Reading tweets

Most reading on X is free and needs no auth. Some of it needs a guest token (--guest), and a few endpoints X reserves for a real session. This guide walks the read commands and marks the tier each needs.

A <ref> anywhere below is a tweet id (20), a status URL, or anything x can resolve to a tweet. A <user> is a handle (nasa), or a numeric id with --id.

A single tweet, a profile

x tweet 20            # one tweet, Tier 0, no auth
x user nasa           # a profile with metrics, Tier 0
x poll <ref>          # a tweet's poll options and current tallies

x tweet and x user work straight off syndication. x poll reads the same tweet and prints each option with its vote count.

Timelines and replies

x timeline nasa               # recent window, Tier 0
x timeline nasa --guest -n 50 # deeper, guest tier
x timeline nasa --media       # only tweets with media
x timeline nasa --replies     # include the user's replies
x replies nasa --guest        # a user's tweets including replies

x timeline returns a recent window on Tier 0 and pages further back with --guest or a session. x replies is the replies-inclusive view; X denies it to guest tokens, so it needs your own session.

Media

x media nasa --guest          # media attached to a user's tweets

x media lists the photo and video tweets for a user. It is one of the endpoints X denies to guest tokens, so in practice it needs your session; pass --guest only to try the guest path.

Threads

x thread <ref>                # the conversation around a tweet

x thread reconstructs the conversation a tweet belongs to. Like replies and media, X reserves it for a real session.

Quotes and mentions

x quotes <ref>                # quote tweets of a tweet
x mentions nasa               # tweets mentioning a user

Both are search-backed: x runs a query under the hood, so they need a tier that can search, which means --guest or a session.

Which tier each needs

Command	Tier 0	Guest	Session
tweet, user, poll	yes	yes	yes
timeline	recent window	deeper	deeper
replies	no	denied by X	yes
media	no	denied by X	yes
thread	no	denied by X	yes
quotes, mentions	no	yes	yes

When a command needs a tier you have not enabled, x exits with code 4 (needs-auth) and names the tier. See troubleshooting for the guest-denied list and what to do about it.