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Post tweets, read threads, search X/Twitter from the terminal using the bird CLI. Use when automating Twitter/X, posting from scripts, analyzing tweet threads, monitoring mentions, or working with the Twitter API without OAuth setup.
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Based on SOC occupation classification
| name | bird-fast |
| description | Post tweets, read threads, search X/Twitter from the terminal using the bird CLI. Use when automating Twitter/X, posting from scripts, analyzing tweet threads, monitoring mentions, or working with the Twitter API without OAuth setup. |
A command-line interface for X/Twitter that authenticates via your existing browser session — no API keys or OAuth setup required.
bird is a TypeScript-based CLI that uses Twitter's internal GraphQL API with automatic query ID management. It extracts authentication cookies from Safari, Chrome, or Firefox.
Key Features:
# npm
npm install -g @steipete/bird
# pnpm
pnpm add -g @steipete/bird
# bun
bun add -g @steipete/bird
# Homebrew (macOS — standalone binary, no Node.js required)
brew install steipete/tap/bird
# One-shot execution (no install)
bunx @steipete/bird whoami
npx @steipete/bird whoami
bird uses a three-tier priority chain:
| Priority | Source | How to Set |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (highest) | CLI flags | --auth-token, --ct0 |
| 2 | Environment variables | AUTH_TOKEN, CT0 (or TWITTER_AUTH_TOKEN, TWITTER_CT0) |
| 3 (default) | Browser cookies | Auto-extracted from Safari → Chrome → Firefox |
Verify authentication:
bird whoami # Shows authenticated user
bird check # Shows credential source
# Post a tweet
bird tweet "Hello from the terminal!"
# Read a tweet
bird read https://x.com/user/status/1234567890123456789
# Reply to a tweet
bird reply 1234567890123456789 "Great point!"
# Search tweets
bird search "from:elonmusk" -n 20
# View your mentions
bird mentions
Post a new tweet with optional media.
bird tweet "<text>" [options]
# Options
--media <path> Attach media file (repeatable, up to 4 images/GIFs or 1 video)
--alt <text> Alt text for corresponding --media (repeatable)
# Examples
bird tweet "Check this out!"
bird tweet "Photo gallery" --media img1.jpg --alt "First photo" --media img2.jpg --alt "Second"
bird tweet "Demo video" --media demo.mp4
Reply to an existing tweet.
bird reply <tweet-id-or-url> "<text>" [options]
# Examples
bird reply 1234567890123456789 "I agree!"
bird reply https://x.com/user/status/1234567890123456789 "Great thread!"
bird reply 1234567890123456789 "Here's a screenshot" --media shot.png --alt "Screenshot"
Fetch a single tweet. Handles standard tweets, Notes (long-form), and Articles.
bird read <tweet-id-or-url>
# Shorthand: just provide the ID or URL
bird 1234567890123456789
bird https://x.com/user/status/1234567890123456789
bird replies <tweet-id-or-url> # All replies to a tweet
bird thread <tweet-id-or-url> # Full conversation thread
bird search "<query>" [-n <count>]
# Examples
bird search "claude ai" -n 20
bird search "from:anthropic"
bird search "@username"
Supports Twitter's advanced search syntax: from:, to:, since:, until:, filter:links, etc.
bird mentions [-u <handle>] [-n <count>] # Mentions of a user (defaults to you)
bird bookmarks [-n <count>] # Your bookmarked tweets
bird whoami # Show authenticated user
bird check # Verify credentials and show source
bird query-ids [--fresh] [--json] # Inspect/refresh GraphQL query ID cache
bird help [command] # Show help
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
--auth-token <token> | Twitter auth_token cookie |
--ct0 <token> | Twitter ct0 cookie |
--cookie-source <source> | Browser priority: safari, chrome, firefox (repeatable) |
--chrome-profile <name> | Chrome profile name |
--firefox-profile <name> | Firefox profile name |
--timeout <ms> | Request timeout in milliseconds |
--plain | Stable output: disable emoji and color (good for scripts) |
--no-emoji | Disable emoji in output |
--no-color | Disable ANSI colors |
--json | Output as JSON (command-specific) |
| Type | Extensions | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Images | .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .webp | Up to 4 |
| GIFs | .gif | Up to 4 |
| Videos | .mp4, .m4v, .mov | 1 only |
Cannot mix videos with images/GIFs.
# Alt text for accessibility
bird tweet "Three photos" \
--media photo1.jpg --alt "Beach sunset" \
--media photo2.jpg --alt "Mountain view" \
--media photo3.jpg --alt "City skyline"
| Format | Flag | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Human-readable | (default) | Interactive terminal |
| Plain | --plain | Scripting (no emoji/color) |
| JSON | --json | Programmatic parsing |
# Parse tweet data in a script
bird read 1234567890123456789 --json | jq '.text'
# Mention monitoring
bird mentions -n 50 --json | jq '.[] | {user: .user.screen_name, text: .text}'
Optional JSON5 config files:
| Location | Scope |
|---|---|
~/.config/bird/config.json5 | Global |
./.birdrc.json5 | Project-specific |
// Example config
{
cookieSource: ["firefox", "safari"],
firefoxProfile: "default-release",
timeoutMs: 20000
}
#!/bin/bash
DATE=$(date +"%B %d, %Y")
bird tweet "Daily status for $DATE: All systems operational. #status"
# Get all replies to a viral tweet as JSON
bird replies https://x.com/user/status/1234567890123456789 --json | \
jq '.[] | {user: .user.screen_name, text: .text, likes: .favorite_count}'
bird tweet "Product launch gallery 🚀" \
--media hero.png --alt "Product hero shot" \
--media feature1.png --alt "Feature overview" \
--media feature2.png --alt "Technical specs" \
--media pricing.png --alt "Pricing table"
#!/bin/bash
bird mentions -n 20 --json | jq -r '.[] | "\(.id) \(.user.screen_name): \(.text)"'
--json for scripting — always when parsing output programmatically--plain in CI/CD — avoids emoji/color issues in logs--alt when attaching imagesbird query-ids --fresh if bird hasn't been used in a few daysAUTH_TOKEN / CT0 instead of browser cookies in scriptssleep) in bulk automation scripts# Verify you're logged into x.com in your browser
# Try specifying the browser explicitly
bird whoami --cookie-source safari
# Or set credentials via environment
export AUTH_TOKEN="your-auth-token"
export CT0="your-ct0-token"
bird whoami
Query IDs may be stale. Refresh the cache:
bird query-ids --fresh
bird automatically falls back to the REST API. If it persists, wait a few minutes and retry.
# Multiple browser profiles may have different sessions
bird whoami --cookie-source chrome --chrome-profile "Profile 1"
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | Success |
| 1 | Runtime error (network, auth, API) |
| 2 | Invalid usage (unknown command, bad arguments) |
~/.config/bird/query-ids-cache.json (24-hour TTL)statuses/update.json) for error 226Create production-ready GitHub Actions workflows for automated testing, building, and deploying applications. Use when setting up CI/CD with GitHub Actions, automating development workflows, or creating reusable workflow templates.
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