Moving Data API Apps to the Developer Platform: migration dates and next steps

[u/boat-botany]

TL;DR: In our last update, we said we’d come back with migration dates and next steps. We know migrating takes time and effort, and we’re providing funding, technical guidance, and direct outreach and support to help. As Reddit moves to a more secure foundation, we want the useful and creative apps you've built to continue being a part of our ecosystem.

We’re sharing the timeline for moving public API apps and bots to the Developer Platform. Register now, apply for migration funding by November 30, and start planning and testing your move. Starting January 12, 2027, we’ll begin removing API access for apps and users that haven’t registered or engaged with us. Remaining public API access will end in March 2027.

Moving from registration to migration

Over 14,000 apps and bots have registered and we’re closely tracking migration of your highest-activity apps. This includes completed or near-complete migrations such as DeltaBot, MagicEyeBot, and RemindMeBot. We’re continuing to work directly with developers on their migrations and the gaps that still need attention.

There’s still time to start your migration! Register your app, review the Data API/PRAW → Devvit Migration Guide, and tell us what’s blocking you. Starting now gives you time to test and gives us time to help address migration blockers before access changes take effect.

Important dates to look out for 

The transition will happen in phases:

Date	What happens
October 31, 2026	New requests for public API access will no longer be accepted.
November 10, 2026	We share a migration progress update and deadline reminder.
November 30, 2026	Registration closes for the migration bounty program.
January 12, 2027	API access starts to close for apps and users that haven’t registered or responded to our outreach. We’ll also share a progress update and reminder.
February 23, 2027	We share another migration progress update and reminder.
March 2027	Public access will close for all remaining apps and users.

What developers should do now

1. Review the Developer Platform documentation and subscribe to r/Devvit.
2. Register your apps! Use the registration form to flag missing capabilities or blockers. You don’t need to have the migration figured out before contacting us.
3. Start planning and testing. Allow time to check that your app’s behavior meets the needs of the communities using it.

Funding and support for the move

Our $1M App Migration Program provides financial and technical support, including:

• $1,000 payments for eligible apps that successfully migrate
• Reddit Developer Funds eligible for ported apps
• Free hosting and access to developer funding programs
• Migration guides, technical resources, office hours, and direct support
• Additional support for critical moderation and community apps

Apply through the app registration form by November 30, 2026, to be considered for the migration bounty program. This deadline comes before the January API access changes, so don’t wait until then if you’re seeking funding. You can find further information in this post. 

Helping communities whose apps need an owner

If you’re a mod whose community depends on an app or bot and you don’t know who maintains it, tell us through this quick form. We’ve received over 100 submissions so far, helping us identify tools that need owners or could be replaced by existing Developer Platform apps or Reddit’s built-in tools. Keep an eye out for a message confirming we’re reviewing your submission, followed by an update in the coming weeks on available options and where gaps remain.

We’ll keep sharing progress, working through migration blockers, and supporting the developers and communities making this move. We’ll be in the comments to answer any questions.

[u/shiruken]

Disappointed to see this finally happen but I can't say I'm surprised. Reddit decided a long time ago that its user data was a valuable commodity they could sell to the highest bidder. The shuttering of the public Data API is the final step of a multi-year effort to prevent anyone from accessing that data for free.

I've already been contacted about migrating the bots and scripts used by r/science to Devvit. I don't have the time nor the energy to undertake such a task. Neither do my co-mods. So everything will just break come March.

[u/Watchful1]

u/boat-botany can you PLEASE make sure the apps page people previously used to get API tokens is properly updated to decisively say API access is completely closed with no exceptions? I know it's an old reddit page and you guys have to jump through hoops to update it, but I promise it's worth the extra effort just this once.

We still get people all the time who are completely confused about how to get API access. All the existing resources and documentation about the forms and what you have to do to qualify (before this announcement) are confusing and don't cleanly answer people's question. Just updating the text on the page to remove the button and put like two sentences saying "API access is closed, go see if devvit or the researcher program fits your use case", would clear up so many problems.

[u/boat-botany → u/Watchful1]

Oh for sure. I’ll work with the team to fast track that.

[u/emily_in_boots]

Previously, you had said that API access would continue until Devvit could support existing uses.

Devvit still cannot support the features required to implement my bots.

So what am I supposed to do?

I have 300,000 lines of python code. I cannot rewrite that in 6 months even if I were to work on it full time and even if Devvit could do what I need it to for my subreddits to continue to function.

[u/baseballlover723 → u/emily_in_boots]

So what am I supposed to do?

Spread your checks and get fucked probably.

Devvit still cannot support the features required to implement my bots.

I am in a similar boat to you. It's been 5 months of negotiation about our team's migration, and I still don't think we (me, my mod team, and reddit) are close to being in agreement.

Both contracts they've given me have included poison pills. And the first one could have personally bankrupted me for reasons beyond my control (since I'd be on the hook for reddit's legal fees to an unbounded amount for anything relating to our Devvit app) and also had a loophole where they could just note pay me and I'd have no recourse (they were only liable to the amount they actually payed me, which if they just didn't, would be $0).

Given that reddit keeps going in the wrong direction imo, it's getting more and more tempting to just sit back, grab a drink and relax, and enjoy these last few months with our stuff working, and then let the train run off the end of the bridge, and just leave reddit altogether and let someone else pick up the pieces.

This of course, would be debilitating to our sub, but in our opinion, so would be migrating to Devvit as well, since Devvit would forbid us from using deleted user data, which happens a lot. In the best case scenario (as a ToS abiding user), a good chunk of our appeals will be invalid, as they would be unable to be check, and thus, be unable to be overturned. Not to mention, being unable to help people who don't understand why their stuff was removed and how they can fix it, as they often quickly delete it.

I'm really tempted simply just write a tell all of my experience with the migration process (it's generally been terrible in a number of aspects, most notably, responsiveness (though part of that is also my fault, though this is not my full time job, and thus falls lower on the priority list)), but given that they contracts they want me to sign are NDA that kind of thing, perhaps it's wise to not poke the bear at the current moment.

[u/MisterWoodhouse]

For dev teams who need more time to finish migrations, will there be extensions available through whitelisting after public access is shut down?

[u/boat-botany → u/MisterWoodhouse]

We want to make sure everyone has the time they need. That’s why we’re starting these conversations early! If you’re already in contact with the dev rel team, just let them know what you need.

[u/itskdog]

Copying what I said on modnews here,

I have a custom bot for one of my subreddits (and I've got a ticket logged in ModSupport for this on an alt) that is showing as registered on my end but not on your end (as we keep getting notified in modmail). Apparently it's with the developers, but how will this affect me as I'm stuck in limbo here?

The code does so many things, is written by a former mod who we have no contact with, and half the code is mingled in with a Discord bot, I just host the code at this point and try not to touch it (a bit like you guys & Old Reddit), so porting might take years to complete as I'd have to learn a whole new language (as JavaScript never quite gelled with me when I tried to learn it during the Devvit beta) and write everything from scratch when I'm more familiar adapting existing work.

[u/Merari01]

I still have not heard back for any of my requests

[u/fighterace00]

I can't see python even being added to the road map by March like we've been begging in all these migration registration feedback forms for months, much less have the time to port it over in that time. I just took a major promotion at work and a baby on the way so my next 6 months are otherwise occupied without learning a new language and architecture and my communities will pay for it.

[u/Ailothaen]

Well, guess March 2027 is when I am resigning as moderator then

[u/lostsettings]

I can see a lot of subreddits just no longer moderating.

A lot of what people use the API for are not bots. Not going to make a script I use every few weeks or so into a bot.

Just limit what the API can do and implement limits. Some examples,

1. Could limit API usage only to the subreddits the user is a moderator of. (very restrictive)

2. Could give high limits to the subreddits the user is a moderator of and lower on other subreddits (less restrictive)

3. Could only allow API usage if the user meets certain criteria, a moderator of an established subreddit, etc.

Can still push people to devvit if there is an advantage, but shutting down the API entirely seems like a huge step backwards. Throwing out what works for something that clearly does not work for everyone doesn't make sense.

[u/barrycarey]

I had a meeting with some Devvit folks a few weeks about migrating Repostsleuthbot. The jist of the conversation was that due to the amount of compute needed there's no straight forward path. There hasn't been any followup since then.

If I'm reading this update correctly, it sounds I should plan for decom in March?

[u/Khyta]

I have major issues with my bot u/EncyclopaediaBot. When I switch to that account it always prompts me to either verify as a human or register it as an app. I already did so and I can see the app label on the account. I get the message: "EncyclopaediaBot has already been claimed as an app!"

When I click on the app registration form link for the bounty, I get the following message:

Your Reddit account (EncyclopaediaBot) is banned or suspended, so you cannot use Devvit. If you'd like to appeal go here: https://www.reddit.com/appeal

What should I do here???

[u/AlternativeOil3088]

devvit just can not do that things

[u/MJ-at-Outpost]

“New requests for public API access will no longer be accepted. “

As if they were already being accepted! There have been rarely any requests accepted since November 11, 2025

[u/pizzacrys]

The March 2027 cutoff is the part people are going to ignore until it is too late. A lot of apps are about to need attention.

[u/emily_in_boots → u/pizzacrys]

Some of us have not been ignoring anything but we were told that api access wouldn't be cut off until devvit functionality was added to make migration possible.

That functionality has not been added, and many bots cannot be migrated because devvit is fundamentally more limited and less powerful than python/praw.

[u/StatisticalPikachu]

Devvit only supports JavaScript afaik!

Does it support any other languages or have an empty cloud container available to migrate existing code in a different language?

[u/uncoolcentral]

I've spent 16 years on this platform.
Moderating 2 communities.
Reddit doesn't care.

Dammit.

Not sure what the future holds other than shit.

[u/jenbanim]

God I hate this website

[u/WHOIS__bot]

its so embarrassing for yall to not be using python

seriously

fuck reddit lmao

[u/kc2syk]

The Devvit license is incompatible with the AGPL. That makes migration impossible.

[u/rabbitlion]

A lot of comments here are regarding bots. What about humans who want to continue using the API? Is that just going to be completely disallowed going forward?

[u/fuckspez123]

Fuck u/spez