Reddit’s working on a new portal to provide developers with the resources they need to create bots and other third-party tools. In a blog post, Reddit announced that it’s opening a wait list for the beta of its developer platform, allowing developers to host bots for free and reuse apps across different communities.
Reddit is going to make it easier to create great bots
Introducing the developer platform
Introducing the developer platform
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
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If you’re a frequent Reddit user, you might already be familiar with some of the more popular bots on the platform, like u/RemindMeBot, which sends you a message to remind you about a certain post or comment at a specified time. There’s also a bot that provides summaries of Wikipedia pages and even one that converts videos on the platform into downloadable links.
As Reddit notes, developers on the platform currently “operate primarily as siloed resources” and receive “limited resources and ad-hoc support.” Reddit aims to solve this issue by building out dedicated tools for developers through its new platform.
It’s unclear what kind of tools the platform will offer to start. Reddit spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt said in a statement to The Verge that the toolkit will let developers “expand and create bots and automation tools that allow users and moderators to have a simpler and more meaningful experience on Reddit.”
Reddit will also provide moderators and users with a list of third-party tools that they can use, according to a report from TechCrunch, and plans on making the platform available to all developers next year.
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