How to Get Medium Lists Created by a User

Using Medium API JS Package

Fetching data from Medium can provide valuable insights for developers building content-driven applications or analytics tools. A common requirement is retrieving the lists (collections or series of articles) associated with a specific Medium user.

This guide explains how to use the medium-api-js package to fetch these lists by leveraging a user’s unique Medium ID.

By the end of this tutorial, you’ll understand how to set up your environment, write code to fetch Medium lists, and interpret the output.

Let’s dive in!

Prerequisites

Before we start, ensure you have the following set up:

Node.js Installed: Ensure Node.js is installed on your machine. Download it from Node.js official website.
API Key: Obtain your Medium API key from the RapidAPI platform. This key is necessary to authenticate requests.

How to Subscribe to Medium API and Get Your API Key from RapidAPI Platform
medium-api-js Package: Install the package using npm:
```
npm install medium-api-js
```
dotenv Package: This package helps manage environment variables. Install it using:
```
npm install dotenv
```
.env File: Create a .env file in the root of your project to store the API key securely:
```
RAPIDAPI_KEY=your_rapidapi_key_here
```

Code Explanation

Let’s break down the code into small, easy-to-understand parts:

1. Importing Required Modules

import Medium from 'medium-api-js';
import dotenv from 'dotenv';

dotenv.config();

import Medium: Brings in the medium-api-js package to interact with the Medium API.
import dotenv: Loads environment variables from the .env file for secure configuration.
dotenv.config(): Ensures that the environment variables defined in .env are available in the code.

2. Initializing the Medium API Instance

const medium = new Medium(process.env.RAPIDAPI_KEY);

new Medium(process.env.RAPIDAPI_KEY): Creates an instance of the Medium API client using the API key stored in the environment variable.
process.env.RAPIDAPI_KEY: Securely fetches the API key from the .env file.

3. Specifying the User ID

const userId = '5142451174a3';

userId: Represents the unique identifier for the Medium user whose lists you want to retrieve. Replace this value with the desired user’s ID.

4. Fetching Lists Associated with the User

medium.getUserListsById(userId)
    .then(data => console.log('User Lists:', data));

medium.getUserListsById(userId): Calls the Medium API to fetch all lists associated with the specified user ID.
.then(data => console.log('User Lists:', data)): Handles the response by printing the fetched lists to the console.

Running the Code

To execute the code, run the following command in your terminal:

node getUserListsById.js

Output Explanation

When the code runs successfully, it fetches and displays the lists associated with the specified user ID. For example:

id: The user’s unique identifier.
lists: An array of IDs representing the lists created by the user.
count: The total number of lists associated with the user.

Potential Use Cases

Analytics Tools: Analyze the number and types of lists created by a user to understand their content strategy.
Recommendation Engines: Suggest similar lists or collections based on a user’s activity.
Content Exporters: Export lists and their associated articles for offline use or backup.

Summary

By following this guide, you’ve successfully learned how to fetch lists created by a Medium user using their unique ID. This functionality can enhance applications that rely on Medium’s content ecosystem, providing a seamless way to manage and analyze user-generated collections.

If you have any questions about the Medium API or this implementation, feel free to reach out at nishu@mediumapi.com.

Happy coding! 🚀