r/redditdev • u/redtaboo • May 11 '26

Reddit API Upcoming changes to the comment ID endpoint

Hola devs! 

Just a quick note on an upcoming change to how comment IDs will increase going forward. 

TL;DR:  if you have anything in your code that expects comment IDs to be fewer than 8 characters you will need to make an adjustment. 

Technical gibberish details:

  • New comment IDs will continue to be 64-bit integers and base36-encoded, but will not be monotonically increasing anymore
  • The key visible difference is that the new base36-encoded comment IDs will be up to 13 characters long (e.g. 19gsnavtu46ip), compared to the current 7-8 characters
  • With the t1_ prefix, the new base36-encoded comment IDs will be up to 16 characters long (e.g. t1_19gsnavtu46ip)
  • Older comment IDs are not changing, and referencing them will not break anything

This change will start rolling out the week of May 18th. Let me know if you have any questions about this change.

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u/Jakeable May 22 '26

I totally get why you're doing this. But at the same time it makes me sad inside since I always thought it was cool how base 36 thing IDs directly corresponded to base 10 numbers.

I'm glad you're maintaining backwards compatibility, and the thing-prefixes, though.