How to Build and Host an X (Twitter) Bot

npm init -y

npm install twitter-api-v2

API_KEY=your_api_key_here
API_SECRET_KEY=your_api_secret_key_here
ACCESS_TOKEN=your_access_token_here
ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET=your_access_token_secret_here

// Import necessary modules
const { TwitterApi } = require('twitter-api-v2');

// Configure Twitter client with authentication
const client = new TwitterApi({
  appKey: process.env.API_KEY,
  appSecret: process.env.API_SECRET_KEY,
  accessToken: process.env.ACCESS_TOKEN,
  accessSecret: process.env.ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET,
});

// Client with read and write permissions
const rwClient = client.readWrite;

// Stores the authenticated bot user id (set in verifyBot)
let botUserId = null;

// ID of the newest mention already seen: only newer mentions are fetched
let sinceId;
let firstCheck = true;

// Function to check if the bot is working
async function verifyBot() {
  try {
    // Get authenticated user information (X API v2)
    const me = await rwClient.v2.me();
    botUserId = me.data.id;
    console.log(`Bot successfully initialized! User: @${me.data.username}`);
    return true;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error verifying bot:', error);
    return false;
  }
}

// Function to post a tweet
async function postTweet(text) {
  try {
    const tweet = await rwClient.v2.tweet(text);
    console.log(`Tweet posted successfully! ID: ${tweet.data.id}`);
    return tweet;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error posting tweet:', error);
    throw error;
  }
}

// Function to respond to mentions
async function respondToMentions() {
  if (!botUserId) return;
  try {
    // Fetch mentions newer than sinceId (X API v2)
    const mentions = await rwClient.v2.userMentionTimeline(botUserId, {
      max_results: 10,
      since_id: sinceId,
    });

    // Remember the newest mention, so the next check skips the ones handled now
    sinceId = mentions.data?.meta?.newest_id ?? sinceId;

    // First check after start: only record the newest mention, so a restart doesn't reply to old ones again
    if (firstCheck) {
      firstCheck = false;
      return;
    }

    for (const tweet of mentions.data?.data ?? []) {
      if (tweet.text.includes('!ping')) {
        // Reply to the mention
        await rwClient.v2.reply(
          'Pong! 🤖 X Bot working correctly!',
          tweet.id
        );
        console.log(`Replied to mention (tweet ID: ${tweet.id})`);
      }
    }
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error processing mentions:', error);
  }
}

// Function to search and interact with specific tweets
async function searchAndInteract(query) {
  if (!botUserId) return;
  try {
    // Search recent tweets (X API v2)
    const tweets = await rwClient.v2.search(query, {
      max_results: 10,
    });

    for (const tweet of tweets.data?.data ?? []) {
      // Like the tweet
      await rwClient.v2.like(botUserId, tweet.id);
      console.log(`Liked tweet ID: ${tweet.id}`);

      // Wait a bit between actions to avoid rate limiting
      await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 2000));
    }
  } catch (error) {
    console.error('Error searching and interacting:', error);
  }
}

// Main bot function
async function runBot() {
  console.log('Starting X bot...');
  
  // Check if the bot is configured correctly
  const botOk = await verifyBot();
  if (!botOk) {
    console.error('Bot initialization failed');
    return;
  }
  
  // Record the newest existing mention, so only new mentions get replies
  await respondToMentions();
  
  // Main bot loop
  setInterval(async () => {
    try {
      // Check and respond to mentions every 5 minutes
      await respondToMentions();
      
      // Example: Search and interact with tweets about a specific topic
      // await searchAndInteract('#SquareCloud');
      
    } catch (error) {
      console.error('Error in main loop:', error);
    }
  }, 5 * 60 * 1000); // 5 minutes
  
  console.log('Bot running. Press Ctrl+C to stop.');
}

// Signal handling for graceful shutdown
process.on('SIGINT', () => {
  console.log('\nShutting down X bot...');
  process.exit(0);
});

process.on('SIGTERM', () => {
  console.log('\nShutting down X bot...');
  process.exit(0);
});

// Initialize the bot
runBot();

DISPLAY_NAME=My X Bot
MAIN=index.js
MEMORY=512
VERSION=recommended
AUTORESTART=true