Twitter/X — Dual-Mode Integration

Three tools for different operations. Choose by task:

Mode	Tool	Auth	Cost	Use For
Official API	`x-search`	Bearer token	$0.005/read, $0.01/user	Search, research, profiles, threads, monitoring
Session	`bird`	Browser cookies	Free	Posting, replying, bookmarks, mentions, media
Archival	`smaug`	Via bird	Free	Bookmark/likes processing, AI-powered filing

Setup

x-search (Official API v2)

Requires an X API Bearer token from console.x.com. Pay-per-use — no monthly commitment.

bash

# Store token (pick one)
echo 'X_BEARER_TOKEN=your_token_here' >> ~/.claude/skills/twitter/.env
# OR
export X_BEARER_TOKEN=your_token_here
# OR
mkdir -p ~/.config/env && echo 'X_BEARER_TOKEN=your_token_here' >> ~/.config/env/global.env

bird CLI

bash

brew install steipete/tap/bird   # or: npm install -g @steipete/bird
bird whoami                       # verify auth (uses browser cookies)

Smaug (archival)

bash

cd ~/tools/smaug && npx smaug setup

x-search — Official API Research

Run via: bun run ~/.claude/skills/twitter/x-search/x-search.ts <command>

Quick Search (cost-conscious default)

bash

bun run ~/.claude/skills/twitter/x-search/x-search.ts search "AI agents" --quick
# 1 page, max 10 results, auto noise filter, 1hr cache, cost summary
# Est. cost: ~$0.50

Full Search

bash

bun run ~/.claude/skills/twitter/x-search/x-search.ts search "Claude Code" --pages 3 --sort likes --since 1d
bun run ~/.claude/skills/twitter/x-search/x-search.ts search "BG3 mods" --from LarianStudios --quality
bun run ~/.claude/skills/twitter/x-search/x-search.ts search "Minoan archaeology" --markdown --save

Search Options

Flag	Default	Description
`--quick`	off	1 page, max 10, noise filter, 1hr cache
`--sort`	likes	`likes\|impressions\|retweets\|recent`
`--since`	7d	`1h\|3h\|12h\|1d\|7d` or ISO timestamp
`--pages`	1	1-5 pages (100 tweets/page)
`--limit`	15	Max results displayed
`--from`	—	Shorthand for `from:username`
`--quality`	off	Filter tweets with < 10 likes
`--min-likes`	0	Minimum like threshold
`--no-replies`	off	Exclude replies
`--save`	off	Save markdown to `~/tools/smaug/knowledge/research/`
`--json`	off	Raw JSON output
`--markdown`	off	Markdown research document

Profiles, Threads, Single Tweets

bash

bun run ~/.claude/skills/twitter/x-search/x-search.ts profile AnthropicAI --count 10
bun run ~/.claude/skills/twitter/x-search/x-search.ts thread 1234567890 --pages 3
bun run ~/.claude/skills/twitter/x-search/x-search.ts tweet 1234567890

Watchlist

Monitor accounts with batch checking.

bash

bun run ~/.claude/skills/twitter/x-search/x-search.ts watchlist                    # show list
bun run ~/.claude/skills/twitter/x-search/x-search.ts watchlist add kikismith "Ancient art"
bun run ~/.claude/skills/twitter/x-search/x-search.ts watchlist remove kikismith
bun run ~/.claude/skills/twitter/x-search/x-search.ts watchlist check              # check all accounts

Watchlist stored at ~/.claude/skills/twitter/x-search/data/watchlist.json.

Cache

15-minute TTL (1hr in quick mode). File-based, auto-managed.

bash

bun run ~/.claude/skills/twitter/x-search/x-search.ts cache clear

Cost Reference

Resource	Cost
Post read	$0.005
User lookup	$0.010
Post create	$0.010
Quick search (~100 tweets)	~$0.50
3-page deep search (~300 tweets)	~$1.50
Profile check	~$0.51
Cached repeat	FREE

X API deduplicates reads within 24h. Cache prevents redundant queries within 15min.

bird CLI — Session-Based Operations

Uses undocumented Twitter GraphQL APIs via browser cookies. Free but may break when Twitter rotates internals.

Posting

bash

bird tweet "Hello world"
bird reply 123456789 "Great thread!"
bird tweet "With image" --media photo.png --alt "Description"

Reading

bash

bird read 123456789
bird thread https://x.com/user/status/123456789
bird replies 123456789 --json

Search (free, via GraphQL)

bash

bird search "query" -n 10
bird search "from:anthropic" -n 20 --json

Monitoring

bash

bird mentions -n 10
bird bookmarks -n 20
bird likes -n 20
bird following -n 50
bird followers -n 50

Maintenance

bash

bird whoami          # verify auth
bird check           # credential sources
bird query-ids --fresh  # refresh when Twitter rotates IDs

Smaug — Bookmark Archival

Archives bookmarks/likes to organized markdown with AI categorization.

bash

cd ~/tools/smaug
npx smaug run                    # fetch + process with Claude
npx smaug fetch 20               # fetch only
npx smaug fetch --source likes   # likes instead of bookmarks
npx smaug run -t                 # track token costs
npx smaug status                 # check state

Output: bookmarks.md, knowledge/tools/, knowledge/articles/

Research Methodology

For deep X research, follow this agentic loop:

•Decompose — Break topic into 2-3 search queries targeting different angles
•Search — Run each query with --quick first to assess signal quality
•Refine — Narrow queries based on initial results (add --from, --quality, --since)
•Thread — Follow high-value conversation threads for deeper context
•Deep-Dive — Re-run best queries with --pages 3 --markdown --save
•Synthesize — Compile findings from saved markdown into analysis

Default to --quick for exploratory queries. Use full mode only for confirmed-valuable searches.

Troubleshooting

x-search: "X_BEARER_TOKEN not found"

Set token via env, ~/.config/env/global.env, or ~/.claude/skills/twitter/.env. Get one at console.x.com.

bird: 403 Errors

Browser cookies expired. Log into Twitter in browser, then bird check.

bird: Query ID Errors

Twitter rotated internals. Run bird query-ids --fresh.

Rate Limiting (429)

Wait for reset. x-search shows reset time. bird: wait a few minutes.

When to Use Which

Task	Tool	Why
Search tweets by topic	x-search	Official API, cost-tracked, cached
Research a topic deeply	x-search	Multi-page, markdown output, save
Monitor specific accounts	x-search watchlist	Batch check with cost tracking
Post a tweet or reply	bird	Free, immediate, media support
Read a specific tweet/thread	bird (free) or x-search (tracked)	bird for quick reads, x-search for research
Check mentions	bird	Free, real-time
Archive bookmarks	smaug	AI categorization, markdown output
Fetch bookmarks/likes	bird + smaug	Session-based access