is a non-null string. Pass that exact value as cursor with the same handle. Do not decode or construct cursors, and give batch jobs a page or credit budget.

The list accepts cursor; there is no documented limit or sort parameter. Deduplicate tracks by id if you collect across runs. For a single track, use track by URL:

The SDK equivalent is client.soundcloud.getTrack({ url: "https://soundcloud.com/kehlanimusic/lights-on-feat-big-sean" }). Read data.track after checking the result and lookup status. durationMs is milliseconds. url links to a SoundCloud page; downloadable is metadata. Neither field supplies an audio file or playback token.

Handle missing data and errors

HTTP 200 means a lookup completed, including a miss. SoundCloud routes expose found and not_found; they do not promise a separate private-account status or a reason why a target was not found.

A completed profile lookup, track lookup or track-list page costs 1 credit, including not_found. Errors and unavailable fields are different outcomes. Read meta.creditsCharged on successful responses and error.requestId on API errors. See Errors for the shared error envelope. If a request keeps failing, contact support with its request ID.