How to Search a Reddit User's Comments in One Subreddit
For posts, type author:username subreddit:nameinto Reddit's search. For comments, Reddit search will not filter by author, so search the username in a profile tool and narrow the results to that subreddit, or use a public archive that lets you set both filters. Both still work when the user has hidden their profile.
Which method finds what
| Method | Posts | Comments | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reddit search | Yes | No | Posts only, recent ones rank first |
| A profile tool | Yes | Yes | You filter the results yourself |
| Public archive search | Yes | Yes | Technical, and only what was captured |
Google site:reddit.com/r/name | Sometimes | Sometimes | Hit and miss, popular threads only |
Method 1: Reddit search, for posts
Open Reddit's search and type the two filters together, with no space after the colons:
author:spez subreddit:announcements
Add a word after the filters to narrow it further. This only returns posts. Comments by that user will not show up, however you phrase it. All of Reddit's search operators.
Method 2: a profile tool, for comments
- 1. Search the username. Use the Reddit comment search. It pulls comments from the profile, several sort orders and a public archive.
- 2. Check their top subreddits. The results list where the account is most active, so you can confirm it posts in the community you care about. More on that here.
- 3. Narrow to one subreddit. Open Filters above the results and pick the subreddit. You can also search the text of the comments, set a date range, or sort by top score. Or export the results to CSV and sort by the Subreddit column.
Method 3: a public archive
Archives such as Arctic Shift let you search comments with both an author and a subreddit filter. They are the best option for comments that have dropped off the profile or were later deleted, as long as the archive saved them first. The trade-off is a more technical interface. Our archive search checks the same archive as part of every username search.
Frequently asked questions
Can Reddit search find a user's comments in a subreddit?
Not reliably. The author: and subreddit: filters work on posts. Reddit's comment search matches words in comments, but it does not let you narrow the results to one author, so for comments you need a profile tool or an archive.
Does this work if the user hid their profile?
Yes. Hiding a profile only empties the list on the profile page. Author search and archives look up the content itself, so a user's posts and comments in a subreddit can still be found.
Can I see which subreddits someone is most active in?
Yes. A username search here lists the account's most active subreddits, ranked by how often it posts in each. That is a good first step before searching a single community.
Why are some of their older comments missing?
Reddit lists only about 1,000 items per profile sort, so older comments drop off the profile. Archives fill much of that gap, but anything deleted before an archive saved it is gone.
Search a username and see every subreddit its comments came from.
Search a Reddit username