Archive users and topics
sync pulls a user's full public post and comment history; track follows subreddits and topic networks over time. Re-runs are incremental.
A local lens on public Reddit history — archive users and topics, analyze them, own the data
Archive public Reddit history. Analyze it locally. Own the data.
RedLens pulls public Reddit discussions into a single SQLite file on your machine — no API keys, no Reddit account, no cloud. Sync users, track topics, and open analysis dashboards with one command.
1 fileeverything you archive lives in a single SQLite database on your machine
0 keysno Reddit API keys or accounts — public data via the arctic-shift mirror
2 depsruntime dependencies (platformdirs, sqlmodel) — nothing heavyweight
What it does
Everything lands in one SQLite file you control
Dashboards without a server
serve opens a live local dashboard; page and report emit standalone HTML files you can keep or share.
Coordinated-network analysis
leads, brands, and seeding surface accounts that post in lockstep — matrix views and brand metrics for investigating coordinated behavior.
Export and pseudonymize
export emits JSON, CSV, or JSONL for your own tooling; reports can pseudonymize usernames before you share findings.
Three commands
From pip install to a live dashboard
01
Install
02
Sync
03
Analyze
Common questions
Do I need a Reddit account or API key?
No. RedLens reads public data through arctic-shift, a free Reddit mirror. There is nothing to register and no rate-limit dance.
Where does the data live?
In one SQLite file on your machine. Nothing is uploaded anywhere; delete the file and the archive is gone.
Is this only for researchers?
It's built for researchers and analysts studying public discussion patterns, but anyone investigating a topic, a community, or coordinated posting can use it.
Can I use an LLM with it?
Optionally. summarize adds LLM-powered summaries and sentiment if you provide a key — the core workflow never requires one.
Insights
From the blog
Public Discussion Analysis
Is Reddit Shutting Down RSS Feeds? November 13, 2026 Cutoff
Reddit plans to retire RSS on November 13, 2026. See what stops updating, what moderators can replace, and how to preserve research records.
Public Discussion Analysis
Network Mapping Tools for Public Reddit Research
Use RedLens, SQLite, Gephi and NetworkX to map public Reddit discussion locally, with a reproducible edge definition and clear limits.
Public Discussion Analysis
Network Mapping for Public Reddit Discussions
Build a local Reddit network map from shared threads, export an edge table with SQL, and distinguish account overlap from evidence of coordination.
Point RedLens at a username or a topic
MIT-licensed, Python 3.11+, two runtime dependencies. Install it, sync an account or subreddit, and open the dashboard.
Get RedLens on GitHub