@youmind-openlab/rettiwt-api

YouMind Open Lab fork - An API for fetching data from Twitter/X, with browser extension support!

This is a fork of Rettiwt-API that adds browser extension compatibility. You can now use this library directly in browser extensions without needing to pass API keys - it automatically retrieves authentication from browser cookies.

What's New in This Fork

- 🌐 Browser Extension Support - Use directly in Chrome/Firefox extensions
- 🔐 Automatic Cookie Authentication - No need to manually extract API keys
- 📦 Separate Browser Entry Point - Import from @youmind-openlab/rettiwt-api/browser
- ✨ Zero Configuration - Just new RettiwtBrowser() and you're ready to go

Installation

``bash
npm install @youmind-openlab/rettiwt-api
`

Quick Start

$3

`typescript
import { RettiwtBrowser } from '@youmind-openlab/rettiwt-api/browser';

const rettiwt = new RettiwtBrowser();

// Check if user is logged in to X.com
if (await rettiwt.isLoggedIn()) {
// Initialize and verify authentication
const user = await rettiwt.initialize();
console.log(Logged in as: ${user.userName});

// Fetch bookmarks
const bookmarks = await rettiwt.user.bookmarks(20);
console.log(Found ${bookmarks.list.length} bookmarks);

// Search tweets
const results = await rettiwt.tweet.search({ includeWords: ['javascript'] }, 20);
console.log(Found ${results.list.length} tweets);
}
`

$3

`typescript
import { Rettiwt } from '@youmind-openlab/rettiwt-api';

// Guest authentication (limited access)
const rettiwt = new Rettiwt();

// User authentication (full access)
const rettiwt = new Rettiwt({ apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY' });

// Fetch user details
const user = await rettiwt.user.details('elonmusk');
console.log(user);
`

Browser Extension Usage

$3

Your browser extension needs the following permissions in manifest.json:

`json
{
"manifest_version": 3,
"permissions": ["cookies"],
"host_permissions": [
"https://.x.com/",
"https://.twitter.com/"
]
}
`

$3

#### isLoggedIn(): Promise

Checks if the user is logged in to X.com by checking for required cookies. Does NOT make any API calls.

`typescript
const rettiwt = new RettiwtBrowser();
if (await rettiwt.isLoggedIn()) {
// User is logged in
}
`

#### initialize(): Promise

Initializes the library and verifies authentication. Must be called before using other methods.

`typescript
const rettiwt = new RettiwtBrowser();
const user = await rettiwt.initialize();
console.log(Welcome, ${user.fullName}!);
`

#### Available Services

After initialization, you can access:

- rettiwt.user - User-related operations (bookmarks, followers, following, etc.)
- rettiwt.tweet - Tweet-related operations (search, details, like, retweet, etc.)
- rettiwt.list - List-related operations
- rettiwt.dm - Direct message operations

$3

`typescript
import { RettiwtBrowser, Tweet } from '@youmind-openlab/rettiwt-api/browser';

const rettiwt = new RettiwtBrowser();
await rettiwt.initialize();

const allBookmarks: Tweet[] = [];
let cursor: string | undefined;

do {
const result = await rettiwt.user.bookmarks(20, cursor);
allBookmarks.push(...result.list);
cursor = result.next || undefined;
} while (cursor);

console.log(Total bookmarks: ${allBookmarks.length});
`

$3

`typescript
const results = await rettiwt.tweet.search({
includeWords: ['typescript', 'react'],
fromUsers: ['dan_abramov'],
minLikes: 100
}, 20);

for (const tweet of results.list) {
console.log(@${tweet.tweetBy?.userName}: ${tweet.fullText});
}
`

$3

`typescript
const rettiwt = new RettiwtBrowser({
timeout: 30000, // Request timeout in ms
logging: true, // Enable debug logging
maxRetries: 5, // Retries on 404 errors (default: 5)
delay: 1000, // Delay between requests in ms
});
`

Building Your Own Extension

$3

`javascript
// webpack.config.js
const webpack = require('webpack');

module.exports = {
entry: './src/popup.ts',
output: {
filename: 'popup.js',
path: __dirname + '/dist',
},
resolve: {
extensions: ['.ts', '.js'],
fallback: {
fs: false,
path: false,
crypto: false,
stream: require.resolve('stream-browserify'),
buffer: require.resolve('buffer/'),
},
},
plugins: [
new webpack.ProvidePlugin({
Buffer: ['buffer', 'Buffer'],
}),
],
module: {
rules: [
{ test: /\.ts$/, use: 'ts-loader', exclude: /node_modules/ },
],
},
};
`

$3

`bash
npm install --save-dev buffer stream-browserify
`

$3

`typescript
// popup.ts
import { RettiwtBrowser } from '@youmind-openlab/rettiwt-api/browser';

async function main() {
const rettiwt = new RettiwtBrowser();

if (!(await rettiwt.isLoggedIn())) {
document.body.innerHTML = '

Please log in to X.com first

const user = await rettiwt.initialize();
document.body.innerHTML =

Welcome, ${user.fullName}!

main();
`

Exported Types

The browser entry point exports the following:

`typescript
import {
RettiwtBrowser, // Main browser class
User, // User data type
Tweet, // Tweet data type
CursoredData, // Paginated response type
// ... and more
} from '@youmind-openlab/rettiwt-api/browser';
`

---

Original Rettiwt-API Documentation

The sections below are from the original Rettiwt-API documentation for Node.js usage.

Prerequisites

- NodeJS 22
- A working Twitter account (optional)

Installation (CLI)

It is recommended to install the package globally, if you want to use it from the CLI. Use the following steps to install the package and ensure it's installed correctly:

1. Open a terminal.
2. Install the package using the command npm install -g @youmind-openlab/rettiwt-api.
3. Check if the package is installed correctly using the command rettiwt help.

For using the package in your own project, you can install it as a dependency.

Authentication

Rettiwt-API can be used with or without logging in to Twitter. As such, the two authentication strategies are:

- 'Guest' authentication (without logging in) grants access to the following resources/actions:

- Tweet Details
- User Details (by username)
- User Timeline

- 'User' authentication (logging in) grants access to the following resources/actions:

- Direct Message Inbox
- Direct Message Conversations
- Direct Message Delete Conversation
- List Add Member
- List Details
- List Members
- List Remove Member
- List Tweets
- Tweet Details - Single and Bulk
- Tweet Bookmark
- Tweet Like
- Tweet Likers
- Tweet Media Upload
- Tweet Post
- Tweet Replies
- Tweet Retweet
- Tweet Retweeters
- Tweet Schedule
- Tweet Search
- Tweet Stream
- Tweet Unbookmark
- Tweet Unlike
- Tweet Unpost
- Tweet Unretweet
- Tweet Unschedule
- User Affiliates
- User Analytics (Only for Premium accounts)
- User Bookmarks
- User Bookmark Folders
- User Bookmark Folder Tweets
- User Details - Single (by ID and Username) and Bulk (by ID only)
- User Follow
- User Followed Feed
- User Followers
- User Following
- User Highlights
- User Likes
- User Lists
- User Media
- User Notification
- User Recommended Feed
- User Replies Timeline
- User Search
- User Subscriptions
- User Timeline
- User Unfollow
- User Profile Update

By default, Rettiwt-API uses 'guest' authentication. If however, access to the full set of resources is required, 'user' authentication can be used. This is done by using the cookies associated with your Twitter/X account, and encoding them into an API_KEY for convenience. The said API_KEY can be obtained by using a browser extension, as follows:

$3

1. Install the X Auth Helper extension from the Chrome Web Store, and allow it to run it in incognito mode.
2. Switch to incognito mode and login to Twitter/X.
3. After successful login, while still being on Twitter/X, click on the extension which will open the extension popup.
4. Click on the Get Key button, this will generate the API_KEY and will show up in the text-area.
5. Copy the API_KEY by either clicking on the Copy Key button or manually from the text-area.
6. You may close the browser, but don't log out. Remember, since it's incognito mode, you didn't explicity 'log out', so, while the session will be erased from the browser, the API_KEY still remains valid.
7. Save the API_KEY for use.

$3

1. Install the Rettiwt Auth Helper extension from Firefox Add-Ons, and allow it to run it in in-private mode.
2. Switch to in-private mode and login to Twitter/X.
3. After successful login, while still being on Twitter/X, click on the extension which will open the extension popup.
4. Click on the Get API Key button, this will generate the API_KEY and will show up in the text-area.
5. Copy the API_KEY by either clicking on the Copy API Key button or manually from the text-area.
6. You may close the browser, but don't log out. Remember, since it's in-private mode, you didn't explicity 'log out', so, while the session will be erased from the browser, the API_KEY still remains valid.
7. Save the API_KEY for use.

#### Notes:

- API_KEY created in this way should last 5 years from the date of login, as long as the credentials to the account aren't changed.
- This approach can also be done without going into incognito/in-private mode, in which case you can either login as usual or skip the login step if you're already logged in, and continue from the steps after login. However, this makes the API_KEY to last only as long as the Twitter/X account isn't logged out of (you may exit the browser as usual) or 5 years, whichever comes first. That's why it's recommended to use incognito/in-private mode, so that the API_KEY isn't accidentially revoked by logging out.

The API_KEY

The API_KEY generated by logging in is what allows Rettiwt-API to authenticate as a logged in user while interacting with the Twitter API ('user' authentication). As such it is a very sensitive information and therefore, must be stored securely. The following points must be kept in mind while using the API_KEY for 'user' authentication:

- The API_KEY is actually a base64 encoding of the account's cookies.
- The API_KEY provides the same level of authorization as any standard Twitter account, nothing more, nothing less.

Usage as a dependency

Rettiwt-API can be used as a dependency for your NodeJS project. In such a case, it is not required to install Rettiwt-API globally and you may install it locally in the root of your project using the command:

- npm install --save @youmind-openlab/rettiwt-api (using npm)

or

- yarn add @youmind-openlab/rettiwt-api (using yarn)

However, in this case, for accessing the CLI, you will be required to prepend the CLI commands with npx in order to tell NodeJS to use the locally installed package.

The Rettiwt class

When used as a dependency, the Rettiwt class is entry point for accessing the Twitter API.

A new Rettiwt instance can be initialized using the following code snippets:

- const rettiwt = new Rettiwt() (for 'guest' authentication)
- const rettiwt = new Rettiwt({ apiKey: API_KEY }) (for 'user' authentication)

The Rettiwt class has four members:

- dm member, for accessing resources related to direct messages.
- list member, for accessing resources related to lists.
- tweet member, for accessing resources related to tweets.
- user member, for accessing resources related to users.

For details regarding usage of these members for accessing the Twitter API, refer to features.

Rettiwt Configuration

When initializing a new Rettiwt instance, it can be configures using various parameters, namely:

- apiKey (string) - The API key to use for user authentication.
- proxyUrl (URL) - The URL to the proxy server to use.
- timeout (number) - The timeout to use for HTTP requests used by Rettiwt.
- logging (boolean) - Whether to enable logging or not.
- errorHandler (interface) - The custom error handler to use.
- tidProvider (interface) - The custom TID provider to use for generating transaction token.
- headers (object) - Custom HTTP headers to append to the default headers.
- delay (number/function) - The delay to use between concurrent requests, can either be a number in milliseconds, or a function that returns the number. Default is 0 (no delay).
- maxRetries (number) - The maximum number of retries to use in case when a random error 404 is encountered. Default is 0 (no retries).

Of these parameters, the following are hot-swappable, using their respective setters:

- apiKey
- headers
- proxyUrl

Usage Examples

$3

`ts
import { Rettiwt } from '@youmind-openlab/rettiwt-api';

// Creating a new Rettiwt instance
// Note that for accessing user details, 'guest' authentication can be used
const rettiwt = new Rettiwt();

// Fetching the details of the user whose username is
rettiwt.user.details('')
.then(details => {
console.log(details);
})
.catch(error => {
console.error(error);
});
`

$3

`ts
import { Rettiwt } from '@youmind-openlab/rettiwt-api';

// Creating a new Rettiwt instance using the API_KEY
const rettiwt = new Rettiwt({ apiKey: API_KEY });

/**
* Fetching the list of tweets that:
* - are made by a user with username ,
* - contain the words and
*/
rettiwt.tweet.search({
fromUsers: [''],
includeWords: ['', '']
})
.then(data => {
console.log(data);
})
.catch(err => {
console.error(err);
});
`

For more information regarding the different available filter options, please refer to TweetFilter.

$3

`ts
import { Rettiwt } from '@youmind-openlab/rettiwt-api';

// Creating a new Rettiwt instance using the API_KEY
const rettiwt = new Rettiwt({ apiKey: API_KEY });

/**
* Fetching the list of tweets that:
* - are made by a user with username ,
* - contain the words and
*
* 'data' is the response object received in the previous example.
*
* 'count' is a number less or equal to 20 (the quantity of tweets to return)
*/
rettiwt.tweet.search({
fromUsers: [''],
includeWords: ['', '']
}, count, data.next.value)
.then(data => {
console.log(data);
})
.catch(err => {
console.error(err);
});
`

Using a proxy

For masking of IP address using a proxy server, use the following code snippet for instantiation of Rettiwt:

`ts
/**
* PROXY_URL is the URL or configuration for the proxy server you want to use.
*/
const rettiwt = new Rettiwt({ apiKey: API_KEY, proxyUrl: PROXY_URL });
``

This creates a Rettiwt instance which uses the given proxy server for making requests to Twitter.

Debug logs

Sometimes, when the library shows unexpected behaviour, for troubleshooting purposes, debug logs can be enabled which will help in tracking down the issue and working on a potential fix. Currently, debug logs are printed to the console and are enabled by setting the 'logging' property of the config to true, while creating an instance of Rettiwt:

`ts
/**
* By default, is no value for 'logging' is supplied, logging is disabled.
*/
const rettiwt = new Rettiwt({ apiKey: API_KEY, logging: true });
`

CLI Usage

Rettiwt-API provides an easy to use command-line interface which does not require any programming knowledge.

By default, the CLI operates in 'guest' authentication. If you want to use 'user' authentication:

1. Generate an API_KEY as described in Authentication.
2. Store the output API_KEY as an environment variable with the name 'API_KEY'.
- Additionally, store the API_KEY in a file for later use.
- Make sure to generate an API_KEY only once, and use it every time you need it.
3. The CLI automatically reads this environment variable to authenticate against Twitter.
- Additionally, the API_KEY can also be passed in manually using the '-k' option as follows: rettiwt -k

Help for the CLI can be obtained from the CLI itself:

- For help regarding the available commands, use the command rettiwt help
- For help regarding a specific command, use the command rettiwt help `

API Reference

The complete API reference can be found at this page.

License

ISC

Credits

- Original Rettiwt-API by Rishikant Sahu
- Browser extension support by YouMind Open Lab