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Xurl

X/Twitter via xurl CLI: post, search, DM, media, v2 API.

Skill metadata​

SourceBundled (installed by default)
Pathskills/social-media/xurl
Version1.1.1
Authorxdevplatform + openclaw + VibeOS
LicenseMIT
Platformslinux, macos
Tagstwitter, x, social-media, xurl, official-api

Reference: full SKILL.md​

info

The following is the complete skill definition that VibeOS loads when this skill is triggered. This is what the agent sees as instructions when the skill is active.

xurl — X (Twitter) API via the Official CLI

xurl is the X developer platform's official CLI for the X API. It supports shortcut commands for common actions AND raw curl-style access to any v2 endpoint. All commands return JSON to stdout.

Use this skill for:

  • posting, replying, quoting, deleting posts
  • searching posts and reading timelines/mentions
  • liking, reposting, bookmarking
  • following, unfollowing, blocking, muting
  • direct messages
  • media uploads (images and video)
  • raw access to any X API v2 endpoint
  • multi-app / multi-account workflows

This skill replaces the older xitter skill (which wrapped a third-party Python CLI). xurl is maintained by the X developer platform team, supports OAuth 2.0 PKCE with auto-refresh, and covers a substantially larger API surface.


Secret Safety (MANDATORY)​

Critical rules when operating inside an agent/LLM session:

  • Never read, print, parse, summarize, upload, or send ~/.xurl to LLM context.
  • Never ask the user to paste credentials/tokens into chat.
  • The user must fill ~/.xurl with secrets manually on their own machine. In Docker, this must be the ~ seen by VibeOS tool subprocesses; see the Docker note below.
  • Never recommend or execute auth commands with inline secrets in agent sessions.
  • Never use --verbose / -v in agent sessions — it can expose auth headers/tokens.
  • To verify credentials exist, only use: xurl auth status.

Forbidden flags in agent commands (they accept inline secrets): --bearer-token, --consumer-key, --consumer-secret, --access-token, --token-secret, --client-id, --client-secret

App credential registration and credential rotation must be done by the user manually, outside the agent session. After credentials are registered, the user authenticates with xurl auth oauth2 — also outside the agent session. Tokens persist to ~/.xurl in YAML. Each app has isolated tokens. OAuth 2.0 tokens auto-refresh.


Installation​

Pick ONE method. On Linux, the shell script or go install are the easiest.

# Shell script (installs to ~/.local/bin, no sudo, works on Linux + macOS)
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xdevplatform/xurl/main/install.sh | bash

# Homebrew (macOS)
brew install --cask xdevplatform/tap/xurl

# npm
npm install -g @xdevplatform/xurl

# Go
go install github.com/xdevplatform/xurl@latest

Verify:

xurl --help
xurl auth status

If xurl is installed but auth status shows no apps or tokens, the user needs to complete auth manually — see the next section.


One-Time User Setup (user runs these outside the agent)​

These steps must be performed by the user directly, NOT by the agent, because they involve pasting secrets. Direct the user to this block; do not execute it for them.

  1. Create or open an app at https://developer.x.com/en/portal/dashboard

  2. Set the redirect URI to http://localhost:8080/callback

  3. Copy the app's Client ID and Client Secret

  4. Register the app locally (user runs this):

    xurl auth apps add my-app --client-id YOUR_CLIENT_ID --client-secret YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET
  5. Authenticate (specify --app to bind the token to your app):

    xurl auth oauth2 --app my-app

    (This opens a browser for the OAuth 2.0 PKCE flow.)

    If X returns a UsernameNotFound error or 403 on the post-OAuth /2/users/me lookup, pass your handle explicitly (xurl v1.1.0+):

    xurl auth oauth2 --app my-app YOUR_USERNAME

    This binds the token to your handle and skips the broken /2/users/me call.

  6. Set the app as default so all commands use it:

    xurl auth default my-app
  7. Verify:

    xurl auth status
    xurl whoami

After this, the agent can use any command below without further setup. OAuth 2.0 tokens auto-refresh.

Common pitfall: If you omit --app my-app from xurl auth oauth2, the OAuth token is saved to the built-in default app profile — which has no client-id or client-secret. Commands will fail with auth errors even though the OAuth flow appeared to succeed. If you hit this, re-run xurl auth oauth2 --app my-app and xurl auth default my-app.

Docker HOME pitfall: In the official VibeOS Docker layout, /opt/data is VIBEOS_HOME, but VibeOS tool subprocesses use /opt/data/home as HOME. That means ~/.xurl resolves to /opt/data/home/.xurl for VibeOS-run xurl commands, not /opt/data/.xurl. Run the user setup with the same HOME:

HOME=/opt/data/home xurl auth apps add my-app --client-id YOUR_CLIENT_ID --client-secret YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET
HOME=/opt/data/home xurl auth oauth2 --app my-app YOUR_USERNAME
HOME=/opt/data/home xurl auth default my-app YOUR_USERNAME
HOME=/opt/data/home xurl auth status

If HOME=/opt/data xurl auth status succeeds but HOME=/opt/data/home xurl auth status shows no apps or tokens, VibeOS tool calls will not see the credentials.


Quick Reference​

ActionCommand
Postxurl post "Hello world!"
Replyxurl reply POST_ID "Nice post!"
Quotexurl quote POST_ID "My take"
Delete a postxurl delete POST_ID
Read a postxurl read POST_ID
Search postsxurl search "QUERY" -n 10
Who am Ixurl whoami
Look up a userxurl user @handle
Home timelinexurl timeline -n 20
Mentionsxurl mentions -n 10
Like / Unlikexurl like POST_ID / xurl unlike POST_ID
Repost / Undoxurl repost POST_ID / xurl unrepost POST_ID
Bookmark / Removexurl bookmark POST_ID / xurl unbookmark POST_ID
List bookmarks / likesxurl bookmarks -n 10 / xurl likes -n 10
Follow / Unfollowxurl follow @handle / xurl unfollow @handle
Following / Followersxurl following -n 20 / xurl followers -n 20
Block / Unblockxurl block @handle / xurl unblock @handle
Mute / Unmutexurl mute @handle / xurl unmute @handle
Send DMxurl dm @handle "message"
List DMsxurl dms -n 10
Upload mediaxurl media upload path/to/file.mp4
Media statusxurl media status MEDIA_ID
List appsxurl auth apps list
Remove appxurl auth apps remove NAME
Set default appxurl auth default APP_NAME [USERNAME]
Per-request appxurl --app NAME /2/users/me
Auth statusxurl auth status

Notes:

  • POST_ID accepts full URLs too (e.g. https://x.com/user/status/1234567890) — xurl extracts the ID.
  • Usernames work with or without a leading @.

Command Details​

Posting​

xurl post "Hello world!"
xurl post "Check this out" --media-id MEDIA_ID
xurl post "Thread pics" --media-id 111 --media-id 222

xurl reply 1234567890 "Great point!"
xurl reply https://x.com/user/status/1234567890 "Agreed!"
xurl reply 1234567890 "Look at this" --media-id MEDIA_ID

xurl quote 1234567890 "Adding my thoughts"
xurl delete 1234567890
xurl read 1234567890
xurl read https://x.com/user/status/1234567890

xurl search "golang"
xurl search "from:elonmusk" -n 20
xurl search "#buildinpublic lang:en" -n 15

For X Articles, use raw API mode instead of the read shortcut. xurl read expects a post ID or post URL; do not put read before a /2/tweets/... endpoint. Request the article tweet field and ingest data.article.plain_text from the JSON response:

xurl --app APP_NAME '/2/tweets/2057909493250539891?expansions=author_id,attachments.media_keys,referenced_tweets.id&tweet.fields=created_at,lang,public_metrics,context_annotations,entities,possibly_sensitive,conversation_id,in_reply_to_user_id,referenced_tweets,article'

Users, Timeline, Mentions​

xurl whoami
xurl user elonmusk
xurl user @XDevelopers

xurl timeline -n 25
xurl mentions -n 20

Engagement​

xurl like 1234567890
xurl unlike 1234567890

xurl repost 1234567890
xurl unrepost 1234567890

xurl bookmark 1234567890
xurl unbookmark 1234567890

xurl bookmarks -n 20
xurl likes -n 20

Social Graph​

xurl follow @XDevelopers
xurl unfollow @XDevelopers

xurl following -n 50
xurl followers -n 50

# Another user's graph
xurl following --of elonmusk -n 20
xurl followers --of elonmusk -n 20

xurl block @spammer
xurl unblock @spammer
xurl mute @annoying
xurl unmute @annoying

Direct Messages​

xurl dm @someuser "Hey, saw your post!"
xurl dms -n 25

Media Upload​

# Auto-detect type
xurl media upload photo.jpg
xurl media upload video.mp4

# Explicit type/category
xurl media upload --media-type image/jpeg --category tweet_image photo.jpg

# Videos need server-side processing — check status (or poll)
xurl media status MEDIA_ID
xurl media status --wait MEDIA_ID

# Full workflow
xurl media upload meme.png # returns media id
xurl post "lol" --media-id MEDIA_ID

Raw API Access​

The shortcuts cover common operations. For anything else, use raw curl-style mode against any X API v2 endpoint:

# GET
xurl /2/users/me

# POST with JSON body
xurl -X POST /2/tweets -d '{"text":"Hello world!"}'

# DELETE / PUT / PATCH
xurl -X DELETE /2/tweets/1234567890

# Custom headers
xurl -H "Content-Type: application/json" /2/some/endpoint

# Force streaming
xurl -s /2/tweets/search/stream

# Full URLs also work
xurl https://api.x.com/2/users/me

Global Flags​

FlagShortDescription
--appUse a specific registered app (overrides default)
--authForce auth type: oauth1, oauth2, or app
--username-uWhich OAuth2 account to use (if multiple exist)
--verbose-vForbidden in agent sessions — leaks auth headers
--trace-tAdd X-B3-Flags: 1 trace header

Streaming​

Streaming endpoints are auto-detected. Known ones include:

  • /2/tweets/search/stream
  • /2/tweets/sample/stream
  • /2/tweets/sample10/stream

Force streaming on any endpoint with -s.


Output Format​

All commands return JSON to stdout. Structure mirrors X API v2:

{ "data": { "id": "1234567890", "text": "Hello world!" } }

Errors are also JSON:

{ "errors": [ { "message": "Not authorized", "code": 403 } ] }

Common Workflows​

Post with an image​

xurl media upload photo.jpg
xurl post "Check out this photo!" --media-id MEDIA_ID

Reply to a conversation​

xurl read https://x.com/user/status/1234567890
xurl reply 1234567890 "Here are my thoughts..."

Search and engage​

xurl search "topic of interest" -n 10
xurl like POST_ID_FROM_RESULTS
xurl reply POST_ID_FROM_RESULTS "Great point!"

Check your activity​

xurl whoami
xurl mentions -n 20
xurl timeline -n 20

Multiple apps (credentials pre-configured manually)​

xurl auth default prod alice               # prod app, alice user
xurl --app staging /2/users/me # one-off against staging

Error Handling​

  • Non-zero exit code on any error.
  • API errors are still printed as JSON to stdout, so you can parse them.
  • Auth errors → have the user re-run xurl auth oauth2 outside the agent session.
  • Commands that need the caller's user ID (like, repost, bookmark, follow, etc.) will auto-fetch it via /2/users/me. An auth failure there surfaces as an auth error.

Agent Workflow​

  1. Verify prerequisites: xurl --help and xurl auth status.
  2. Check default app has credentials. Parse the auth status output. The default app is marked with ▸. If the default app shows oauth2: (none) but another app has a valid oauth2 user, tell the user to run xurl auth default <that-app> to fix it. This is the most common setup mistake — the user added an app with a custom name but never set it as default, so xurl keeps trying the empty default profile.
  3. If auth is missing entirely, stop and direct the user to the "One-Time User Setup" section — do NOT attempt to register apps or pass secrets yourself.
  4. Start with a cheap read (xurl whoami, xurl user @handle, xurl search ... -n 3) to confirm reachability.
  5. Confirm the target post/user and the user's intent before any write action (post, reply, like, repost, DM, follow, block, delete).
  6. Use JSON output directly — every response is already structured.
  7. Never paste ~/.xurl contents back into the conversation.

Troubleshooting​

SymptomCauseFix
Auth errors after successful OAuth flowToken saved to default app (no client-id/secret) instead of your named appxurl auth oauth2 --app my-app then xurl auth default my-app
unauthorized_client during OAuthApp type set to "Native App" in X dashboardChange to "Web app, automated app or bot" in User Authentication Settings
UsernameNotFound or 403 on /2/users/me right after OAuthX not returning username reliably from /2/users/meRe-run xurl auth oauth2 --app my-app YOUR_USERNAME (xurl v1.1.0+) to pass the handle explicitly
401 on every requestToken expired or wrong default appCheck xurl auth status — verify ▸ points to an app with oauth2 tokens
client-forbidden / client-not-enrolledX platform enrollment issueDashboard → Apps → Manage → Move to "Pay-per-use" package → Production environment
CreditsDepleted$0 balance on X APIBuy credits (min $5) in Developer Console → Billing
media processing failed on image uploadDefault category is amplify_videoAdd --category tweet_image --media-type image/png
Two "Client Secret" values in X dashboardUI bug — first is actually Client IDConfirm on the "Keys and tokens" page; ID ends in MTpjaQ

Notes​

  • Rate limits: X enforces per-endpoint rate limits. A 429 means wait and retry. Write endpoints (post, reply, like, repost) have tighter limits than reads.
  • Scopes: OAuth 2.0 tokens use broad scopes. A 403 on a specific action usually means the token is missing a scope — have the user re-run xurl auth oauth2.
  • Token refresh: OAuth 2.0 tokens auto-refresh. Nothing to do.
  • Multiple apps: Each app has isolated credentials/tokens. Switch with xurl auth default or --app.
  • Multiple accounts per app: Select with -u / --username, or set a default with xurl auth default APP USER.
  • Token storage: ~/.xurl is YAML. In Docker, use the VibeOS subprocess HOME (/opt/data/home in the official image) so tokens land under /opt/data/home/.xurl. Never read or send this file to LLM context.
  • Cost: X API access is typically paid for meaningful usage. Many failures are plan/permission problems, not code problems.

Attribution​