API guide

The TikTok API in 2026.Everything is private until the audit.

TikTok's Content Posting API posts videos and photo posts to a creator's profile, directly or as a draft in their TikTok inbox, and TikTok lists no fee for it. Until your app passes TikTok's audit, everything it posts is private, for at most 5 users a day. The audit checks your posting screen against TikTok's guidelines and, per TikTok, takes several days to two weeks.

Checked October 6, 2026. Breakreach is our product.

# 1. What this creator allows: privacy options, duets, stitchescurl -X POST https://open.tiktokapis.com/v2/post/publish/creator_info/query/ \  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \  -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=UTF-8" # 2. The photo post, pulled from a domain verified in your appcurl -X POST https://open.tiktokapis.com/v2/post/publish/content/init/ \  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \  -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=UTF-8" \  -d '{    "media_type": "PHOTO", "post_mode": "DIRECT_POST",    "post_info": {"title": "Latte art with Morning Light, our new blend",      "privacy_level": "PUBLIC_TO_EVERYONE", "auto_add_music": true},    "source_info": {"source": "PULL_FROM_URL", "photo_cover_index": 0,      "photo_images": ["https://media.northbeam.coffee/latte.jpg"]}  }' # 3. Check until PUBLISH_COMPLETE (private-only until your audit)curl -X POST https://open.tiktokapis.com/v2/post/publish/status/fetch/ \  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" \  -H "Content-Type: application/json; charset=UTF-8" \  -d '{"publish_id": "'$PUBLISH_ID'"}'

1/3 POST /v2/post/publish/creator_info/query/Sending

Published · now

FollowingFor You

northbeam.coffee

Latte art with Morning Light, our new blend

original sound - northbeam.coffee

The TikTok API at a glanceWhat it takes before the first post.

Price: TikTok lists no fee for the Content Posting API
Two modes: Direct Post (video.publish) to the profile, or Upload (video.upload) as a draft the creator finishes in TikTok
Before the audit: Everything is private (SELF_ONLY), for at most 5 users in 24 hours, whose accounts must be private
Review time: Several days to two weeks, per TikTok's FAQ. Ours took 13 days, from September 5 to 18, 2026
Daily cap: About 15 posts a day per creator, shared by every app posting for them
Media URLs: PULL_FROM_URL only from a domain or URL prefix verified in your app. Photos can only be pulled
Access tokens: 24 hours. Refresh tokens last 365 days
Scheduling: None: posts go out when you call

Checked on October 6, 2026, from TikTok's developer documentation and terms.

Our recommendation

To post to TikTok from your product, use Breakreach's API.We built it, so here's the case.

See the request

Public posts from the first request: Breakreach's app passed TikTok's Content Posting API audit on September 18, 2026
Videos, and photo posts of up to 35 images, in one request, with privacy, comments, duets and stitches in tiktokSettings
Tokens refreshed every day for you, and the same request posts to Reels, Shorts and the rest

When to use TikTok's API directly. Breakreach doesn't send drafts to the creator's inbox, set the cover frame or the branded-content labels, and reads account stats only, not per-video stats. If you need those, apply for TikTok's API directly.

How to get access to the TikTok APIFrom a developer account to your first real post.

1Create an appIn the developer portal, under an organization: name, a 1024×1024 icon, category, and for web apps the website. Every URL in the app must be verified before review.
2Add the Content Posting APITurn on Direct Post and request video.publish (direct), video.upload (drafts) and user.info.basic.
3Verify your media domainFor PULL_FROM_URL, verify a domain with a DNS record or a URL prefix with a file, under URL properties. Mandatory since September 9, 2024.
4Build in the sandbox, then submit1 to 5 demo videos of the whole flow with every product and scope, and a website linking to your privacy policy and terms.
5Pass the auditTikTok checks your posting screen: the creator's nickname, a privacy dropdown with no default, comments, duets and stitches off by default, the disclosure toggles, a preview, and the user's explicit consent.

Until then, everything your app posts is private, for at most 5 users a day whose accounts are private. Breakreach filed its audit on September 5, 2026, resubmitted on the 14th, and was approved on the 18th.

How to post with the TikTok APIThe requests in the demo above, one by one.

1Query the creatorPOST /v2/post/publish/creator_info/query/ returns the privacy levels this creator allows, whether comments, duets and stitches are off, and the longest video they can post.
2Init the postFor photos, /v2/post/publish/content/init/ with media_type PHOTO and up to 35 photo_images. For a video, /v2/post/publish/video/init/ with post_info and source_info: PULL_FROM_URL with a video_url, or FILE_UPLOAD with the size and chunks.
3Check the statusPOST /v2/post/publish/status/fetch/ with the publish_id, until PUBLISH_COMPLETE, or FAILED with a fail_reason.

With FILE_UPLOAD, PUT each chunk of 5 to 64 MB to the upload_url, valid for an hour, before checking the status. privacy_level must be one of the options creator_info returned.

Common TikTok API errorsWhat they mean and how to fix them.

Error	What it means	Fix
`unaudited_client_can_only_post_to_private_accounts`	An unaudited app posted to a public account.	Post SELF_ONLY to a private account, or pass the audit.
`url_ownership_unverified`	PULL_FROM_URL from a domain or prefix not verified for the app.	Verify it under URL properties. Photos always need this.
`privacy_level_option_mismatch`	privacy_level is missing or not one the creator allows.	Call creator_info first and send one of its options.
`spam_risk_too_many_posts`	The creator's daily cap is reached.	Wait 24 hours.
`access_token_invalid`	The 24-hour token expired.	Refresh it with the refresh token.
`rate_limit_exceeded`	Over the per-minute limit.	Back off.

TikTok API limitsRate limits, text and media.

RequestsPer user token: 6 inits a minute, 20 creator_info queries and 30 status checks.
Posts per creatorAbout 15 a day, shared by every app posting for that creator. Upload mode allows 5 pending drafts in 24 hours.
CaptionsVideo captions up to 2,200 characters. Photo posts take a title of up to 90 and a description of up to 4,000.
VideosMP4, WebM or MOV, up to 4 GB, 360 to 4,096 pixels a side, 23 to 60 frames a second, up to 10 minutes through the API, within the creator's own limit.
PhotosJPEG or WebP, up to 1080p and 20 MB each, up to 35 per post.

Is the TikTok API free?

TikTok's developer pages list no fee or paid tier for the Content Posting API.

What costs is the audit: until it passes, your posts are private and limited to 5 users a day, and the review checks your posting screen line by line. You also need a verified domain for your media.

Through Breakreach, a TikTok account counts like any other connected account: the first 2 are free, then $5 a month each up to 20.

Ways to post to TikTok from code

	What you set up	Price	Posts to TikTok
Breakreach	An API key. Accounts connect through Breakreach's reviewed apps, or your users connect theirs on a hosted page	First 2 accounts free, then $5 a month per account (less from 21)	Yes, Public
TikTok's own API	A TikTok app, a verified media domain and the audit	No, Fee listed	Yes
Upload-Post	An API key	Free for 2 profiles and 10 uploads a month; Basic $24 a month for 5 profiles	Yes
Zernio	An API key	First 2 accounts free, then $6 per account up to 10, $3 up to 100, $1 after	Yes
Ayrshare	An API key	From $149 a month for 1 profile, no free plan	Yes
Outstand	An API key	$19 a month for 3,000 posts, then per post	Yes

Checked on October 6, 2026, from TikTok's developer documentation and each company's pricing page. Breakreach is our product.

What the TikTok API can't do

Post publicly before the audit
Pick a TikTok sound: photo posts can only add recommended music with auto_add_music
Edit, delete or schedule a post: there's no endpoint for it
Return per-video views or likes: those come from the Display API
Upload photos as files: they're pulled from a verified URL

Post to TikTok with Breakreach's APIOne request, scheduled, with retries.

POST /v1/posts

curl https://api.breakreach.com/v1/posts \  -H "Authorization: Bearer $BREAKREACH_API_KEY" \  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \  -d '{    "content": "Latte art with Morning Light, our new blend",    "accountIds": ["6701a2f4c9e84b0012a3b4c8"],    "media": ["https://cdn.northbeam.coffee/latte.jpg"],    "tiktokSettings": {"privacyLevel": "PUBLIC_TO_EVERYONE"},    "scheduledAt": "2026-10-07T09:00:00"  }'

What it posts on TikTok

VideosOne video, with a caption of up to 2,200 characters.
Photo postsUp to 35 photos. The first line becomes the title, up to 90 characters, and the rest the description.
Privacy and togglestiktokSettings sets the privacy level, comments, duets and stitches. Posts are private unless you send PUBLIC_TO_EVERYONE.
Account statsFollowers, total likes and video count.

Not yet

Drafts to the creator's inbox
Cover frames and branded-content labels
Per-video stats

The full reference, webhooks and the price per connected account are on the developers page, and the OpenAPI spec is at api.breakreach.com/v1/openapi.json.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Short answers about the TikTok API.

TikTok lists no fee or paid tier for the Content Posting API. The cost is the audit, a verified media domain, and TikTok's rules for your posting screen.

Apps that haven't passed TikTok's audit can only post SELF_ONLY, to private accounts, for at most 5 users in 24 hours. The audit lifts it.

TikTok's FAQ says several days to two weeks after you submit. Breakreach's took 13 days: filed September 5, 2026, resubmitted on the 14th, approved on the 18th.

Yes: /v2/post/publish/content/init/ with media_type PHOTO and up to 35 images, pulled from a verified domain, with a title of up to 90 characters and a description of up to 4,000.

About 15 per creator, a cap shared by every app posting for them. Hitting it returns spam_risk_too_many_posts.

Not a chosen sound. Photo posts can set auto_add_music, which adds recommended music; videos keep their own audio.

The first 2 connected accounts are free; from the third it's $5 a month per account up to 20, $3 up to 100, then $2. You pay per connected account, never per post or per request.