This is a collection of PHP command line scripts to grab data from Reddit and transform it into CSV files.
- grab_list.php gets a list of posts from any subreddit via the (hot|new|rising|controversial|top|gilded) sorting options;
- grab_threads.php grabs the 200 top comments per Reddit's API from the file generated by grab_list.php;
- tocsv_list.php converts the file generated by grab_list.php to a CSV;
- tocsv_comments.php converts all of the comments retrieved by grab_threads.php into a CSV;
For all scripts a running PHP command line parser is necessary. Which subreddits or files to work with and some other stuff can be edited directly in the top section of each file.
- Make sure that you have PHP installed (to test: go into your command line and type "php -ver" - if you get a version info with at least PHP 5.5.4, you're good to go, if not => google "install php YOUROS");
- Download files and put them into a directory (the script needs to have the permission to write to this directory => google "directory write permission YOUROS");
- Edit grab_list.php and change the first couple of lines to fit your data desire;
- Type "php grab_list.php" into your command line, which should create a folder and a file fith a list of the posts you specified;
- Edit grab_threads.php same as above;
- Type "php grab_threads.php" and wait; this should download a file with the comment thread per post;
- Edit and run tocsv_list.php (same as before "php toc...") to transform the post list into a CSV;
- Edit and run tocsv_comment.php to transform all of the comments into into a CSV (this file also includes data and text for the post the comment is related to for easier handling);
- If there is a problem, consider asking someone who knows this kind of stuff; if that fails, sumbit an issue on github; do not contact the author of this script;