I Built an API That Tracks Viral TikTok, Reels, and YouTube Shorts Content in Real Time

Source: Dev.to

Overview

Short‑form video is now the biggest discovery engine on the internet. Trends start on TikTok, spread to Reels, spill into YouTube Shorts, and then blow up everywhere else. Developers have never had a clean way to monitor this in real time—until now.

Virlo API gives you a fast way to search for viral content across TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels based on your keywords. It returns fresh videos, metadata, and breakout signals you can use to build tools, dashboards, or AI agents.

What the API Does

• Collects millions of videos per day from TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
• Ranks everything using velocity, niche patterns, creator history, and keyword matching.
• Allows a keyword search across all platforms at once, returning an orbitId that can be polled for results.

Developers have used it to build trend trackers, competitor monitors, UGC product scrapers, and short‑form content research tools.

Quick Example

Create a keyword search job

POST https://api.virlo.ai/orbit/keyword-search
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "name": "AI Coding Tools",
  "keywords": ["ai coding", "auto code", "dev tools"]
}

The request queues a job and returns an orbitId.

Poll for results

GET https://api.virlo.ai/orbit/results/:orbitId

When the job is ready, the response contains a structured list of videos across platforms with:

• Performance metrics
• Keyword match data
• Upload timestamps
• Engagement figures
• Early velocity scoring

What You Can Build With It

• Trend detection dashboards
• Creator analysis tools
• UGC and product discovery engines
• Real‑time signals for marketing teams
• Scripts for AI agents that react to new content
• Tools that compare formats across platforms
• Growth tools that track niches over time

If your app needs to know what people are watching right now, this is the fastest way to get it.

Why Real‑Time Matters

Most analytics platforms only show historical data. Virlo is built for discovery in the first hour. Breakout signals happen fast, and developers are treating short‑form video like a data stream rather than a social network.

• Creators use it to reverse‑engineer formats.
• Agencies watch new niches.
• Founders power recommendation engines.
• Developers build tools that feel alive.

Documentation and Access

Full documentation:

The API can be used from Python, Node, or any environment that supports REST.

For a starter repo, demo script, or walkthrough, comment on the docs page.

If you’d like to discuss use cases, reach out via email: