diff --git a/server/controllers/activitypub/client.ts b/server/controllers/activitypub/client.ts
index 8e064fb5b..def320730 100644
--- a/server/controllers/activitypub/client.ts
+++ b/server/controllers/activitypub/client.ts
@@ -309,7 +309,7 @@ async function videoCommentsController (req: express.Request, res: express.Respo
   if (redirectIfNotOwned(video.url, res)) return
 
   const handler = async (start: number, count: number) => {
-    const result = await VideoCommentModel.listAndCountByVideoForAP(video, start, count)
+    const result = await VideoCommentModel.listAndCountByVideoForAP({ video, start, count })
 
     return {
       total: result.total,
diff --git a/server/controllers/api/videos/comment.ts b/server/controllers/api/videos/comment.ts
index 44d64776c..70ca21500 100644
--- a/server/controllers/api/videos/comment.ts
+++ b/server/controllers/api/videos/comment.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
+import { MCommentFormattable } from '@server/types/models'
 import express from 'express'
+
 import { ResultList, ThreadsResultList, UserRight, VideoCommentCreate } from '../../../../shared/models'
 import { HttpStatusCode } from '../../../../shared/models/http/http-error-codes'
 import { VideoCommentThreads } from '../../../../shared/models/videos/comment/video-comment.model'
@@ -109,7 +111,7 @@ async function listVideoThreads (req: express.Request, res: express.Response) {
   const video = res.locals.onlyVideo
   const user = res.locals.oauth ? res.locals.oauth.token.User : undefined
 
-  let resultList: ThreadsResultList<VideoCommentModel>
+  let resultList: ThreadsResultList<MCommentFormattable>
 
   if (video.commentsEnabled === true) {
     const apiOptions = await Hooks.wrapObject({
@@ -144,12 +146,11 @@ async function listVideoThreadComments (req: express.Request, res: express.Respo
   const video = res.locals.onlyVideo
   const user = res.locals.oauth ? res.locals.oauth.token.User : undefined
 
-  let resultList: ResultList<VideoCommentModel>
+  let resultList: ResultList<MCommentFormattable>
 
   if (video.commentsEnabled === true) {
     const apiOptions = await Hooks.wrapObject({
       videoId: video.id,
-      isVideoOwned: video.isOwned(),
       threadId: res.locals.videoCommentThread.id,
       user
     }, 'filter:api.video-thread-comments.list.params')
diff --git a/server/lib/video-comment.ts b/server/lib/video-comment.ts
index 02f160fe8..6eb865f7f 100644
--- a/server/lib/video-comment.ts
+++ b/server/lib/video-comment.ts
@@ -1,31 +1,42 @@
+import express from 'express'
 import { cloneDeep } from 'lodash'
 import * as Sequelize from 'sequelize'
-import express from 'express'
 import { logger } from '@server/helpers/logger'
 import { sequelizeTypescript } from '@server/initializers/database'
 import { ResultList } from '../../shared/models'
 import { VideoCommentThreadTree } from '../../shared/models/videos/comment/video-comment.model'
 import { VideoCommentModel } from '../models/video/video-comment'
-import { MAccountDefault, MComment, MCommentOwnerVideo, MCommentOwnerVideoReply, MVideoFullLight } from '../types/models'
+import {
+  MAccountDefault,
+  MComment,
+  MCommentFormattable,
+  MCommentOwnerVideo,
+  MCommentOwnerVideoReply,
+  MVideoFullLight
+} from '../types/models'
 import { sendCreateVideoComment, sendDeleteVideoComment } from './activitypub/send'
 import { getLocalVideoCommentActivityPubUrl } from './activitypub/url'
 import { Hooks } from './plugins/hooks'
 
-async function removeComment (videoCommentInstance: MCommentOwnerVideo, req: express.Request, res: express.Response) {
-  const videoCommentInstanceBefore = cloneDeep(videoCommentInstance)
+async function removeComment (commentArg: MComment, req: express.Request, res: express.Response) {
+  let videoCommentInstanceBefore: MCommentOwnerVideo
 
   await sequelizeTypescript.transaction(async t => {
-    if (videoCommentInstance.isOwned() || videoCommentInstance.Video.isOwned()) {
-      await sendDeleteVideoComment(videoCommentInstance, t)
+    const comment = await VideoCommentModel.loadByUrlAndPopulateAccountAndVideo(commentArg.url, t)
+
+    videoCommentInstanceBefore = cloneDeep(comment)
+
+    if (comment.isOwned() || comment.Video.isOwned()) {
+      await sendDeleteVideoComment(comment, t)
     }
 
-    videoCommentInstance.markAsDeleted()
+    comment.markAsDeleted()
 
-    await videoCommentInstance.save({ transaction: t })
+    await comment.save({ transaction: t })
+
+    logger.info('Video comment %d deleted.', comment.id)
   })
 
-  logger.info('Video comment %d deleted.', videoCommentInstance.id)
-
   Hooks.runAction('action:api.video-comment.deleted', { comment: videoCommentInstanceBefore, req, res })
 }
 
@@ -64,7 +75,7 @@ async function createVideoComment (obj: {
   return savedComment
 }
 
-function buildFormattedCommentTree (resultList: ResultList<VideoCommentModel>): VideoCommentThreadTree {
+function buildFormattedCommentTree (resultList: ResultList<MCommentFormattable>): VideoCommentThreadTree {
   // Comments are sorted by id ASC
   const comments = resultList.data
 
diff --git a/server/models/shared/model-builder.ts b/server/models/shared/model-builder.ts
index c015ca4f5..07f7c4038 100644
--- a/server/models/shared/model-builder.ts
+++ b/server/models/shared/model-builder.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,24 @@
 import { isPlainObject } from 'lodash'
-import { Model as SequelizeModel, Sequelize } from 'sequelize'
+import { Model as SequelizeModel, ModelStatic, Sequelize } from 'sequelize'
 import { logger } from '@server/helpers/logger'
 
+/**
+ *
+ * Build Sequelize models from sequelize raw query (that must use { nest: true } options)
+ *
+ * In order to sequelize to correctly build the JSON this class will ingest,
+ * the columns selected in the raw query should be in the following form:
+ *   * All tables must be Pascal Cased (for example "VideoChannel")
+ *   * Root table must end with `Model` (for example "VideoCommentModel")
+ *   * Joined tables must contain the origin table name + '->JoinedTable'. For example:
+ *     * "Actor" is joined to "Account": "Actor" table must be renamed "Account->Actor"
+ *     * "Account->Actor" is joined to "Server": "Server" table must be renamed to "Account->Actor->Server"
+ *   * Selected columns must be renamed to contain the JSON path:
+ *     * "videoComment"."id": "VideoCommentModel"."id"
+ *     * "Account"."Actor"."Server"."id": "Account.Actor.Server.id"
+ *   * All tables must contain the row id
+ */
+
 export class ModelBuilder <T extends SequelizeModel> {
   private readonly modelRegistry = new Map<string, T>()
 
@@ -72,18 +89,18 @@ export class ModelBuilder <T extends SequelizeModel> {
         'Cannot build model %s that does not exist', this.buildSequelizeModelName(modelName),
         { existing: this.sequelize.modelManager.all.map(m => m.name) }
       )
-      return undefined
+      return { created: false, model: null }
     }
 
-    // FIXME: typings
-    const model = new (Model as any)(json)
+    const model = Model.build(json, { raw: true, isNewRecord: false })
+
     this.modelRegistry.set(registryKey, model)
 
     return { created: true, model }
   }
 
   private findModelBuilder (modelName: string) {
-    return this.sequelize.modelManager.getModel(this.buildSequelizeModelName(modelName))
+    return this.sequelize.modelManager.getModel(this.buildSequelizeModelName(modelName)) as ModelStatic<T>
   }
 
   private buildSequelizeModelName (modelName: string) {
diff --git a/server/models/utils.ts b/server/models/utils.ts
index 3476799ce..0b6ac8340 100644
--- a/server/models/utils.ts
+++ b/server/models/utils.ts
@@ -231,12 +231,12 @@ function parseRowCountResult (result: any) {
   return 0
 }
 
-function createSafeIn (sequelize: Sequelize, stringArr: (string | number)[]) {
-  return stringArr.map(t => {
+function createSafeIn (sequelize: Sequelize, toEscape: (string | number)[], additionalUnescaped: string[] = []) {
+  return toEscape.map(t => {
     return t === null
       ? null
       : sequelize.escape('' + t)
-  }).join(', ')
+  }).concat(additionalUnescaped).join(', ')
 }
 
 function buildLocalAccountIdsIn () {
diff --git a/server/models/video/sql/comment/video-comment-list-query-builder.ts b/server/models/video/sql/comment/video-comment-list-query-builder.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f3f6910e1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/models/video/sql/comment/video-comment-list-query-builder.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,394 @@
+import { Model, Sequelize, Transaction } from 'sequelize'
+import { AbstractRunQuery, ModelBuilder } from '@server/models/shared'
+import { createSafeIn, getCommentSort, parseRowCountResult } from '@server/models/utils'
+import { ActorImageType, VideoPrivacy } from '@shared/models'
+import { VideoCommentTableAttributes } from './video-comment-table-attributes'
+
+export interface ListVideoCommentsOptions {
+  selectType: 'api' | 'feed' | 'comment-only'
+
+  start?: number
+  count?: number
+  sort?: string
+
+  videoId?: number
+  threadId?: number
+  accountId?: number
+  videoChannelId?: number
+
+  blockerAccountIds?: number[]
+
+  isThread?: boolean
+  notDeleted?: boolean
+  isLocal?: boolean
+  onLocalVideo?: boolean
+  onPublicVideo?: boolean
+  videoAccountOwnerId?: boolean
+
+  search?: string
+  searchAccount?: string
+  searchVideo?: string
+
+  includeReplyCounters?: boolean
+
+  transaction?: Transaction
+}
+
+export class VideoCommentListQueryBuilder extends AbstractRunQuery {
+  private readonly tableAttributes = new VideoCommentTableAttributes()
+
+  private innerQuery: string
+
+  private select = ''
+  private joins = ''
+
+  private innerSelect = ''
+  private innerJoins = ''
+  private innerWhere = ''
+
+  private readonly built = {
+    cte: false,
+    accountJoin: false,
+    videoJoin: false,
+    videoChannelJoin: false,
+    avatarJoin: false
+  }
+
+  constructor (
+    protected readonly sequelize: Sequelize,
+    private readonly options: ListVideoCommentsOptions
+  ) {
+    super(sequelize)
+  }
+
+  async listComments <T extends Model> () {
+    this.buildListQuery()
+
+    const results = await this.runQuery({ nest: true, transaction: this.options.transaction })
+    const modelBuilder = new ModelBuilder<T>(this.sequelize)
+
+    return modelBuilder.createModels(results, 'VideoComment')
+  }
+
+  async countComments () {
+    this.buildCountQuery()
+
+    const result = await this.runQuery({ transaction: this.options.transaction })
+
+    return parseRowCountResult(result)
+  }
+
+  // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+  private buildListQuery () {
+    this.buildInnerListQuery()
+    this.buildListSelect()
+
+    this.query = `${this.select} ` +
+      `FROM (${this.innerQuery}) AS "VideoCommentModel" ` +
+      `${this.joins} ` +
+      `${this.getOrder()} ` +
+      `${this.getLimit()}`
+  }
+
+  private buildInnerListQuery () {
+    this.buildWhere()
+    this.buildInnerListSelect()
+
+    this.innerQuery = `${this.innerSelect} ` +
+      `FROM "videoComment" AS "VideoCommentModel" ` +
+      `${this.innerJoins} ` +
+      `${this.innerWhere} ` +
+      `${this.getOrder()} ` +
+      `${this.getInnerLimit()}`
+  }
+
+  // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+  private buildCountQuery () {
+    this.buildWhere()
+
+    this.query = `SELECT COUNT(*) AS "total" ` +
+      `FROM "videoComment" AS "VideoCommentModel" ` +
+      `${this.innerJoins} ` +
+      `${this.innerWhere}`
+  }
+
+  // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+  private buildWhere () {
+    let where: string[] = []
+
+    if (this.options.videoId) {
+      this.replacements.videoId = this.options.videoId
+
+      where.push('"VideoCommentModel"."videoId" = :videoId')
+    }
+
+    if (this.options.threadId) {
+      this.replacements.threadId = this.options.threadId
+
+      where.push('("VideoCommentModel"."id" = :threadId OR "VideoCommentModel"."originCommentId" = :threadId)')
+    }
+
+    if (this.options.accountId) {
+      this.replacements.accountId = this.options.accountId
+
+      where.push('"VideoCommentModel"."accountId" = :accountId')
+    }
+
+    if (this.options.videoChannelId) {
+      this.buildVideoChannelJoin()
+
+      this.replacements.videoChannelId = this.options.videoChannelId
+
+      where.push('"Account->VideoChannel"."id" = :videoChannelId')
+    }
+
+    if (this.options.blockerAccountIds) {
+      this.buildVideoChannelJoin()
+
+      where = where.concat(this.getBlockWhere('VideoCommentModel', 'Video->VideoChannel'))
+    }
+
+    if (this.options.isThread === true) {
+      where.push('"VideoCommentModel"."inReplyToCommentId" IS NULL')
+    }
+
+    if (this.options.notDeleted === true) {
+      where.push('"VideoCommentModel"."deletedAt" IS NULL')
+    }
+
+    if (this.options.isLocal === true) {
+      this.buildAccountJoin()
+
+      where.push('"Account->Actor"."serverId" IS NULL')
+    } else if (this.options.isLocal === false) {
+      this.buildAccountJoin()
+
+      where.push('"Account->Actor"."serverId" IS NOT NULL')
+    }
+
+    if (this.options.onLocalVideo === true) {
+      this.buildVideoJoin()
+
+      where.push('"Video"."remote" IS FALSE')
+    } else if (this.options.onLocalVideo === false) {
+      this.buildVideoJoin()
+
+      where.push('"Video"."remote" IS TRUE')
+    }
+
+    if (this.options.onPublicVideo === true) {
+      this.buildVideoJoin()
+
+      where.push(`"Video"."privacy" = ${VideoPrivacy.PUBLIC}`)
+    }
+
+    if (this.options.videoAccountOwnerId) {
+      this.buildVideoChannelJoin()
+
+      this.replacements.videoAccountOwnerId = this.options.videoAccountOwnerId
+
+      where.push(`"Video->VideoChannel"."accountId" = :videoAccountOwnerId`)
+    }
+
+    if (this.options.search) {
+      this.buildVideoJoin()
+      this.buildAccountJoin()
+
+      const escapedLikeSearch = this.sequelize.escape('%' + this.options.search + '%')
+
+      where.push(
+        `(` +
+          `"VideoCommentModel"."text" ILIKE ${escapedLikeSearch} OR ` +
+          `"Account->Actor"."preferredUsername" ILIKE ${escapedLikeSearch} OR ` +
+          `"Account"."name" ILIKE ${escapedLikeSearch} OR ` +
+          `"Video"."name" ILIKE ${escapedLikeSearch} ` +
+        `)`
+      )
+    }
+
+    if (this.options.searchAccount) {
+      this.buildAccountJoin()
+
+      const escapedLikeSearch = this.sequelize.escape('%' + this.options.searchAccount + '%')
+
+      where.push(
+        `(` +
+          `"Account->Actor"."preferredUsername" ILIKE ${escapedLikeSearch} OR ` +
+          `"Account"."name" ILIKE ${escapedLikeSearch} ` +
+        `)`
+      )
+    }
+
+    if (this.options.searchVideo) {
+      this.buildVideoJoin()
+
+      const escapedLikeSearch = this.sequelize.escape('%' + this.options.searchVideo + '%')
+
+      where.push(`"Video"."name" ILIKE ${escapedLikeSearch}`)
+    }
+
+    if (where.length !== 0) {
+      this.innerWhere = `WHERE ${where.join(' AND ')}`
+    }
+  }
+
+  private buildAccountJoin () {
+    if (this.built.accountJoin) return
+
+    this.innerJoins += ' LEFT JOIN "account" "Account" ON "Account"."id" = "VideoCommentModel"."accountId" ' +
+      'LEFT JOIN "actor" "Account->Actor" ON "Account->Actor"."id" = "Account"."actorId" ' +
+      'LEFT JOIN "server" "Account->Actor->Server" ON "Account->Actor"."serverId" = "Account->Actor->Server"."id" '
+
+    this.built.accountJoin = true
+  }
+
+  private buildVideoJoin () {
+    if (this.built.videoJoin) return
+
+    this.innerJoins += ' LEFT JOIN "video" "Video" ON "Video"."id" = "VideoCommentModel"."videoId" '
+
+    this.built.videoJoin = true
+  }
+
+  private buildVideoChannelJoin () {
+    if (this.built.videoChannelJoin) return
+
+    this.buildVideoJoin()
+
+    this.innerJoins += ' LEFT JOIN "videoChannel" "Video->VideoChannel" ON "Video"."channelId" = "Video->VideoChannel"."id" '
+
+    this.built.videoChannelJoin = true
+  }
+
+  private buildAvatarsJoin () {
+    if (this.options.selectType !== 'api' && this.options.selectType !== 'feed') return ''
+    if (this.built.avatarJoin) return
+
+    this.joins += `LEFT JOIN "actorImage" "Account->Actor->Avatars" ` +
+      `ON "VideoCommentModel"."Account.Actor.id" = "Account->Actor->Avatars"."actorId" ` +
+        `AND "Account->Actor->Avatars"."type" = ${ActorImageType.AVATAR}`
+
+    this.built.avatarJoin = true
+  }
+
+  // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+  private buildListSelect () {
+    const toSelect = [ '"VideoCommentModel".*' ]
+
+    if (this.options.selectType === 'api' || this.options.selectType === 'feed') {
+      this.buildAvatarsJoin()
+
+      toSelect.push(this.tableAttributes.getAvatarAttributes())
+    }
+
+    if (this.options.includeReplyCounters === true) {
+      toSelect.push(this.getTotalRepliesSelect())
+      toSelect.push(this.getAuthorTotalRepliesSelect())
+    }
+
+    this.select = this.buildSelect(toSelect)
+  }
+
+  private buildInnerListSelect () {
+    let toSelect = [ this.tableAttributes.getVideoCommentAttributes() ]
+
+    if (this.options.selectType === 'api' || this.options.selectType === 'feed') {
+      this.buildAccountJoin()
+      this.buildVideoJoin()
+
+      toSelect = toSelect.concat([
+        this.tableAttributes.getVideoAttributes(),
+        this.tableAttributes.getAccountAttributes(),
+        this.tableAttributes.getActorAttributes(),
+        this.tableAttributes.getServerAttributes()
+      ])
+    }
+
+    this.innerSelect = this.buildSelect(toSelect)
+  }
+
+  // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+  private getBlockWhere (commentTableName: string, channelTableName: string) {
+    const where: string[] = []
+
+    const blockerIdsString = createSafeIn(
+      this.sequelize,
+      this.options.blockerAccountIds,
+      [ `"${channelTableName}"."accountId"` ]
+    )
+
+    where.push(
+      `NOT EXISTS (` +
+        `SELECT 1 FROM "accountBlocklist" ` +
+        `WHERE "targetAccountId" = "${commentTableName}"."accountId" ` +
+        `AND "accountId" IN (${blockerIdsString})` +
+      `)`
+    )
+
+    where.push(
+      `NOT EXISTS (` +
+        `SELECT 1 FROM "account" ` +
+        `INNER JOIN "actor" ON account."actorId" = actor.id ` +
+        `INNER JOIN "serverBlocklist" ON "actor"."serverId" = "serverBlocklist"."targetServerId" ` +
+        `WHERE "account"."id" = "${commentTableName}"."accountId" ` +
+        `AND "serverBlocklist"."accountId" IN (${blockerIdsString})` +
+      `)`
+    )
+
+    return where
+  }
+
+  // ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+  private getTotalRepliesSelect () {
+    const blockWhereString = this.getBlockWhere('replies', 'videoChannel').join(' AND ')
+
+    return `(` +
+      `SELECT COUNT("replies"."id") FROM "videoComment" AS "replies" ` +
+      `LEFT JOIN "video" ON "video"."id" = "replies"."videoId" ` +
+      `LEFT JOIN "videoChannel" ON "video"."channelId" = "videoChannel"."id" ` +
+      `WHERE "replies"."originCommentId" = "VideoCommentModel"."id" ` +
+        `AND "deletedAt" IS NULL ` +
+        `AND ${blockWhereString} ` +
+    `) AS "totalReplies"`
+  }
+
+  private getAuthorTotalRepliesSelect () {
+    return `(` +
+      `SELECT COUNT("replies"."id") FROM "videoComment" AS "replies" ` +
+      `INNER JOIN "video" ON "video"."id" = "replies"."videoId" ` +
+      `INNER JOIN "videoChannel" ON "videoChannel"."id" = "video"."channelId" ` +
+      `WHERE "replies"."originCommentId" = "VideoCommentModel"."id" AND "replies"."accountId" = "videoChannel"."accountId"` +
+    `) AS "totalRepliesFromVideoAuthor"`
+  }
+
+  private getOrder () {
+    if (!this.options.sort) return ''
+
+    const orders = getCommentSort(this.options.sort)
+
+    return 'ORDER BY ' + orders.map(o => `"${o[0]}" ${o[1]}`).join(', ')
+  }
+
+  private getLimit () {
+    if (!this.options.count) return ''
+
+    this.replacements.limit = this.options.count
+
+    return `LIMIT :limit `
+  }
+
+  private getInnerLimit () {
+    if (!this.options.count) return ''
+
+    this.replacements.limit = this.options.count
+    this.replacements.offset = this.options.start || 0
+
+    return `LIMIT :limit OFFSET :offset `
+  }
+}
diff --git a/server/models/video/sql/comment/video-comment-table-attributes.ts b/server/models/video/sql/comment/video-comment-table-attributes.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cae3c1683
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/models/video/sql/comment/video-comment-table-attributes.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+export class VideoCommentTableAttributes {
+
+  getVideoCommentAttributes () {
+    return [
+      '"VideoCommentModel"."id"',
+      '"VideoCommentModel"."url"',
+      '"VideoCommentModel"."deletedAt"',
+      '"VideoCommentModel"."updatedAt"',
+      '"VideoCommentModel"."createdAt"',
+      '"VideoCommentModel"."text"',
+      '"VideoCommentModel"."originCommentId"',
+      '"VideoCommentModel"."inReplyToCommentId"',
+      '"VideoCommentModel"."videoId"',
+      '"VideoCommentModel"."accountId"'
+    ].join(', ')
+  }
+
+  getAccountAttributes () {
+    return [
+      `"Account"."id" AS "Account.id"`,
+      `"Account"."name" AS "Account.name"`,
+      `"Account"."description" AS "Account.description"`,
+      `"Account"."createdAt" AS "Account.createdAt"`,
+      `"Account"."updatedAt" AS "Account.updatedAt"`,
+      `"Account"."actorId" AS "Account.actorId"`,
+      `"Account"."userId" AS "Account.userId"`,
+      `"Account"."applicationId" AS "Account.applicationId"`
+    ].join(', ')
+  }
+
+  getVideoAttributes () {
+    return [
+      `"Video"."id" AS "Video.id"`,
+      `"Video"."uuid" AS "Video.uuid"`,
+      `"Video"."name" AS "Video.name"`
+    ].join(', ')
+  }
+
+  getActorAttributes () {
+    return [
+      `"Account->Actor"."id" AS "Account.Actor.id"`,
+      `"Account->Actor"."type" AS "Account.Actor.type"`,
+      `"Account->Actor"."preferredUsername" AS "Account.Actor.preferredUsername"`,
+      `"Account->Actor"."url" AS "Account.Actor.url"`,
+      `"Account->Actor"."followersCount" AS "Account.Actor.followersCount"`,
+      `"Account->Actor"."followingCount" AS "Account.Actor.followingCount"`,
+      `"Account->Actor"."remoteCreatedAt" AS "Account.Actor.remoteCreatedAt"`,
+      `"Account->Actor"."serverId" AS "Account.Actor.serverId"`,
+      `"Account->Actor"."createdAt" AS "Account.Actor.createdAt"`,
+      `"Account->Actor"."updatedAt" AS "Account.Actor.updatedAt"`
+    ].join(', ')
+  }
+
+  getServerAttributes () {
+    return [
+      `"Account->Actor->Server"."id" AS "Account.Actor.Server.id"`,
+      `"Account->Actor->Server"."host" AS "Account.Actor.Server.host"`,
+      `"Account->Actor->Server"."redundancyAllowed" AS "Account.Actor.Server.redundancyAllowed"`,
+      `"Account->Actor->Server"."createdAt" AS "Account.Actor.Server.createdAt"`,
+      `"Account->Actor->Server"."updatedAt" AS "Account.Actor.Server.updatedAt"`
+    ].join(', ')
+  }
+
+  getAvatarAttributes () {
+    return [
+      `"Account->Actor->Avatars"."id" AS "Account.Actor.Avatars.id"`,
+      `"Account->Actor->Avatars"."filename" AS "Account.Actor.Avatars.filename"`,
+      `"Account->Actor->Avatars"."height" AS "Account.Actor.Avatars.height"`,
+      `"Account->Actor->Avatars"."width" AS "Account.Actor.Avatars.width"`,
+      `"Account->Actor->Avatars"."fileUrl" AS "Account.Actor.Avatars.fileUrl"`,
+      `"Account->Actor->Avatars"."onDisk" AS "Account.Actor.Avatars.onDisk"`,
+      `"Account->Actor->Avatars"."type" AS "Account.Actor.Avatars.type"`,
+      `"Account->Actor->Avatars"."actorId" AS "Account.Actor.Avatars.actorId"`,
+      `"Account->Actor->Avatars"."createdAt" AS "Account.Actor.Avatars.createdAt"`,
+      `"Account->Actor->Avatars"."updatedAt" AS "Account.Actor.Avatars.updatedAt"`
+    ].join(', ')
+  }
+}
diff --git a/server/models/video/video-comment.ts b/server/models/video/video-comment.ts
index af9614d30..fb9d15e55 100644
--- a/server/models/video/video-comment.ts
+++ b/server/models/video/video-comment.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { FindOptions, Op, Order, QueryTypes, ScopeOptions, Sequelize, Transaction, WhereOptions } from 'sequelize'
+import { FindOptions, Op, Order, QueryTypes, Sequelize, Transaction } from 'sequelize'
 import {
   AllowNull,
   BelongsTo,
@@ -13,11 +13,9 @@ import {
   Table,
   UpdatedAt
 } from 'sequelize-typescript'
-import { exists } from '@server/helpers/custom-validators/misc'
 import { getServerActor } from '@server/models/application/application'
 import { MAccount, MAccountId, MUserAccountId } from '@server/types/models'
-import { uniqify } from '@shared/core-utils'
-import { VideoPrivacy } from '@shared/models'
+import { pick, uniqify } from '@shared/core-utils'
 import { AttributesOnly } from '@shared/typescript-utils'
 import { ActivityTagObject, ActivityTombstoneObject } from '../../../shared/models/activitypub/objects/common-objects'
 import { VideoCommentObject } from '../../../shared/models/activitypub/objects/video-comment-object'
@@ -41,61 +39,19 @@ import {
 } from '../../types/models/video'
 import { VideoCommentAbuseModel } from '../abuse/video-comment-abuse'
 import { AccountModel } from '../account/account'
-import { ActorModel, unusedActorAttributesForAPI } from '../actor/actor'
-import {
-  buildBlockedAccountSQL,
-  buildBlockedAccountSQLOptimized,
-  buildLocalAccountIdsIn,
-  getCommentSort,
-  searchAttribute,
-  throwIfNotValid
-} from '../utils'
+import { ActorModel } from '../actor/actor'
+import { buildLocalAccountIdsIn, throwIfNotValid } from '../utils'
+import { ListVideoCommentsOptions, VideoCommentListQueryBuilder } from './sql/comment/video-comment-list-query-builder'
 import { VideoModel } from './video'
 import { VideoChannelModel } from './video-channel'
 
 export enum ScopeNames {
   WITH_ACCOUNT = 'WITH_ACCOUNT',
-  WITH_ACCOUNT_FOR_API = 'WITH_ACCOUNT_FOR_API',
   WITH_IN_REPLY_TO = 'WITH_IN_REPLY_TO',
-  WITH_VIDEO = 'WITH_VIDEO',
-  ATTRIBUTES_FOR_API = 'ATTRIBUTES_FOR_API'
+  WITH_VIDEO = 'WITH_VIDEO'
 }
 
 @Scopes(() => ({
-  [ScopeNames.ATTRIBUTES_FOR_API]: (blockerAccountIds: number[]) => {
-    return {
-      attributes: {
-        include: [
-          [
-            Sequelize.literal(
-              '(' +
-                'WITH "blocklist" AS (' + buildBlockedAccountSQL(blockerAccountIds) + ')' +
-                'SELECT COUNT("replies"."id") ' +
-                'FROM "videoComment" AS "replies" ' +
-                'WHERE "replies"."originCommentId" = "VideoCommentModel"."id" ' +
-                'AND "deletedAt" IS NULL ' +
-                'AND "accountId" NOT IN (SELECT "id" FROM "blocklist")' +
-              ')'
-            ),
-            'totalReplies'
-          ],
-          [
-            Sequelize.literal(
-              '(' +
-                'SELECT COUNT("replies"."id") ' +
-                'FROM "videoComment" AS "replies" ' +
-                'INNER JOIN "video" ON "video"."id" = "replies"."videoId" ' +
-                'INNER JOIN "videoChannel" ON "videoChannel"."id" = "video"."channelId" ' +
-                'WHERE "replies"."originCommentId" = "VideoCommentModel"."id" ' +
-                'AND "replies"."accountId" = "videoChannel"."accountId"' +
-              ')'
-            ),
-            'totalRepliesFromVideoAuthor'
-          ]
-        ]
-      }
-    } as FindOptions
-  },
   [ScopeNames.WITH_ACCOUNT]: {
     include: [
       {
@@ -103,22 +59,6 @@ export enum ScopeNames {
       }
     ]
   },
-  [ScopeNames.WITH_ACCOUNT_FOR_API]: {
-    include: [
-      {
-        model: AccountModel.unscoped(),
-        include: [
-          {
-            attributes: {
-              exclude: unusedActorAttributesForAPI
-            },
-            model: ActorModel, // Default scope includes avatar and server
-            required: true
-          }
-        ]
-      }
-    ]
-  },
   [ScopeNames.WITH_IN_REPLY_TO]: {
     include: [
       {
@@ -319,93 +259,19 @@ export class VideoCommentModel extends Model<Partial<AttributesOnly<VideoComment
     searchAccount?: string
     searchVideo?: string
   }) {
-    const { start, count, sort, isLocal, search, searchAccount, searchVideo, onLocalVideo } = parameters
+    const queryOptions: ListVideoCommentsOptions = {
+      ...pick(parameters, [ 'start', 'count', 'sort', 'isLocal', 'search', 'searchVideo', 'searchAccount', 'onLocalVideo' ]),
 
-    const where: WhereOptions = {
-      deletedAt: null
-    }
-
-    const whereAccount: WhereOptions = {}
-    const whereActor: WhereOptions = {}
-    const whereVideo: WhereOptions = {}
-
-    if (isLocal === true) {
-      Object.assign(whereActor, {
-        serverId: null
-      })
-    } else if (isLocal === false) {
-      Object.assign(whereActor, {
-        serverId: {
-          [Op.ne]: null
-        }
-      })
-    }
-
-    if (search) {
-      Object.assign(where, {
-        [Op.or]: [
-          searchAttribute(search, 'text'),
-          searchAttribute(search, '$Account.Actor.preferredUsername$'),
-          searchAttribute(search, '$Account.name$'),
-          searchAttribute(search, '$Video.name$')
-        ]
-      })
-    }
-
-    if (searchAccount) {
-      Object.assign(whereActor, {
-        [Op.or]: [
-          searchAttribute(searchAccount, '$Account.Actor.preferredUsername$'),
-          searchAttribute(searchAccount, '$Account.name$')
-        ]
-      })
-    }
-
-    if (searchVideo) {
-      Object.assign(whereVideo, searchAttribute(searchVideo, 'name'))
-    }
-
-    if (exists(onLocalVideo)) {
-      Object.assign(whereVideo, { remote: !onLocalVideo })
-    }
-
-    const getQuery = (forCount: boolean) => {
-      return {
-        offset: start,
-        limit: count,
-        order: getCommentSort(sort),
-        where,
-        include: [
-          {
-            model: AccountModel.unscoped(),
-            required: true,
-            where: whereAccount,
-            include: [
-              {
-                attributes: {
-                  exclude: unusedActorAttributesForAPI
-                },
-                model: forCount === true
-                  ? ActorModel.unscoped() // Default scope includes avatar and server
-                  : ActorModel,
-                required: true,
-                where: whereActor
-              }
-            ]
-          },
-          {
-            model: VideoModel.unscoped(),
-            required: true,
-            where: whereVideo
-          }
-        ]
-      }
+      selectType: 'api',
+      notDeleted: true
     }
 
     return Promise.all([
-      VideoCommentModel.count(getQuery(true)),
-      VideoCommentModel.findAll(getQuery(false))
-    ]).then(([ total, data ]) => ({ total, data }))
+      new VideoCommentListQueryBuilder(VideoCommentModel.sequelize, queryOptions).listComments<MCommentAdminFormattable>(),
+      new VideoCommentListQueryBuilder(VideoCommentModel.sequelize, queryOptions).countComments()
+    ]).then(([ rows, count ]) => {
+      return { total: count, data: rows }
+    })
   }
 
   static async listThreadsForApi (parameters: {
@@ -416,67 +282,40 @@ export class VideoCommentModel extends Model<Partial<AttributesOnly<VideoComment
     sort: string
     user?: MUserAccountId
   }) {
-    const { videoId, isVideoOwned, start, count, sort, user } = parameters
+    const { videoId, user } = parameters
 
-    const blockerAccountIds = await VideoCommentModel.buildBlockerAccountIds({ videoId, user, isVideoOwned })
+    const blockerAccountIds = await VideoCommentModel.buildBlockerAccountIds({ user })
 
-    const accountBlockedWhere = {
-      accountId: {
-        [Op.notIn]: Sequelize.literal(
-          '(' + buildBlockedAccountSQL(blockerAccountIds) + ')'
-        )
-      }
+    const commonOptions: ListVideoCommentsOptions = {
+      selectType: 'api',
+      videoId,
+      blockerAccountIds
     }
 
-    const queryList = {
-      offset: start,
-      limit: count,
-      order: getCommentSort(sort),
-      where: {
-        [Op.and]: [
-          {
-            videoId
-          },
-          {
-            inReplyToCommentId: null
-          },
-          {
-            [Op.or]: [
-              accountBlockedWhere,
-              {
-                accountId: null
-              }
-            ]
-          }
-        ]
-      }
+    const listOptions: ListVideoCommentsOptions = {
+      ...commonOptions,
+      ...pick(parameters, [ 'sort', 'start', 'count' ]),
+
+      isThread: true,
+      includeReplyCounters: true
     }
 
-    const findScopesList: (string | ScopeOptions)[] = [
-      ScopeNames.WITH_ACCOUNT_FOR_API,
-      {
-        method: [ ScopeNames.ATTRIBUTES_FOR_API, blockerAccountIds ]
-      }
-    ]
+    const countOptions: ListVideoCommentsOptions = {
+      ...commonOptions,
 
-    const countScopesList: ScopeOptions[] = [
-      {
-        method: [ ScopeNames.ATTRIBUTES_FOR_API, blockerAccountIds ]
-      }
-    ]
+      isThread: true
+    }
 
-    const notDeletedQueryCount = {
-      where: {
-        videoId,
-        deletedAt: null,
-        ...accountBlockedWhere
-      }
+    const notDeletedCountOptions: ListVideoCommentsOptions = {
+      ...commonOptions,
+
+      notDeleted: true
     }
 
     return Promise.all([
-      VideoCommentModel.scope(findScopesList).findAll(queryList),
-      VideoCommentModel.scope(countScopesList).count(queryList),
-      VideoCommentModel.count(notDeletedQueryCount)
+      new VideoCommentListQueryBuilder(VideoCommentModel.sequelize, listOptions).listComments<MCommentAdminFormattable>(),
+      new VideoCommentListQueryBuilder(VideoCommentModel.sequelize, countOptions).countComments(),
+      new VideoCommentListQueryBuilder(VideoCommentModel.sequelize, notDeletedCountOptions).countComments()
     ]).then(([ rows, count, totalNotDeletedComments ]) => {
       return { total: count, data: rows, totalNotDeletedComments }
     })
@@ -484,54 +323,29 @@ export class VideoCommentModel extends Model<Partial<AttributesOnly<VideoComment
 
   static async listThreadCommentsForApi (parameters: {
     videoId: number
-    isVideoOwned: boolean
     threadId: number
     user?: MUserAccountId
   }) {
-    const { videoId, threadId, user, isVideoOwned } = parameters
+    const { user } = parameters
 
-    const blockerAccountIds = await VideoCommentModel.buildBlockerAccountIds({ videoId, user, isVideoOwned })
+    const blockerAccountIds = await VideoCommentModel.buildBlockerAccountIds({ user })
 
-    const query = {
-      order: [ [ 'createdAt', 'ASC' ], [ 'updatedAt', 'ASC' ] ] as Order,
-      where: {
-        videoId,
-        [Op.and]: [
-          {
-            [Op.or]: [
-              { id: threadId },
-              { originCommentId: threadId }
-            ]
-          },
-          {
-            [Op.or]: [
-              {
-                accountId: {
-                  [Op.notIn]: Sequelize.literal(
-                    '(' + buildBlockedAccountSQL(blockerAccountIds) + ')'
-                  )
-                }
-              },
-              {
-                accountId: null
-              }
-            ]
-          }
-        ]
-      }
+    const queryOptions: ListVideoCommentsOptions = {
+      ...pick(parameters, [ 'videoId', 'threadId' ]),
+
+      selectType: 'api',
+      sort: 'createdAt',
+
+      blockerAccountIds,
+      includeReplyCounters: true
     }
 
-    const scopes: any[] = [
-      ScopeNames.WITH_ACCOUNT_FOR_API,
-      {
-        method: [ ScopeNames.ATTRIBUTES_FOR_API, blockerAccountIds ]
-      }
-    ]
-
     return Promise.all([
-      VideoCommentModel.count(query),
-      VideoCommentModel.scope(scopes).findAll(query)
-    ]).then(([ total, data ]) => ({ total, data }))
+      new VideoCommentListQueryBuilder(VideoCommentModel.sequelize, queryOptions).listComments<MCommentAdminFormattable>(),
+      new VideoCommentListQueryBuilder(VideoCommentModel.sequelize, queryOptions).countComments()
+    ]).then(([ rows, count ]) => {
+      return { total: count, data: rows }
+    })
   }
 
   static listThreadParentComments (comment: MCommentId, t: Transaction, order: 'ASC' | 'DESC' = 'ASC'): Promise<MCommentOwner[]> {
@@ -559,31 +373,31 @@ export class VideoCommentModel extends Model<Partial<AttributesOnly<VideoComment
       .findAll(query)
   }
 
-  static async listAndCountByVideoForAP (video: MVideoImmutable, start: number, count: number, t?: Transaction) {
-    const blockerAccountIds = await VideoCommentModel.buildBlockerAccountIds({
-      videoId: video.id,
-      isVideoOwned: video.isOwned()
-    })
+  static async listAndCountByVideoForAP (parameters: {
+    video: MVideoImmutable
+    start: number
+    count: number
+  }) {
+    const { video } = parameters
 
-    const query = {
-      order: [ [ 'createdAt', 'ASC' ] ] as Order,
-      offset: start,
-      limit: count,
-      where: {
-        videoId: video.id,
-        accountId: {
-          [Op.notIn]: Sequelize.literal(
-            '(' + buildBlockedAccountSQL(blockerAccountIds) + ')'
-          )
-        }
-      },
-      transaction: t
+    const blockerAccountIds = await VideoCommentModel.buildBlockerAccountIds({ user: null })
+
+    const queryOptions: ListVideoCommentsOptions = {
+      ...pick(parameters, [ 'start', 'count' ]),
+
+      selectType: 'comment-only',
+      videoId: video.id,
+      sort: 'createdAt',
+
+      blockerAccountIds
     }
 
     return Promise.all([
-      VideoCommentModel.count(query),
-      VideoCommentModel.findAll<MComment>(query)
-    ]).then(([ total, data ]) => ({ total, data }))
+      new VideoCommentListQueryBuilder(VideoCommentModel.sequelize, queryOptions).listComments<MComment>(),
+      new VideoCommentListQueryBuilder(VideoCommentModel.sequelize, queryOptions).countComments()
+    ]).then(([ rows, count ]) => {
+      return { total: count, data: rows }
+    })
   }
 
   static async listForFeed (parameters: {
@@ -592,97 +406,36 @@ export class VideoCommentModel extends Model<Partial<AttributesOnly<VideoComment
     videoId?: number
     accountId?: number
     videoChannelId?: number
-  }): Promise<MCommentOwnerVideoFeed[]> {
-    const serverActor = await getServerActor()
-    const { start, count, videoId, accountId, videoChannelId } = parameters
+  }) {
+    const blockerAccountIds = await VideoCommentModel.buildBlockerAccountIds({ user: null })
 
-    const whereAnd: WhereOptions[] = buildBlockedAccountSQLOptimized(
-      '"VideoCommentModel"."accountId"',
-      [ serverActor.Account.id, '"Video->VideoChannel"."accountId"' ]
-    )
+    const queryOptions: ListVideoCommentsOptions = {
+      ...pick(parameters, [ 'start', 'count', 'accountId', 'videoId', 'videoChannelId' ]),
 
-    if (accountId) {
-      whereAnd.push({
-        accountId
-      })
+      selectType: 'feed',
+
+      sort: '-createdAt',
+      onPublicVideo: true,
+      notDeleted: true,
+
+      blockerAccountIds
     }
 
-    const accountWhere = {
-      [Op.and]: whereAnd
-    }
-
-    const videoChannelWhere = videoChannelId ? { id: videoChannelId } : undefined
-
-    const query = {
-      order: [ [ 'createdAt', 'DESC' ] ] as Order,
-      offset: start,
-      limit: count,
-      where: {
-        deletedAt: null,
-        accountId: accountWhere
-      },
-      include: [
-        {
-          attributes: [ 'name', 'uuid' ],
-          model: VideoModel.unscoped(),
-          required: true,
-          where: {
-            privacy: VideoPrivacy.PUBLIC
-          },
-          include: [
-            {
-              attributes: [ 'accountId' ],
-              model: VideoChannelModel.unscoped(),
-              required: true,
-              where: videoChannelWhere
-            }
-          ]
-        }
-      ]
-    }
-
-    if (videoId) query.where['videoId'] = videoId
-
-    return VideoCommentModel
-      .scope([ ScopeNames.WITH_ACCOUNT ])
-      .findAll(query)
+    return new VideoCommentListQueryBuilder(VideoCommentModel.sequelize, queryOptions).listComments<MCommentOwnerVideoFeed>()
   }
 
   static listForBulkDelete (ofAccount: MAccount, filter: { onVideosOfAccount?: MAccountId } = {}) {
-    const accountWhere = filter.onVideosOfAccount
-      ? { id: filter.onVideosOfAccount.id }
-      : {}
+    const queryOptions: ListVideoCommentsOptions = {
+      selectType: 'comment-only',
 
-    const query = {
-      limit: 1000,
-      where: {
-        deletedAt: null,
-        accountId: ofAccount.id
-      },
-      include: [
-        {
-          model: VideoModel,
-          required: true,
-          include: [
-            {
-              model: VideoChannelModel,
-              required: true,
-              include: [
-                {
-                  model: AccountModel,
-                  required: true,
-                  where: accountWhere
-                }
-              ]
-            }
-          ]
-        }
-      ]
+      accountId: ofAccount.id,
+      videoAccountOwnerId: filter.onVideosOfAccount?.id,
+
+      notDeleted: true,
+      count: 5000
     }
 
-    return VideoCommentModel
-      .scope([ ScopeNames.WITH_ACCOUNT ])
-      .findAll(query)
+    return new VideoCommentListQueryBuilder(VideoCommentModel.sequelize, queryOptions).listComments<MComment>()
   }
 
   static async getStats () {
@@ -750,9 +503,7 @@ export class VideoCommentModel extends Model<Partial<AttributesOnly<VideoComment
   }
 
   isOwned () {
-    if (!this.Account) {
-      return false
-    }
+    if (!this.Account) return false
 
     return this.Account.isOwned()
   }
@@ -906,22 +657,15 @@ export class VideoCommentModel extends Model<Partial<AttributesOnly<VideoComment
   }
 
   private static async buildBlockerAccountIds (options: {
-    videoId: number
-    isVideoOwned: boolean
-    user?: MUserAccountId
-  }) {
-    const { videoId, user, isVideoOwned } = options
+    user: MUserAccountId
+  }): Promise<number[]> {
+    const { user } = options
 
     const serverActor = await getServerActor()
     const blockerAccountIds = [ serverActor.Account.id ]
 
     if (user) blockerAccountIds.push(user.Account.id)
 
-    if (isVideoOwned) {
-      const videoOwnerAccount = await AccountModel.loadAccountIdFromVideo(videoId)
-      if (videoOwnerAccount) blockerAccountIds.push(videoOwnerAccount.id)
-    }
-
     return blockerAccountIds
   }
 }
diff --git a/server/tests/api/videos/video-comments.ts b/server/tests/api/videos/video-comments.ts
index dc47f8a4a..5485b72ec 100644
--- a/server/tests/api/videos/video-comments.ts
+++ b/server/tests/api/videos/video-comments.ts
@@ -232,7 +232,8 @@ describe('Test video comments', function () {
       await command.addReply({ videoId, toCommentId: threadId2, text: text3 })
 
       const tree = await command.getThread({ videoId: videoUUID, threadId: threadId2 })
-      expect(tree.comment.totalReplies).to.equal(tree.comment.totalRepliesFromVideoAuthor + 1)
+      expect(tree.comment.totalRepliesFromVideoAuthor).to.equal(1)
+      expect(tree.comment.totalReplies).to.equal(2)
     })
   })