# Get Twitter/X trending topics by country with an API

> Fetch the topics trending on X for the world, a country or a city: find the location ID, call the trends endpoint, log trends over time and pull the tweets behind a trend, with Python and Node.js examples.

HTML page: https://www.twittrapi.com/blog/twitter-trending-topics-api
Published 2026-10-27.

X shows trending topics in its app, but there is no page you can scrape politely and the official API puts trends behind its paid tiers. This guide gets the same list from code: the topics trending worldwide, in one country or in a single city, with the tweet count where X gives one. It then logs the list over time and fetches the tweets behind a trend.

We run TwittrAPI, which the steps below use. The trend data is X's own and is public.

## Step 1: Get an API key

Create a key on [/start](https://www.twittrapi.com/start). New accounts get $0.50 of test credit for 7 days. Keep it in an environment variable:

```bash
export TWITTRAPI_API_KEY="your-key"
```

## Step 2: Find the location ID

Trends belong to a place, and places are identified by a WOEID (a Yahoo "where on earth" ID). [`GET /misc/locations`](https://www.twittrapi.com/docs/reference/misc-locations) lists every place X has trends for, with its name, country and type:

```python
import os

import requests

API = "https://api.twittrapi.com"
HEADERS = {"X-API-KEY": os.environ["TWITTRAPI_API_KEY"]}

places = requests.get(f"{API}/misc/locations", headers=HEADERS, timeout=30).json()
for p in places:
    if p["country"] in ("Germany", "Japan"):
        print(p["woeid"], p["name"], p["placeType"]["name"])
```

A few IDs you will use often: `1` is worldwide and `23424977` is the United States. Look up the rest once and keep them in your config. The list covers every country and city X has trends for, so the response is large (around 85 KB); fetch it once, not on every run.

## Step 3: Call the trends endpoint

[`GET /trends/{locationId}`](https://www.twittrapi.com/docs/reference/trends-locationid) returns the current list for a place:

```bash
curl 'https://api.twittrapi.com/trends/1' -H "X-API-KEY: $TWITTRAPI_API_KEY"
```

The response is X's own trends format, not the simplified one: an array with one object that holds `trends`, `as_of` and `locations`. Each trend has a `name`, a `url`, a `query` you can pass to search, and a `tweet_volume`.

```python
data = requests.get(f"{API}/trends/23424977", headers=HEADERS, timeout=30).json()[0]
print("as of", data["as_of"])
for i, t in enumerate(data["trends"][:10], 1):
    volume = t["tweet_volume"] or "-"
    print(f"{i:>2}. {t['name']}  ({volume})")
```

`tweet_volume` is `null` for many trends. X only reports a count when it is large enough, so treat it as a bonus and not as a field you can sort by.

## Step 4: Log trends over time

A single list tells you what is hot now. A log tells you what rises, how long it stays and when it peaks. Append the list to a CSV on a schedule, for example from cron or a GitHub Action every 30 minutes:

```python
import csv
from datetime import datetime, timezone

now = datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(timespec="seconds")
rows = [
    [now, rank, t["name"], t["tweet_volume"] or ""]
    for rank, t in enumerate(data["trends"], 1)
]
with open("trends.csv", "a", newline="") as f:
    csv.writer(f).writerows(rows)
```

Each run is one call, so logging one place every 30 minutes costs 48 calls a day, which is $0.10 per 1,000 on Standard. Log several countries by looping over their IDs; every place is its own call.

## Step 5: Read the tweets behind a trend

Every trend carries a `query`. It is already URL-encoded (`%22Big+Q%22` for the trend "Big Q"), so decode it before you pass it to [`GET /search`](https://www.twittrapi.com/docs/reference/search), which encodes it again:

```python
from urllib.parse import unquote_plus

top = data["trends"][0]
r = requests.get(
    f"{API}/search",
    headers=HEADERS,
    params={"searchItem": unquote_plus(top["query"]), "category": "Latest", "format": "simple"},
    timeout=30,
)
for tweet in r.json()["data"][:5]:
    if not tweet.get("unavailable"):
        print(tweet["createdAt"], tweet["text"][:100])
```

Use `Top` instead of `Latest` if you want the most visible posts first. The [search guide](https://www.twittrapi.com/blog/search-twitter-without-developer-account) covers the operators and paging.

## Node.js version

```bash
npm install twittrapi
```

```js
import { TwittrAPI } from "twittrapi";

const client = new TwittrAPI(); // key from TWITTRAPI_API_KEY

const [list] = await client.trends.get(23424977);
console.log("as of", list.as_of);
for (const t of list.trends.slice(0, 10)) {
  console.log(t.name, t.tweet_volume ?? "-");
}
```

The Python SDK has the same calls: `client.trends.get(1)` and `client.trends.locations()`.

## Ideas that use it

- **A morning digest**: send the top ten for your country to Slack or Telegram every day at 8:00.
- **Content planning**: check which topics trend in your market before you write.
- **Early signals**: log trends and flag any topic that enters the top ten for the first time.
- **Cashtag and brand checks**: look for your brand or a ticker in the list and, if it shows up, start a [search](https://www.twittrapi.com/blog/search-twitter-without-developer-account) on it.

## Common problems

- **`tweet_volume` is null**: X gives no count for that trend. Do not read it as zero.
- **An empty list**: some places have no trends at times. Try the country instead of a city.
- **A 400 error**: the ID is not a number. Use digits only (1 to 12 of them), the WOEID from the locations list.
- **Trends differ from your app**: the app can show a list adjusted to you. The API returns the list for the place you ask for.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I get trending topics from X with an API?

Call the trends endpoint with a location ID (WOEID). You get the current list with each topic's name, search query and, where available, the tweet count. TwittrAPI needs only its own key, no X developer account.

### What is a WOEID?

A Yahoo "where on earth" ID that X uses for places. `1` is worldwide and `23424977` is the United States. The locations endpoint lists all supported places.

### How often do trends change?

X does not publish an update interval. Every 15 to 60 minutes is a sensible interval for a log; compare two runs to see how fast the list moves for your place.

### Can I get trends for a city?

Yes, if X offers trends for that city. Find it in the locations list; places of type Town are cities.

### How much does it cost?

One call per place. On TwittrAPI that is $0.10 per 1,000 calls on Standard and less at volume, so checking one country hourly costs a few cents a month.

## Sources

- [Trends by location](https://www.twittrapi.com/docs/reference/trends-locationid) and [Trend locations](https://www.twittrapi.com/docs/reference/misc-locations): parameters and response fields
- [Search endpoint reference](https://www.twittrapi.com/docs/reference/search): using a trend's query

TwittrAPI is not affiliated with X Corp. It reads only public data.