This is the sixth tutorial in the Getting Started with Engaggit series. In the previous tutorial, you built search rules. Now it's time to put them to work — let's scan Reddit.
Before You Scan
Just a quick sanity check. Your scan needs two things to run:
- An AI provider connected — if you haven't done that yet, go back to the AI provider tutorial
- An Interest with search rules — keywords at minimum; subreddits, filters, and time range are optional but recommended. Read Creating Your First Interest
If both are in place, you're ready.
Starting the Scan
Engaggit gives you two ways to scan Reddit:
Method 1: Manual Scan
Click the Scan Now button on the dashboard, or click the scan icon in the left sidebar. Engaggit runs a full scan immediately and your feed starts filling as results come in.
Method 2: Scheduled Scanning
Engaggit can scan automatically in the background — you don't need to click anything. It runs on a schedule (15 min, 30 min, 1 hr, or manual), and every new scan goes straight to your feed. If you've set up desktop notifications, you'll also get pinged when something scores high.
For your first scan, hit Scan Now so you can see the process in action.
What Happens During a Scan
The scan runs in three stages. Here's what you'll see while it works:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Scanning Progress │
│ ████████████░░░░░░ 65% │
│ │
│ Processing: r/SaaS │
│ Posts found: 147 │
│ Analyzing: 23 posts... │
│ Matches: 5 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Stage A: Searching Reddit
Engaggit queries Reddit using your keywords. It searches posts (threads) and respects Reddit's rate limits automatically, so you never have to worry about getting blocked.
Stage B: Filtering by Rules
Each post that comes back is checked against your search rules: does it match your keywords? Does it contain your "must-have" terms? Does it miss any exclusions? Posts that fail any check are dropped — they never reach the AI.
Stage C: AI Analysis
Every post that survives the filter is sent to your AI provider. The AI reads the title and body, then returns three things:
- Relevance Score (0–10) — how well this post matches your Interest
- Sentiment Label — Positive, Neutral, or Negative
- Match Reason — a short explanation of why this post was flagged
If you've enabled draft replies, the AI also writes a suggested comment for you to review.
Reading the Progress
| Stat | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Posts found | Total matches your keywords returned |
| Analyzing | Posts currently being processed by AI |
| Matches | Posts that passed filtering and scored above your threshold |
The progress bar moves through two phases: first while fetching from Reddit, then while the AI analyzes results. If your AI provider is fast (most are), the whole thing is over in minutes.
How Long Does a Scan Take?
Speed depends on your keyword count, number of subreddits, and your AI provider's response time. Broader searches (more keywords, wider time range) take longer, but usually still finish in under three minutes.
Scan Status
You'll see the scan status in the bottom bar of the app:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Idle | No scan running |
| Searching | Finding posts on Reddit |
| Analyzing | AI is processing matches |
| Complete | Scan finished, feed updated |
A scan that shows Complete has finished. Your feed now contains every match that scored above your relevance threshold.
What If No Matches Appear?
Don't panic — it usually means one of these:
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Keywords too narrow | Broaden your keyword list; add more intent phrases |
| Threshold too high | Lower the relevance slider to widen the net |
| Subreddits inactive | Add more subreddits, or scan all of Reddit without targeting |
| Time range too short | Widen from Today to Past week or Past month |
The most common fix is just adding a few more keywords. Try a scan again after each change — results improve fast.
What's Next
Your feed is now live with your first matches. Time to learn what the scores and labels mean and start finding the leads that matter.
Next tutorial → Reading Your Feed — relevance scores, sentiment labels, filters, and how to cut noise from your results.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can I run multiple scans at once?
No — Engaggit runs one scan at a time. If you have multiple Interests, they queue up. In practice, a full scan of a single Interest takes so little time that the queue moves fast.
2. Does a scan use API credits?
Yes — each post sent to the AI for analysis counts as one API call. If you're on a paid provider like OpenAI, scans consume tokens. If you're using Ollama, it's free and unlimited. This is a good reason to keep your search rules focused — fewer irrelevant posts reaching the AI means lower cost.
3. What if a scan gets interrupted?
If Engaggit closes mid-scan, the in-progress results are lost. You'll need to run the scan again. Completed portions of the feed stay intact — only the unfinished analysis is lost.
4. How often should I scan?
It depends on your niche. For competitive markets, every 30 minutes is a good default. For slower-moving communities, once an hour is fine. You can change the interval from the dropdown in the left panel, right above the Scan Now button.
5. My scan finished but nothing appeared. What now?
The most likely culprit is keywords that are too narrow or a threshold that's too high. Check the suggestions in the troubleshooting table above, tweak one variable at a time, and scan again.
Engaggit is a privacy-first, AI-powered Reddit lead generation app. It runs on your machine, keeps your data to yourself, and helps you never miss a relevant conversation again.