How to Get Top Feeds from Medium

Using the Medium API in JavaScript

If you want to extract Medium's top articles for a specific tag programmatically, the Medium API is your go-to solution.

This article will guide you through how to fetch top feeds for a given tag and mode using JavaScript. By the end of this guide, you'll have a clear understanding of the code implementation, its output, and its potential applications.

Prerequisites

Before diving into the implementation, make sure you have the following:

• Node.js Installed: Install Node.js from nodejs.org if it is not already installed.
• A Medium API Key: Sign up for the Medium API and get an API key from RapidAPI.
How to Subscribe to Medium API and Get Your API Key from RapidAPI Platform
• Environment Setup: Use dotenv to securely manage your API key.
• Medium API JS Package: Install the Medium API wrapper by running npm install medium-api-js.

Code Explanation

The code leverages the medium-api-js package to fetch the top feeds for a specified tag and mode. Here's a detailed breakdown:

Step 1: Import Required Packages

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

dotenv.config();

• Medium: The medium-api-js package provides an easy-to-use wrapper for the Medium API.
• dotenv: This package loads environment variables from a .env file, keeping sensitive data like API keys secure.

Step 2: Configure the Medium Instance

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

The Medium instance is initialized with the API key, which is stored in the environment variable RAPIDAPI_KEY. Make sure to create a .env file with the following content:

RAPIDAPI_KEY=your_api_key_here

Step 3: Fetch Top Feeds

medium.getTopFeeds('data-science', 'NEW')
    .then(data => {
     console.log('Top Feeds:', data);
    });

• getTopFeeds(tag, mode): This method fetches the top feeds for the specified tag and mode. In this case:
  • tag: 'data-science' (fetch articles tagged with "data-science").
  • mode: 'NEW' (fetch the newest articles).
• The data is returned as a promise and logged to the console.

Running the Code

To execute the code:

1. Save the code to a file named getTopFeeds.js.
2. Run the following command in the terminal:

node getTopFeeds.js

Output

The output displays the top feeds for the specified tag and mode:

Explanation

• topfeeds: An array of IDs representing the top articles.
• tag: The queried tag.
• mode: The queried mode.
• count: The total number of articles fetched.

Potential Use Cases

• SEO Research: Analyze which articles are performing well for a specific tag to identify trending keywords and topics for content creators.
• Competitor Analysis: If you're a blogger or part of a content marketing team, use the feeds to study what types of content are resonating with readers in your niche.
• Social Media Content: Automatically create social media posts linking to top Medium articles on trending topics.

Summary

Fetching top feeds from Medium using the Medium API is both simple and powerful. This article demonstrated how to retrieve curated content for specific tags and modes, enabling diverse applications like trend analysis and personalized content delivery.

If you have any questions about the Medium API or need further assistance, feel free to reach out to me at nishu@mediumapi.com.