# Threads profile

> Public profile biography, links, follower count and account metadata.

- **Request:** `GET https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/threads/profile`
- **Auth:** `x-api-key` header ([get a free key](https://lurkapi.com/login?next=/dashboard))
- **Cost:** 1 credit per call. Validation errors, `401`/`402`/`429` rejections and `5xx` failures are free; `not_found` is charged ([how charging works](https://lurkapi.com/docs.md#credits)).
- **MCP tool:** `threads_profile` on `https://api.lurkapi.com/mcp`
- **Freshness:** responses are cached for up to 1 hour
- **Try it live:** https://lurkapi.com/docs/threads/profile#try (no signup)
- **Platform:** [Threads](https://lurkapi.com/docs/threads.md) (threads.com)
- **Web page:** https://lurkapi.com/docs/threads/profile

## When to use this

Get the public metadata of a Threads account. A private account can still expose profile metadata: check `is_private` before requesting posts. Unknown accounts return 404 `not_found`; an incomplete upstream page produces an upstream error.

## Parameters

All parameters go in the query string.

| Name | Type | Required | Default | Allowed values | Description | Example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `handle` | string | yes |  |  | Threads username, with or without @, or its threads.com / threads.net profile URL. | `zuck` |

## Example request

Replace `YOUR_API_KEY` with your key, or set `LURKAPI_KEY` for the code. [Get a free key](https://lurkapi.com/login?next=/dashboard).

curl:

```bash
curl "https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/threads/profile?handle=zuck" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY"
```

JavaScript:

```js
const params = new URLSearchParams({
  handle: "zuck",
});
const res = await fetch(`https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/threads/profile?${params}`, {
  headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.LURKAPI_KEY },
});
const data = await res.json();
if (!data.success) throw new Error(`${data.code}: ${data.error}`);
console.log(data.bio_links);
```

Python:

```python
import os
import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.lurkapi.com/v1/threads/profile",
    params={
        "handle": "zuck",
    },
    headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["LURKAPI_KEY"]},
    timeout=60,
)
data = res.json()
if not data["success"]:
    raise RuntimeError(f"{data['code']}: {data['error']}")
print(data["bio_links"])
```

## Example response

A real response from this endpoint, captured from the live API and trimmed to a couple of items. Strings over 96 characters (mostly signed media URLs) are cut short and end in `…`.

200 OK (application/json):

```json
{
  "success": true,
  "credits_remaining": 99,
  "credits_charged": 1,
  "id": "63055343223",
  "username": "zuck",
  "name": "Mark Zuckerberg",
  "biography": "Mostly superintelligence and MMA takes",
  "followers_count": 5745899,
  "is_verified": true,
  "is_private": false,
  "profile_pic_url": "https://scontent-iad6-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-19/825322135_179893…",
  "bio_links": [],
  "url": "https://www.threads.com/@zuck"
}
```

## Response fields

Every field of a successful response. `[]` marks a list: `a[].b` is the `b` of each item in `a`. **nullable** fields can be `null`; **optional** fields can be missing.

| Field | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `success` | `true` | Always true here; errors have `success: false`. |
| `credits_remaining` | `number` | Your balance after this call. On anonymous playground calls: free tries left today. |
| `credits_charged` | `number` | Credits this call cost; 0 on free endpoints. On anonymous playground calls: tries used (1). |
| `id` | `string` | Numeric Threads account id, returned as a string. |
| `username` | `string` | Account username without @. |
| `name` | `string`, nullable | Public display name; null when unknown. |
| `biography` | `string`, nullable | Public profile biography; null when omitted. |
| `followers_count` | `number`, nullable | Public follower count when fetched; null when omitted. |
| `is_verified` | `boolean`, nullable | Whether the profile has a verified badge; null when unknown. |
| `is_private` | `boolean`, nullable | Whether Threads explicitly marks the profile private; null when it does not say. |
| `profile_pic_url` | `string`, nullable | Largest public profile picture URL; null when omitted. |
| `bio_links` | `object[]` | Public links in the biography, in source order. |
| `bio_links[].url` | `string` | Public destination URL linked in the biography. |
| `bio_links[].title` | `string`, nullable | Link title supplied by Threads; null when omitted. |
| `url` | `string` | Canonical Threads profile URL. |

## Caching and freshness

Responses are cached for up to 1 hour, so a repeat call within that window can return the same data. It still costs 1 credit.

## Errors

Errors return `{ success: false, error, code, docs }` with the HTTP status below. Validation errors, `401`/`402`/`429` rejections and `5xx` failures are free; `not_found` is charged ([how charging works](https://lurkapi.com/docs.md#credits)). [All error codes](https://lurkapi.com/docs.md#errors).

| Status | Code | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 401 | `missing_api_key` | No API key. Send it in the `x-api-key` header. |
| 401 | `invalid_api_key` | The key is unknown or was revoked. |
| 402 | `insufficient_credits` | Not enough credits for this call. Buy a pack or wait for tomorrow's top-up. |
| 404 | `not_found` | The endpoint, or the thing you asked for (ad, post, subreddit), doesn't exist. Charged when the platform was checked. |
| 405 | `method_not_allowed` | Endpoints take GET with query params. |
| 429 | `rate_limited` | Too many calls at once. Wait for the `retry-after` seconds, then retry. |
| 500 | `internal_error` | Something broke on our side. Retry; 5xx errors are free. |
| 502 | `upstream_error` | The platform didn't give a usable answer. Retry; 5xx errors are free. |
| 503 | `upstream_busy` | All our connections to the platform are busy. Retry in a few seconds; 5xx errors are free. |
| 504 | `upstream_timeout` | The platform took over 30 seconds to answer. Retry; timeouts are free. |

## Use it in Claude

Once LurkAPI is [connected to Claude](https://lurkapi.com/docs.md#claude), this endpoint is the `threads_profile` tool. Ask in plain English, for example:

Ask Claude:

```text
Use LurkAPI's threads_profile with handle "zuck" and summarize what you find.
```

Claude calls `threads_profile` with arguments like these, and each call costs 1 credit:

Tool arguments:

```json
{
  "handle": "zuck"
}
```

Tool results skip nulls and empty lists to save tokens.

---

Previous: [User tweets](https://lurkapi.com/docs/twitter/user-tweets.md) · Next: [Threads account posts](https://lurkapi.com/docs/threads/user-posts.md)