I am encountering issues with the TikTok research API while requesting videos and video comments. Despite using the same code, I only receive a successful response (code 200) once in about 20-30 attempts; the remaining attempts result in a code 500 (internal error). Additionally, after receiving a couple of successful responses (around 10 successful requests), I experience prolonged periods of the 500 error, sometimes lasting an entire morning or day.

According to TikTok’s documentation, a 500 error — “This is the generic error code for TikTok internal errors. Please refer to the error message for details and notify TikTok support.”

Here are the activities I have tried to debug:

1. I’ve verified that my credentials are correct.
2. I’m not exceeding the daily quota.
3. I’ve also ensured my requests are error-free (I do receive a code 200 using the request code, but consistently get error code 500 with the same code).
4. I tried to change the request options, like max_count as 10, 20, 50, 80, 90, 100 (max is 100). It seems there is a higher likelihood getting code 200 when using max_count as 10, but at the end I am still getting code 500 after several attempts.
5. I tried using the VCE option provided by TikTok’s research API, logging in with my credentials, but I keep encountering a “500: Internal Server Error.”
6. I’ve searched online and found two posts (here and here) from a month ago indicating the same issue, but it remains unclear if a solution has been shared since then.
7. I’ve also emailed the research API team but haven’t received any feedback yet.

My hypothesis is that TikTok may be updating functions for the research API internally but has not yet updated the guidelines on their website for API users. Despite numerous attempts, I haven’t been able to deduce any consistent rules from the responses I’ve received (though I hope I’m mistaken, as that would imply a quicker resolution to this issue).

This problem is causing delays in my dissertation project, so I would be extremely grateful if anyone familiar with this issue or potential solutions could offer their insights. Thank you!