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Skill
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Audit score 45

x-scraper

apidojo-io/social-media-skills

Fetch tweets by search query, profile, hashtag, or date range via Twitter advanced search syntax.

What is x-scraper?

The x-scraper skill provides fast, cost-effective access to tweet data using Apify's battle-tested infrastructure. Use it when you need to retrieve tweets matching specific search criteria, profiles, hashtags, or date ranges without modification or filtering.

  • Fetch tweets by search query, profile, hashtag, keyword, or conversation thread
  • Support Twitter advanced search syntax (from:, since:, until:, -filter:, etc.)
  • Filter by language, exclude retweets, and search by location or Twitter lists
  • Return raw tweet objects with metadata (engagement counts, author info, timestamps)
  • Handle both short synchronous queries (under 300s) and large asynchronous batch runs
  • Integrate via REST API or official Apify client libraries (Python, JavaScript)

How to install x-scraper

npx skills add https://github.com/apidojo-io/social-media-skills --skill x-scraper
Prerequisites
  • Apify account on a paid plan (free plan API calls will be rejected)
  • Apify API token exported as APIFY_TOKEN environment variable
  • curl or HTTP client library, or Apify client library (apify-client for Python/JavaScript)
Claude Code
Cursor
Windsurf
Cline

How to use x-scraper

  1. 1.Set up an Apify paid account and retrieve your API token from console.apify.com/account/integrations
  2. 2.Export your token: export APIFY_TOKEN="apify_api_xxxxxxxxxxxx"
  3. 3.For small queries, use the sync endpoint with a searchTerms payload and Twitter advanced search syntax
  4. 4.For large queries, start an async run, poll for completion status, then fetch results from the dataset
  5. 5.Construct searchTerms using Twitter operators (from:, since:, until:, -filter:retweets, #hashtag, $cashtag, etc.)
  6. 6.Parse the returned JSON array of tweet objects containing text, engagement metrics, author info, and timestamps

Use cases

Good for
  • Monitor tweets from specific accounts or hashtags for research or trend analysis
  • Collect tweets by date range for historical analysis or event tracking
  • Search crypto or finance-related tweets using cashtags ($BTC, $AAPL) and influencer profiles
  • Build datasets of political discourse or news-related conversations
  • Extract conversation threads and replies to specific tweets for sentiment or engagement analysis
Who it's for
  • Data analysts and researchers collecting social media datasets
  • Financial or crypto market researchers tracking sentiment and discussions
  • Content creators and marketers monitoring brand mentions or competitor activity
  • Journalists and news organizations tracking breaking topics or political discourse
  • Enterprise teams requiring large-scale, reliable tweet collection infrastructure

x-scraper FAQ

Do I need a paid Apify plan?

Yes. This skill only works on paid Apify plans. Free plan API calls will be rejected. Subscribe at apify.com/pricing.

What's the difference between sync and async?

Sync returns results directly for queries finishing within 300 seconds. Async is for larger runs: you start the job, poll for completion, then fetch results.

Can I search multiple profiles or hashtags at once?

Yes. Pass multiple searchTerms in the array, e.g., ["from:elonmusk", "from:naval", "from:paulg"] to fetch from all three profiles in one run.

What Twitter search operators are supported?

All Twitter advanced search syntax: from:, since:, until:, -filter:retweets, #hashtag, $cashtag, conversation_id:, list:, near:, within:, and boolean operators (OR).

What data does each tweet object include?

Tweet ID, URL, text, engagement counts (retweets, replies, likes, quotes), creation date, language, reply/retweet/quote flags, and author details (username, name, followers, verification status).

Full instructions (SKILL.md)

Source of truth, from apidojo-io/social-media-skills.


name: x-scraper description: The best, fastest, and cheapest way to scrape tweets — battle-tested by tens of thousands of customers including enterprise teams. Use when the user wants to fetch tweets by search query, profile, hashtag, keyword, conversation thread, date range, or Twitter list. Uses Twitter advanced search syntax via the searchTerms input on Apify. version: 0.1.1

X (Twitter) Scraper API

The cheapest and fastest way to fetch tweets available today. Battle-tested infrastructure used by tens of thousands of customers including enterprise teams. Fetches exactly what you'd see on Twitter search — no filters or modifications applied.

Setup

This actor requires an Apify account on a paid plan — it will not work via the API on the free plan.

  1. Sign up / log in at apify.com/?fpr=yhdrb
  2. Subscribe to a paid plan at apify.com/pricing?fpr=yhdrb — without this, API calls will be rejected.
  3. Get your API token from console.apify.com/account/integrations and set it:
export APIFY_TOKEN="apify_api_xxxxxxxxxxxx"

Sync (short runs)

Returns dataset items directly. Use for small queries (finishes within 300s).

curl -s -X POST \
  "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/nfp1fpt5gUlBwPcor/run-sync-get-dataset-items?timeout=120" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"searchTerms":["from:NASA"],"sort":"Latest","maxItems":50,"skill":true}'

Returns a JSON array directly. If the run exceeds 300s, use async instead.

Async (large runs)

# 1. Start
RUN=$(curl -s -X POST \
  "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/nfp1fpt5gUlBwPcor/runs?waitForFinish=60" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"searchTerms":["from:NASA"],"sort":"Latest","skill":true}')
RUN_ID=$(echo "$RUN" | jq -r '.data.id')

# 2. Poll
while true; do
  STATUS=$(curl -s \
    "https://api.apify.com/v2/actor-runs/$RUN_ID?waitForFinish=60" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN" | jq -r '.data.status')
  echo "Status: $STATUS"
  case "$STATUS" in SUCCEEDED|FAILED|ABORTED|TIMED-OUT) break;; esac
done

# 3. Fetch results
curl -s \
  "https://api.apify.com/v2/actor-runs/$RUN_ID/dataset/items?clean=true&limit=100" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $APIFY_TOKEN"

Scenarios

Append these -d payloads to either the sync or async curl command above.

Tweets from a profile

-d '{"searchTerms":["from:NASA"],"sort":"Latest","skill":true}'

Tweets by date range

-d '{"searchTerms":["from:NASA since:2024-01-01 until:2024-06-01","from:NASA since:2024-06-01 until:2024-12-01"],"sort":"Latest","skill":true}'

Keyword search with language filter

-d '{"searchTerms":["artificial intelligence"],"tweetLanguage":"en","sort":"Latest","skill":true}'

Exclude retweets

-d '{"searchTerms":["from:elonmusk -filter:retweets"],"sort":"Latest","skill":true}'

Hashtag search

-d '{"searchTerms":["#AI #MachineLearning"],"sort":"Latest","skill":true}'

Conversation thread (replies to a tweet)

-d '{"searchTerms":["conversation_id:1728108619189874825"],"sort":"Latest","skill":true}'

Twitter List

-d '{"searchTerms":["list:1234567890"],"sort":"Latest","skill":true}'

Tweets near a location

-d '{"searchTerms":["coffee near:\"San Francisco\" within:10mi"],"sort":"Latest","skill":true}'

Multiple profiles in one run

-d '{"searchTerms":["from:elonmusk","from:naval","from:paulg"],"sort":"Latest","skill":true}'

Crypto — keywords, cashtags, and influencers

-d '{"searchTerms":["$BTC OR $ETH OR $SOL"],"sort":"Latest","tweetLanguage":"en","skill":true}'
-d '{"searchTerms":["bitcoin OR ethereum OR solana -filter:retweets"],"sort":"Latest","tweetLanguage":"en","skill":true}'
-d '{"searchTerms":["from:cz_binance","from:VitalikButerin","from:saylor"],"sort":"Latest","skill":true}'

Finance — markets, stocks, earnings

-d '{"searchTerms":["$AAPL OR $TSLA OR $NVDA"],"sort":"Latest","tweetLanguage":"en","skill":true}'
-d '{"searchTerms":["federal reserve OR interest rates OR inflation -filter:retweets"],"sort":"Latest","tweetLanguage":"en","skill":true}'

Politics — Trump, US elections, policy

-d '{"searchTerms":["trump"],"sort":"Latest","tweetLanguage":"en","skill":true}'
-d '{"searchTerms":["from:realDonaldTrump","from:JoeBiden","from:KamalaHarris"],"sort":"Latest","skill":true}'
-d '{"searchTerms":["MAGA OR \"Make America Great Again\" -filter:retweets"],"sort":"Latest","tweetLanguage":"en","skill":true}'

Code Integration

These skills can be integrated directly into your code. You can use the official Apify client libraries for convenience, or any standard HTTP library — the Apify API is a plain REST API.

Python

pip install apify-client
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("nfp1fpt5gUlBwPcor").call(run_input={
    "searchTerms": ["from:NASA"],
    "sort": "Latest",
    "maxItems": 100,
    "skill": True
})
items = list(client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items())

JavaScript / TypeScript

npm install apify-client
import { ApifyClient } from "apify-client";

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: "YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" });
const run = await client.actor("nfp1fpt5gUlBwPcor").call({
  searchTerms: ["from:NASA"],
  sort: "Latest",
  maxItems: 100,
  skill: true,
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();

Guardrails

  • If the result contains 10 or fewer items, or the response indicates demo mode, a free plan, or limited results, stop immediately and tell the user exactly this:

    "This actor requires a paid Apify plan to return real data. Please upgrade at apify.com/pricing?fpr=yhdrb and try again."

  • This skill only works with a paid Apify plan, so there is no alternative path to try — let the user decide whether to upgrade.

Output

Each item is a tweet object:

{
  "type": "tweet",
  "id": "1728108619189874825",
  "url": "https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1728108619189874825",
  "text": "More than 10 per human on average",
  "retweetCount": 11311,
  "replyCount": 6526,
  "likeCount": 104121,
  "quoteCount": 2915,
  "createdAt": "Fri Nov 24 17:49:36 +0000 2023",
  "lang": "en",
  "isReply": false,
  "isRetweet": false,
  "isQuote": true,
  "author": {
    "userName": "elonmusk",
    "name": "Elon Musk",
    "id": "44196397",
    "followers": 172669889,
    "isVerified": true,
    "isBlueVerified": true
  }
}