How to Schedule Twitter Threads with the Twitter API

Despite all of its recent trials and tribulations, Twitter remains a strong social media platform with an active and engaged user base. It is a key tool for marketers, researchers, influencers and businesses to interact with potential customers. A popular way to share stories or details on Twitter is to use the Twitter API to post on behalf of users via “Twitter Threads” (a series of linked reply tweets that may exceed the 280 character tweet limit).

There are several tools available to schedule a single tweet, or you can use the Twitter API directly. However, scheduling Twitter threads formerly known as Tweetstorms requires a bit more finesse and coding. This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to schedule a Twitter thread using Twitter’s API.

precondition

Before sending a tweet thread through the API, there are a few steps you need to take.

1. Twitter developer account: Required for Twitter API access. Apply at Twitter Developer Dashboard. There are several pricing options, from Basic (free) to Enterprise (starting at $42,000 USD per month). You can sign up for a basic plan.
2. twitter app: Generate an API key (API key and secret, Bearer Token) by creating a new app in your Twitter developer account. Used for application authentication.
3. Node.js environment: Node.js is required to run JavaScript code. Of course you can use any language like Python or PHP, but the example is JavaScript.

Step 1: Setting Up Your Node.js Environment

You can also use default values. fetch Install features available on Node 18 or later, or node-fetch package. this node-fetch The module provides an import API for Node.js by sending HTTP requests.

When to use node-fetch:

npm install node-fetch

After installation, import the package.

const fetch = require('node-fetch');

Otherwise if you are using Node 18+ fetch function.

Step 2: Create a Twitter thread

Creating a Twitter thread involves posting a series of tweets, each one in response to a previous tweet. Here’s how to do it.

const createThread = async (bearerToken, tweetTexts, index = 0, lastTweetID = null) => {
  if(index < tweetTexts.length) {
    const data = {
      status: tweetTexts[index],
      in_reply_to_status_id: lastTweetID
    };

    const response = await fetch('https://api.twitter.com/2/tweets', {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: {
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
        'Authorization': `Bearer ${bearerToken}`
      },
      body: JSON.stringify(data)
    });

    if(response.ok) {
      const tweet = await response.json();
      createThread(bearerToken, tweetTexts, index + 1, tweet.data.id);
    } else {
      console.error(`Failed to post tweet: ${response.statusText}`);
    }
  }
}

that much createThread The function is a bearer token (bearerToken), an array of tweet texts (tweetTexts) and optionally the index and ID of the last tweet. Send each Tweet as a reply to the previous Tweet until you have posted all Tweets in the thread.

Step 3: Schedule a Twitter thread

The Twitter API does not directly support scheduling tweets. Create your own schedule function using: setTimeout() Ability to delay code execution. To schedule a thread:

const scheduleThread = (bearerToken, tweetTexts, delayInMilliseconds) => {
  setTimeout(() => createThread(bearerToken, tweetTexts), delayInMilliseconds);
}

that much scheduleThread The function takes a bearer token, an array of tweet text, and a delay in milliseconds. Waits for the specified delay and then posts the thread.

To schedule a thread to be published in an hour, use something like this:

scheduleThread('your-bearer-token', ["Tweet 1", "Tweet 2", "Tweet 3"], 3600000);

Ayrshare Social Media API

An alternative to rolling your own for API access or paying Twitter is to use a social API.

you can post twitter thread Via a simple POST call:

POST https://app.ayrshare.com/api/post
{
    "post": "Long tweet text above 280 characters..."
    "twitterOptions": {
        "thread": true,        // required for Thread
        "threadNumber": true,  // optional to add numbers to each thread 
        "mediaUrls": ["https://site.com/image1.png", "https://site.com/image2.png", ...]  // optional one media object is added to a thread in order
    }
}

The API automatically divides tweets into threads, adds thread numbers, and adds embedded images or videos to each thread.

To schedule a post for a future date scheduleDate A field with a date.

you can check more More details here.

conclusion

This guide explained how to schedule a Twitter thread using the Twitter API in a Node.js environment. fetch or node-fetch. This involves a bit of coding, but gives you full control over the timing and content of your Twitter thread.

A script must be running on the server to schedule tweets for a future date or time. For advanced scheduling, I recommend using a job scheduling library or service like AWS Lambda, or Ayrshare’s API that handles everything.

remember to comply Twitter’s automation rules Best practices when using APIs for automation.