Twitter / X
The Twitter / X connector lets AI agents read tweets, search the platform, explore user timelines and follower graphs, post new tweets, and manage likes. Authentication uses OAuth 2.0 with PKCE and your credentials are stored encrypted in MCPGate's vault, never exposed to the AI client.
Posting tweets is public
twitter_post_tweetpublishes content immediately to your public Twitter/X timeline. There is no draft or approval step built into the API. Always deny this tool in apps that don't explicitly require posting capability.Tool reference#
The Twitter / X connector exposes 10 tools: 6 read, 3 write, and 1 delete. Use the MCP Apps page to enable or disable individual tools per app.
| Tool | Category | Description |
|---|---|---|
| twitter_get_tweet | read | Get a tweet by ID |
| twitter_search_tweets | read | Search recent tweets by query string |
| twitter_get_user | read | Get a Twitter/X user by username or ID |
| twitter_get_timeline | read | Get the home timeline or user timeline tweets |
| twitter_list_followers | read | List followers of a Twitter/X user |
| twitter_list_following | read | List accounts a Twitter/X user is following |
| twitter_post_tweet | write | Post a new tweet |
| twitter_like_tweet | write | Like a tweet |
| twitter_unlike_tweet | write | Unlike a previously liked tweet |
| twitter_delete_tweet | delete | Delete a tweet by ID |
Common guardrail recipes#
Read-only access#
Enable only the six read tools and deny twitter_post_tweet, twitter_like_tweet, twitter_unlike_tweet, and twitter_delete_tweet. Use this for social listening agents that monitor mentions, trends, or competitor activity without taking any action.
Engage preset#
Use the built-in engage preset to allow reads plus twitter_like_tweet and twitter_unlike_tweet, while keeping twitter_post_tweet and twitter_delete_tweet denied. Agents can interact with content passively without publishing anything or removing tweets.
Rate-limit tweet posting#
Twitter/X enforces strict write rate limits (300 tweets per 3-hour window on Basic tier). Apply the cooldown guardrail template to twitter_post_tweet with a minimum interval of 30 seconds between calls to prevent the AI from bulk-posting and triggering rate limit errors.
Troubleshooting#
- 401 Unauthorized — The OAuth token has been revoked or the connected Twitter/X app has been suspended. Reconnect the connector in MCPGate to obtain a fresh token.
- 403 on tweet posting — Your Twitter developer app may not have Read and Write permissions enabled. Update the app permissions in the Twitter Developer Portal and reconnect MCPGate to obtain a token with write access.
- Search returns no recent tweets —
twitter_search_tweetssearches only the past 7 days of tweets on the Basic access tier. For older tweets, a higher Twitter API access tier is required.