| name | read |
| description | Read a tweet from X (Twitter) by URL or ID and load it into the conversation.
Use when user says "/x:read <url>", "read this tweet", "what does this tweet say", or pastes an x.com / twitter.com status link and wants to discuss, summarize, or reply to it.
NOT for posting (use /x:tweet), timelines, search, analytics, or DMs.
|
| argument-hint | <x.com URL or numeric tweet ID> [--json] |
| allowed-tools | Bash(python3*), Read |
| user-invocable | false |
Read - Fetch a Tweet via X API
Fetch a single tweet via the X API v2 GET /2/tweets/:id endpoint and render it as markdown so the rest of the conversation can act on it (summarize, reply via /x:tweet --reply-to, quote, etc.).
Workflow
- Parse target: From
$ARGUMENTS, extract the URL or numeric tweet ID as a single positional argument, and capture any --json (or natural-language equivalent like "raw" / "as JSON") as a separate flag. Accepted target forms: https://x.com/<user>/status/<id>, twitter.com/..., or a bare numeric ID — the script handles all three.
- Fetch: From this skill's directory, run
python3 scripts/read.py <target>, appending --json as a separate argument when raw output was requested. Do NOT pass "$ARGUMENTS" as a single quoted string — that swallows flags. The script reuses the same Keychain credentials as /x:tweet (service x-api).
- Present: The script prints markdown with the tweet's text, author, timestamp, public metrics, any referenced tweets (replied-to / quoted), and media URLs. Show this output to the user verbatim or summarize it depending on what they asked for.
- Follow-up: If the user wants to reply, hand off to
/x:tweet with the tweet ID for --reply-to. The fetched tweet's URL contains the ID after /status/.
Long-form articles
When a tweet is an X long-form article (the body is a t.co link wrapping x.com/i/article/...), the script:
- Renders the header as
# Article by ... instead of # Tweet by ...
- Surfaces the article title under
## Article: <title>
- Adds an
**Article URL:** line pointing at the expanded x.com/i/article/:id
- Emits a clear fallback note that the API exposes only the title, not the body — the user must open the URL to read the full piece. If
data.note_tweet.text is populated by the API (rare), that body is rendered inline.
- Still surfaces the wrapping tweet's own text under
### Wrapping tweet text
If the user needs the body content for downstream work, hand off to a browser tool (e.g., mcp__chrome-devtools__*) to navigate the article URL and extract — /x:read itself stops at the API layer.
Flags
--json — print the raw API payload instead of markdown. Use when the user asks for raw data, full entities, or fields the markdown view drops.
Errors
- Missing credentials: Direct user to run
/x:tweet once (it triggers scripts/setup.sh for native macOS keychain dialogs), or set X_API_KEY / X_API_SECRET / X_ACCESS_TOKEN / X_ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET env vars.
- 404: Tweet was deleted, is from a private account, or never existed. Don't retry.
- 429: Rate limited. Wait and try again — don't loop.
- 401/403: Credentials are invalid or the account lacks read access for that tweet. Re-run setup.
Cost
X API v2 Posts read tier is billed per resource (~$0.005 / post read + ~$0.010 / user read on the standard tier as of 2026). One /x:read call = one post read + (typically) one user read for the author.
