LocalASOASO glossary
iTunes Search API
The iTunes Search API is a public Apple web service that lets you search the App Store catalog and look up apps by ID. Some tools use it to read the ranked results for a keyword in a given country.
Updated
Request format
Search requests use https://itunes.apple.com/search?term=...&country=.... ID-based lookup uses https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=.... Apple states ID-based lookups are faster and contain fewer false-positive results than searches.
| Parameter | Meaning |
|---|---|
term | Required, URL-encoded search text |
country | Two-letter ISO code, default US |
media | For apps, software |
entity | software, iPadSoftware or desktopSoftware |
limit | 1 to 200, default 50 |
lang | en_us or ja_jp |
Other parameters are attribute, callback, version and explicit.
Limits
Apple states the API is limited to approximately 20 calls per minute, subject to change. It recommends minimizing results with limit and, for large websites, setting up caching for search and lookup requests.
Example
A request such as https://itunes.apple.com/search?term=habit%20tracker&country=de&media=software&entity=software&limit=10 returns up to ten apps for that term in the German storefront. The order is a view of what the search returns; it is not Apple's search count.
What it gives and what it does not
It gives the ordered app list, with metadata such as ratings counts. It does not give search volume or search popularity. Tools that show volume and keyword difficulty estimate them from the returned results.
In LocalASO
LocalASO estimates volume and difficulty from the rating counts of the apps ranking for a keyword, as the search volume guide explains. The ranking by country guide shows why the country parameter matters.
For reading one known app, use the iTunes Lookup API.
Sources
- Apple: performance-partners.apple.com/search-api (checked November 1, 2026)
Do this for every country, in minutes