X (Twitter) (twitter)

Category: io | Form: | Symbol: Tw

One X/Twitter account — search, read timelines, post tweets, send DMs

Represents a single X/Twitter account with a typed op surface (fetch-profile, find-users, find-content, list-feed, list-user-content, list-inbox, draft/publish-post, delete-post, draft/send-dm, delete-dm, health). Identity is fixed per element (account_handle, owner_user_id); the executor that actually performs ops is swappable via spec.executor_policy — default mcp. For mcp, configure spec.mcp.command to run a twikit-based MCP server (upstream: https://github.com/adhikasp/mcp-twikit) and supply TWITTER_USERNAME + TWITTER_EMAIL + TWITTER_PASSWORD via env_refs. The MCP server caches cookies per-account to avoid re-login on every call. Rate limits: ~300 tweets per 15 min, ~1000 DMs per 15 min (enforced by the MCP layer + by a rate-limit modifier attached to this element).

Guide

One X/Twitter account — search, read timelines, post tweets, send DMs

What It Does

X (Twitter) is an IO connector representing a single X/Twitter account with a typed operation surface for searching, reading, posting, and direct messaging. Identity is fixed per element (account_handle + owner_user_id), so each element maps to exactly one account and all writes are attributed to the owning Triform user.

The executor that actually performs operations is swappable via executor_policy.default — mcp (default), browser, or api. For the default MCP path, you configure mcp.command/mcp.args to run a twikit-based MCP server (upstream: adhikasp/mcp-twikit) and supply TWITTER_USERNAME, TWITTER_EMAIL, and TWITTER_PASSWORD via mcp.env_refs. The MCP server caches cookies per account to avoid re-login on every call.

Write operations are draft-then-approve: draft-post/draft-dm write a draft row, approve-draft flips it to approved, and publish-post/send-dm consume an approved draft. Outbound activity is capped per account via the rate_limits properties (and a rate-limit modifier attached to the element). New automated accounts are punished harder on X than most platforms, so the defaults are deliberately conservative.

Element Definition

Property	Value
Type	twitter
Category	io
Form	atom
Handler	TwitterHandler
Activity type	connector
Auth methods	bearer, none
Delivery mode	async (no streaming)
Retry policy	exponential, max 2 retries

Properties

Field	Type	Default	Description
account_handle	string	—	X/Twitter handle (no @), e.g. iggy. Max 64 chars
display_name	string	—	Human-readable name shown in UI (not sent to X). Max 256
owner_user_id	string (uuid)	—	Triform user who owns this account and approves writes
executor_policy	object	default: mcp	How ops are transported: default (mcp/browser/api), per-op overrides, mcp_server_ref, browser_ref
mcp	object	transport: stdio	MCP transport config: command, args, url, env_refs (expects TWITTER_USERNAME, TWITTER_EMAIL, TWITTER_PASSWORD), tools_allowlist
browser	object	mode: user_browser	Browser transport: browser_ref, mode (user_browser/headless)
request_jitter_ms	array[int]	[500, 2000]	Min/max jitter applied between requests
rate_limits	object	see below	Caps on outbound activity per rolling period

rate_limits defaults: calls_per_hour 50, calls_per_day 300, profile_visits_per_day 50, follows_per_day 40, messages_per_day 50.

Ports

Output records are shaped by two port schemas (from contract.yaml):

• TwitterPost — a tweet record: id, author_handle, author_name, text, created_at, url, reply_to_id, retweet_count, like_count, reply_count (required: id, text).
• TwitterUser — a user profile: handle, name, description, followers_count, following_count, verified, avatar_url, profile_url (required: handle, name).

Capabilities

• twitter-search — search tweets and users
• twitter-read — read timeline, user tweets, inbox
• twitter-post — publish tweets (gated by approval)
• twitter-dm — send direct messages (gated by approval)
• executor-pluggable — operations transported via mcp, browser, or api

This element attaches rate-limit, auth-policy, evaluator and uses variable, user-browser, chromeless.

Error Codes

Code	Class	Retryable
TWITTER_AUTH_FAILED	auth	no
TWITTER_CAPTCHA_REQUIRED	auth	no
TWITTER_SESSION_EXPIRED	auth	no
TWITTER_RATE_LIMITED	internal	yes
TWITTER_OP_NOT_ON_EXECUTOR	validation	no
TWITTER_DRAFT_NOT_APPROVED	validation	no
TWITTER_MCP_UNREACHABLE	internal	yes
TWITTER_BODY_TOO_LONG	validation	no

Operations

All operations are POST except health (GET). Op verbs follow the uniform social-platform convention so X, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram can be treated interchangeably where the concept overlaps.

Read (auth: read)

Op	Method + Path	What it does	Key input
fetch-profile	POST fetch-profile	Fetch the full profile of a single user by handle	handle (required)
find-users	POST find-users	Search for X users by keyword	query (required), limit (default 25, max 100)
find-content	POST find-content	Search for tweets matching a query	query (required), limit (default 25, max 100)
list-feed	POST list-feed	Read the account’s home timeline (latest tweets from followed accounts)	limit (default 20, max 100)
list-user-content	POST list-user-content	Read tweets posted by a specific user	handle (required), limit (default 20, max 100)
list-inbox	POST list-inbox	List recent DM conversations	limit (default 20, max 100)
list-drafts	POST list-drafts	List drafts for this element (filter by status)	status (draft/approved/sent/failed), limit (default 50, max 500)
health	GET health	Probe executor reachability and session state	—
get-activity-stats	POST get-activity-stats	Usage + rate-limit counters; pure read over social_call_log, consumes no rate budget	—

Write (auth: write)

Op	Method + Path	What it does	Key input
draft-post	POST draft-post	Draft a tweet (requires approval to publish); no network call to X	body (required, max 280), reply_to_id
publish-post	POST publish-post	Publish an approved tweet draft	draft_id (uuid, required)
delete-post	POST delete-post	Delete a tweet by ID	post_id (required)
draft-dm	POST draft-dm	Draft a direct message (requires approval to send)	recipient_handle (required), body (required, max 10000)
send-dm	POST send-dm	Send an approved DM	draft_id (uuid, required)
delete-dm	POST delete-dm	Delete a sent DM by ID	message_id (required)
approve-draft	POST approve-draft	Flip a draft from status=draft to status=approved (authorizes send)	draft_id (uuid, required)
capture-cookies	POST capture-cookies	Capture the browser’s cookies for this platform into a variable, returning variable_slug + env_var_name for wiring into mcp.env_refs	cookie_jar, variable_slug (both optional)

Search note: the MCP search_twitter tool (twikit) accepts query + limit only — to filter by language, embed lang:en (or your ISO-639 code) in the query string itself, e.g. query: "AI lang:en". Similarly, list-feed accepts limit only; cursor-based pagination is not exposed in the current MCP interface.

Quick Start

1. Create the element and set account_handle + owner_user_id (identity is required and fixed).
2. Configure mcp with a command/args for a twikit MCP server and env_refs for TWITTER_USERNAME, TWITTER_EMAIL, TWITTER_PASSWORD.
3. Attach a rate-limit modifier capping publish-post and send-dm to safe volumes.

Search recent posts:

triform_ops(action: "call", slug: "{slug}", operation: "find-content",
            input: { query: "triform", limit: 10 })

Read the home timeline:

triform_ops(action: "call", slug: "{slug}", operation: "list-feed",
            input: { limit: 20 })

Post a tweet (draft → approve → publish):

# 1. draft
triform_ops(action: "call", slug: "{slug}", operation: "draft-post",
            input: { body: "Hello from Triform" })
# 2. approve the returned draft_id
triform_ops(action: "call", slug: "{slug}", operation: "approve-draft",
            input: { draft_id: "<uuid>" })
# 3. publish
triform_ops(action: "call", slug: "{slug}", operation: "publish-post",
            input: { draft_id: "<uuid>" })

Common Mistakes

• Missing identity. account_handle and owner_user_id are both required (identity_required rule) — one X element is one account, and writes are attributed to the owner.
• MCP default without transport. If executor_policy.default is mcp, mcp.transport must be set, or validation fails (mcp_config_when_mcp_default).
• Choosing the api executor. The API executor is not implemented in the MVP — ops will return TWITTER_OP_NOT_ON_EXECUTOR (validation warning).
• Publishing without approval. publish-post/send-dm only consume drafts already flipped to approved via approve-draft; an unapproved draft yields TWITTER_DRAFT_NOT_APPROVED.
• Tweet body too long. Tweet bodies are capped at 280 chars (draft-post); longer bodies are rejected (TWITTER_BODY_TOO_LONG). DM bodies allow up to 10000.

Relationships

• Attaches to: rate-limit, auth-policy, evaluator
• Uses: variable, user-browser, chromeless

Capabilities

• twitter-search: Search tweets and users
• twitter-read: Read timeline, user tweets, inbox
• twitter-post: Publish tweets (gated by approval)
• twitter-dm: Send direct messages (gated by approval)
• executor-pluggable: Operations transported via mcp, browser, or api

Properties

Property	Type	Default	Description
account_handle	string	—	X/Twitter handle (no @), e.g. ‘iggy’
display_name	string	—	Human-readable account name (shown in UI, not sent to X)
owner_user_id	string	—	Triform user who owns this X account and approves writes
executor_policy	object	—	How X operations are transported to the platform
mcp	object	—	MCP server transport (used when executor=mcp). Upstream: adhikasp/mcp-twikit.
browser	object	—
request_jitter_ms	array	[500,2000]
rate_limits	object	—	Caps on outbound X/Twitter activity per account, per rolling period

Operations

activity

Get /ops/activity | Auth: Read

Get activity events for this element

Scope depends on element capabilities: individual elements query by element_id, project-form elements with activity-scope-members include member activities, circle-level elements with activity-scope-all query the entire circle. Gracefully returns empty list if activities table is missing (old circles).

approve-draft

Post /ops/approve-draft | Auth: Write

Flip a draft from status=draft to status=approved (authorizes send)

attachments

Get /ops/attachments | Auth: Read

List all modifiers and resources attached to this element

Returns both modifiers (policy enforcement) and resources (data injection) with is_modifier flag to distinguish. Items in the generated MODIFIER_TYPES list are modifiers; everything else is a resource. Includes cascade_policy and version pin info.

batch_stats

Get /ops/batch_stats | Auth: Read

Get per-element statistics for all children of this element

Returns per-child stats plus an aggregate. Most meaningful on compound or manifest form elements (repositories, circles, projects); atoms have no children so the result is an empty children array with a zeroed aggregate. Uses efficient GROUP BY SQL. Weighted averages for eval scores.

capture-cookies

Post /ops/capture-cookies | Auth: Write

Capture the browser’s cookies for this platform into a variable — zero client-side work

Default flow (no input needed): reads the live cookie jar the Triform Connect extension already syncs into physics, filters to this platform’s domain, serializes as a JSON array, upserts a modifiers/variable named {element_slug}-cookies, and returns the variable_slug + env_var_name pair for wiring into spec.mcp.env_refs. ONE CLICK — no client-side extraction required. Optional overrides: cookie_jar (caller-supplied pre-extracted jar) and variable_slug (override the default name). Returns value_bytes, cookie_count, and source (bridge_registry or caller_supplied).

compose

Post /ops/compose | Auth: Execute

Batch add and remove modifiers on this element in a single call

Declarative composition: add modifiers by ref path (slug or path@version) and remove by attachment ID, all in one atomic call on the target element. Each ‘add’ entry resolves the source element, validates topology, attaches with optional priority and cascade policy. Each ‘remove’ entry deletes the attachment row. Returns a summary of what was added and removed. Example: compose({ add: [{ref: “my-prompt”}, {ref: “rate-limit/api@v2”, priority: 50}], remove: [{attachment_id: “uuid”}] })

context

Get /ops/context | Auth: Read

Get connected elements (graph traversal)

Graph traversal showing all connected elements with their relationship type (contains, contained_by, references, referenced_by, attaches, etc.). Use ?depth=N to control traversal depth (default 1) and ?types=actor,data to filter by element types.

create

Post /ops/create | Auth: Write

Create child element

POST to the parent path — element_type goes in the request body, NOT the URL. Both element_type and slug are required and must be non-empty. Name is derived from slug if omitted. Writes to both Git and PostgreSQL. All elements are stored flat under the circle — no intermediate library wrapper rows.

delete

Delete /ops/delete | Auth: Admin

Delete element (soft delete)

Soft delete — sets state to ‘deleted’ but retains the record. Cannot delete elements that have children (has_no_bond precondition) or active runs. Requires admin auth and confirmation.

delete-dm

Post /ops/delete-dm | Auth: Write

Delete a sent DM by ID

delete-post

Post /ops/delete-post | Auth: Write

Delete a tweet by ID

disable

Post /ops/disable | Auth: Admin

Disable element (hides and prevents use)

Idempotent — safe to call on already-disabled elements. Optionally pass a reason string. Disabled elements cannot be invoked or executed. Inverse of enable.

draft-dm

Post /ops/draft-dm | Auth: Write

Draft a direct message (requires approval to send)

draft-post

Post /ops/draft-post | Auth: Write

Draft a tweet (requires approval to publish)

Writes a draft row to post_drafts with element_type=twitter. Body capped at 280 chars (Pro subscriptions allow up to 25000 — enforce per-account cap via validation modifier). No network call to X.

enable

Post /ops/enable | Auth: Admin

Enable element (makes usable and visible)

Idempotent — safe to call on already-enabled elements. Transitions element to ready/enabled state. Cannot enable deleted elements. Inverse of disable.

export_bundle

Get /ops/export/bundle | Auth: Read

Export element as downloadable git bundle

On non-root-namespace elements, returns a binary git bundle. On root-namespace (circle) elements, dispatch hands off to the circle’s own export_bundle op, which returns a multi-element JSON envelope with one base64 bundle per child element — this is intentional, not an error.

fetch-profile

Post /ops/fetch-profile | Auth: Read

Fetch the full profile of a single X/Twitter user by handle

find-content

Post /ops/find-content | Auth: Read

Search for tweets matching a query

The MCP search_twitter tool (twikit) accepts query + limit only; it does not expose a language filter directly. To filter by language, include lang:en (or your ISO-639 code) in the query string itself — e.g. query: "AI lang:en".

find-users

Post /ops/find-users | Auth: Read

Search for X users by keyword

get

Get /ops/get | Auth: Read

Get element details

Element is already resolved by the routing layer — this returns the cached element, not a fresh DB query. Use the path /api/{circle}/{slug} to address elements.

get-activity-stats

Post /ops/get-activity-stats | Auth: Read

Usage + rate-limit counters for this X/Twitter account — powers the activity dashboard

Pure read op over the per-circle social_call_log table — does NOT consume any rate budget. Returns the current-period counters (calls_last_hour, calls_today, profile_visits_today, follows_today, messages_today, posts_today), the configured spec.rate_limits caps, and two history series: hourly over the last 24 hours and daily over the last 30 days. The portal charts these as stacked-area activity graphs per element.

health

Get /ops/health | Auth: Read

Probe executor reachability and session state

import_bundle

Post /ops/import/bundle | Auth: Write

Import git bundle into element

Accepts a base64-encoded git bundle in the JSON bundle_base64 field. Use overwrite=true to replace existing elements with same slug (default skips duplicates). Imported elements get new UUIDs. Returns counts of imported/skipped elements and any errors.

intention

Get /ops/intention | Auth: Read

Get element intention with full inheritance chain

Returns three levels: direct (this element’s intention), inherited (from category and root), and resolved (final merged intention). Useful for understanding an element’s purpose in context of its hierarchy.

list-drafts

Post /ops/list-drafts | Auth: Read

List drafts for this element (optionally filter by status)

list-feed

Post /ops/list-feed | Auth: Read

Read the account’s home timeline (latest tweets from accounts the user follows)

The MCP get_latest_timeline tool (twikit) accepts limit only; cursor- based pagination is not exposed in the current MCP interface.

list-inbox

Post /ops/list-inbox | Auth: Read

List recent DM conversations

list-user-content

Post /ops/list-user-content | Auth: Read

Read tweets posted by a specific user

promote

Post /ops/promote | Auth: Admin

Promote element configuration to a target environment

Only for manifest-form elements (projects). Environments advance: dev → demo → live. dev→demo requires member+ role, demo→live requires admin. Freezes member versions at promotion time (creates snapshot). Persists environment config to spec.environments.

publish-post

Post /ops/publish-post | Auth: Write

Publish an approved tweet draft

readme

Get /ops/readme | Auth: Read

Get element README.md content

Reads README.md from the element’s git repository. Returns empty content (not an error) if no README exists. Always returns markdown format.

readme_update

Post /ops/readme_update | Auth: Write

Update element README.md content

Creates or overwrites README.md in the element’s git repo. Commits to the draft branch. Content must be provided as a markdown string.

receive

Post /ops/receive | Auth: None

Receive incoming external traffic

Entry point for external traffic reaching this IO element. Declared auth: none to bypass platform auth — element-level auth is enforced by IoReceiveExecutor before dispatching into the flow graph. The flow/app that wires this element as an entry point determines what happens next.

remove-modifier

Post /ops/remove-modifier | Auth: Execute

Remove an attached modifier from this element by attachment ID

Removes a modifier/resource attachment by its row ID. The ID comes from the attachments or context API. This is the reverse of attach — called on the target element, not the source.

restore

Post /ops/restore | Auth: Admin

Restore element to a specific version

Automatically snapshots the current state before restoring (creates a ‘Before restore to vN’ version entry). Writes restored spec to git as .triform/spec.yaml. Git failures warn but don’t fail the operation — DB state is authoritative. Cannot restore deleted elements.

schema

Get /ops/schema | Auth: Read

Get element input/output schema (MCP tools/list compatible)

Returns type-level port schemas from the TypeRegistry — not instance-specific overrides. Includes direction (input/output), required flag, and JSON schema per port. Useful for understanding what data an element accepts and produces.

send

Post /ops/send | Auth: Execute

Send a message/request to external system

Explicitly sends payload to the configured external target. For HTTP elements, POSTs to the target URL. For chat platforms, sends via the platform API. Put data in the payload field. Returns send status and response details.

send-dm

Post /ops/send-dm | Auth: Write

Send an approved DM

source

Get /ops/source | Auth: Read

Get any file’s content from the element’s git repository

Reads an arbitrary file from the element’s CAS-backed git tree by its relative path. Same store as readme, just generalized. Path safety: rejects .. traversal, leading /, and null bytes. Use this to view main.py for action elements, asset files for SPAs, etc. Returns empty content (not an error) if the file doesn’t exist.

source_branches

Get /ops/source/branches | Auth: Read

List Source branches for this element

Returns the standard draft/demo/live Source branches, their current commits, and promotion relationships. Use GET /api/{element_path}/ops/source/branches.

source_promote

Post /ops/source/promote | Auth: Write

Promote Source branch forward

Promotes draft to demo or demo to live through the generated element op path. Direct Git pushes to demo/live are blocked by Source policy.

source_repair

Post /ops/source/repair | Auth: Write

Inspect or repair the element Source index

Runs Source repair through the element operation path. Defaults to dry_run=true; set dry_run=false only after reviewing a dry-run report.

source_status

Get /ops/source/status | Auth: Read

Get Source control status for this element

Returns the branch-aware clone URL, checkout commands, current draft commit, child source-link count, portable export summary, Source health, warnings, and auth hints for the addressed element. Use the element-first path: GET /api/{element_path}/ops/source/status.

source_validate

Post /ops/source/validate | Auth: Read

Validate Source branch contents

Validates a Source branch before accepting local Git workflow changes or promotion. Defaults to branch=draft and rejects runtime data, generated output, secret material, and unreadable CAS refs.

stats

Get /ops/stats | Auth: Read

Get aggregate statistics for this element

Health status is computed: error if errors_per_day > 5 or success_rate < 0.8, warning if errors_per_day > 0 or success_rate < 0.95. Firing alerts escalate health to error/warning. Default period is ‘day’. Returns runs_per_day, success_rate, avg_duration_ms, and more.

test_connection

Post /ops/test-connection | Auth: Execute

Test connection configuration

Validates the element’s configuration locally without making an actual external connection. Checks that required credentials are set, URLs are valid, etc. Returns success boolean and error details. Safe to call repeatedly.

tree

Get /ops/tree | Auth: Read

Get the element’s position in the graph — ancestors, children, references, and subtree statistics

Uses per-circle ElementGraph cache for O(1) lookups. Returns ancestors (containment chain), children (direct), members (references), referenced_by (reverse refs), attachments, and subtree stats. Default depth is 3, max is 10. Pass ?include_metadata=true for name/state on each node.

update

Patch /ops/update | Auth: Write

Update element

Partial update — send only the fields you want to change. spec, name, and intention are all independently optional. spec MUST be a JSON object when present; deep-merged into the existing spec by default. Empty {"spec":{}} preserves existing spec content but still records a new version (no-op for content, not for version state). To clear/replace the entire spec wholesale send {"spec":{...},"deep":false}. List-typed spec fields use replace semantics (the patch list replaces the existing list, no array merging). Coordinates Git + DB writes. Slug cannot be changed after creation.

update_meta

Patch /ops/update_meta | Auth: Write

Update element metadata (lightweight merge — does NOT bump version or snapshot spec)

Shallow JSONB merge into element.meta. Top-level keys in the provided value replace existing meta values; other keys are preserved. Used for UI metadata like canvas positions, panel state, viewer preferences. Wire-shape op_name is update_meta (distinct from update) so SSE subscribers + the cache auto-invalidator can distinguish lightweight metadata changes from spec edits without inspecting the payload. The MutatingElementStore wrapper stamps this op_name on the lifecycle event emitted by update_element_meta storage calls.

version

Get /ops/version | Auth: Read

Get current version or full history

Returns current version by default. Pass ?history=true for full version history (up to ?limit=N, default 50). Versions are backed by the element_versions table. Every spec update creates a new version entry.

Error Codes

Code	Class	Retryable	Description
TWITTER_AUTH_FAILED	auth	no
TWITTER_CAPTCHA_REQUIRED	auth	no
TWITTER_SESSION_EXPIRED	auth	no
TWITTER_RATE_LIMITED	internal	yes
TWITTER_OP_NOT_ON_EXECUTOR	validation	no
TWITTER_DRAFT_NOT_APPROVED	validation	no
TWITTER_MCP_UNREACHABLE	internal	yes
TWITTER_BODY_TOO_LONG	validation	no