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What is x-zse-96 on Zhihu? (2026)

x-zse-96 is a signature header on the requests Zhihu's web pages send. We found no public explanation from Zhihu; open-source projects add it to each signed request. With a data API you do not produce it: a page of a question's answers is $0.0020, and you send only your key and the question. DataXAPI reads Zhihu with 16 endpoints, from $0.0020 a call; a failed call is not charged.

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Updated 2026-11-04

Why you run into it

It comes up when your own program reads Zhihu and gets refused. MediaCrawler sends x-zse-96 with x-zst-81 on its Zhihu requests, and it needs your cookies to do so. One open-source command-line tool reports 403 with code 10003 on some commands when a related header, x-zse-93, was missing. How it is worked out is not something we cover.

If you would rather not deal with it

Each job is one call at $0.0020: zhihu.posts.search to search answers and articles, zhihu.questions.answers.list for a question's answers, zhihu.answers.get for one answer, zhihu.users.get for an author. No signature, cookie or account of yours. A failed call is not charged.

Endpoints

Each with its price; every page has the parameters, the fields and a recorded response.

Zhihu content searchGet a page of Zhihu answers and articles matching a search; either kind alone, by relevance, newest or most upvoted.$0.0020 / a callZhihu question answersGet the first 20 answers to a Zhihu question by ID or link, in Zhihu's own order: text, author, upvotes, comment and save counts. One page only.$0.0020 / a callZhihu answer detailGet one Zhihu answer by ID or link: its question, text, author, time posted.$0.0020 / a callZhihu user profileGet a Zhihu user's profile by the handle in its address: name, headline, follower count, answer and article counts.$0.0020 / a call

Sources

What this page says of other services is from their own pages and documents, read on 2026-11-04. Prices and features change: check the source before you decide.