bird

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X/Twitter CLI for reading, searching, and posting via cookies or Sweetistics.

⭐430stars🔀44forks📁View on GitHub🕐Updated Dec 21, 2025
[Web Automation]⭐ Featured

When & Why to Use This Skill

The 'bird' Claude skill is a specialized X/Twitter CLI designed for efficient social media interaction, including reading, searching, and posting. It optimizes the user experience by separating high-speed data retrieval (reading) via the command line from content publishing (writing) through browser-based simulation. This dual approach helps users automate their X workflows while minimizing the risk of rate limiting or account flagging by mimicking human behavior.

Use Cases

  • Social Media Monitoring: Rapidly search for specific keywords, hashtags, or brand mentions to stay informed about real-time trends and public sentiment.
  • Content Research and Extraction: Use the CLI to fetch specific tweets or entire threads for data analysis, archiving, or knowledge base enrichment.
  • Automated Engagement: Monitor notifications and mentions directly through the interface to maintain high response rates with followers.
  • Safe Content Publishing: Utilize the browser-based 'paste hack' and dedicated profiles to post updates and threads without triggering automated bot detection systems.
namebird
descriptionX/Twitter CLI for reading, searching, and posting via cookies or Sweetistics.
homepagehttps://bird.fast
metadata{"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🐦","requires":{"bins":["bird"]},"install":[{"id":"brew","kind":"brew","formula":"steipete/tap/bird","bins":["bird"],"label":"Install bird (brew)"}]}}

bird

Reading vs Writing - Different Tools

For READING tweets (works great):

  • Use the bird CLI - it's fast and reliable
  • bird read <url-or-id> - grab a specific tweet
  • bird search "query" -n 5 - search tweets
  • bird mentions - check notifications

For WRITING tweets (here's where it gets spicy):

  • Don't use the CLI for posting - Twitter flags it as automated and you'll get rate limited or soft-banned fast
  • Use the browser tool instead - mimics real human behavior

Quick Reference (Reading Only)

bird whoami           # Check auth status
bird read <url-or-id> # Read a specific tweet
bird thread <url-or-id> # Read full thread
bird search "query" -n 5 # Search tweets
bird mentions         # Check notifications

The React Input Problem

Twitter's compose box is a React controlled input. You can't just set .value like a normal input - React ignores it. The workaround:

Simulate a paste event:

// 1. Focus the editor
var editor = document.querySelector('[data-testid="tweetTextarea_0"]');
editor.focus();

// 2. Create a fake paste event (this triggers React's state update)
var dataTransfer = new DataTransfer();
dataTransfer.setData('text/plain', 'your tweet text here');
var pasteEvent = new ClipboardEvent('paste', {
  clipboardData: dataTransfer,
  bubbles: true,
  cancelable: true
});
editor.dispatchEvent(pasteEvent);

// 3. Click the post button
document.querySelector('[data-testid="tweetButtonInline"]').click();

Browser Setup Notes

  • Use a dedicated browser profile (e.g. "clawd") so you're logged in persistently
  • The cookie config lives at ~/.config/bird/config.json5 for the CLI
  • If CDP fails, kill Chrome completely (pkill -9 "Google Chrome") and restart with browser action=start

Rate Limiting & Detection

  • Space out your posts - don't rapid-fire
  • Vary your timing slightly (don't post at exactly :00 every hour)
  • If you get flagged, the account might need a CAPTCHA solve manually
  • Reading is basically unlimited, posting is where they watch you

Selectors That Work (as of late 2025)

  • Tweet compose box: [data-testid="tweetTextarea_0"]
  • Post button: [data-testid="tweetButtonInline"]
  • These change occasionally so if stuff breaks, inspect the page

TL;DR: read with CLI, write with browser + paste hack. 🐦