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https://github.com/twitter/twurl

OAuth-enabled curl for the Twitter API
https://github.com/twitter/twurl

cli curl ruby twitter twitter-api twurl

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OAuth-enabled curl for the Twitter API

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README 

        
# Twurl



[![MIT License](https://img.shields.io/apm/l/atomic-design-ui.svg?)](https://github.com/twitter/twurl/blob/master/LICENSE)

[![Gem Version](https://badge.fury.io/rb/twurl.svg)](https://badge.fury.io/rb/twurl)

[![CI](https://github.com/twitter/twurl/actions/workflows/ci.yml/badge.svg)](https://github.com/twitter/twurl/actions/workflows/ci.yml)



Twurl is like curl, but tailored specifically for the Twitter API.

It knows how to grant an access token to a client application for

a specified user and then sign all requests with that access token.



It also provides other development and debugging conveniences such

as defining aliases for common requests, as well as support for

multiple access tokens to easily switch between different client

applications and Twitter accounts.



## Installing Twurl



Twurl can be installed using RubyGems:



```sh

gem install twurl

```



## Getting Started



If you haven't already, the first thing to do is apply for a developer account to access Twitter APIs:



```text

https://developer.twitter.com/en/apply-for-access

```



After you have that access you can create a Twitter app and generate a consumer key and secret.



When you have your consumer key and its secret you authorize

your Twitter account to make API requests with that consumer key

and secret.



```sh

twurl authorize --consumer-key key       \

                --consumer-secret secret

```



This will return an URL that you should open up in your browser.

Authenticate to Twitter, and then enter the returned PIN back into

the terminal.  Assuming all that works well, you will be authorized

to make requests with the API. Twurl will tell you as much.



## Making Requests



The simplest request just requires that you specify the path you

want to request.



```sh

twurl /1.1/statuses/home_timeline.json

```



Similar to curl, a GET request is performed by default.



You can implicitly perform a POST request by passing the -d option,

which specifies POST parameters.



```sh

twurl -d 'status=Testing twurl' /1.1/statuses/update.json

```



You can explicitly specify what request method to perform with

the -X (or --request-method) option.



```sh

twurl -X POST /1.1/statuses/destroy/1234567890.json

```



## Using Bearer Tokens (Application-only authentication)



You can generate a bearer token using `--bearer` option in combination with the `authorize` subcommand.



```sh

twurl authorize --bearer --consumer-key key       \

                         --consumer-secret secret

```



And then, you can make a request using a generated bearer token using `--bearer` request option.



```sh

twurl --bearer '/1.1/search/tweets.json?q=hello'

```



To list your generated bearer tokens, you can use the `bearer_tokens` subcommand.



```sh

twurl bearer_tokens

```



This will print a pair of consumer_key and its associated bearer token. Note, tokens are omitted from this output.



## Accessing Different Hosts



You can access different hosts for other Twitter APIs using the -H flag.



```sh

twurl -H "ads-api.twitter.com" "/7/accounts"

```



## Uploading Media



To upload binary files, you can format the call as a form post. Below, the binary is "/path/to/media.jpg" and the form field is "media":



```sh

twurl -H "upload.twitter.com" -X POST "/1.1/media/upload.json" --file "/path/to/media.jpg" --file-field "media"

```



## Creating aliases



```sh

twurl alias h /1.1/statuses/home_timeline.json

```



You can then use "h" in place of the full path.



```sh

twurl h

```



Paths that require additional options (such as request parameters, for example) can be used with aliases the same as with full explicit paths, just as you might expect.



```sh

twurl alias tweet /1.1/statuses/update.json

twurl tweet -d "status=Aliases in twurl are convenient"

```



## Changing your default profile



The first time you authorize a client application to make requests on behalf of your account, twurl stores your access token information in its `~/.twurlrc` file. Subsequent requests will use this profile as the default profile. You can use the `accounts` subcommand to see what client applications have been authorized for what user names:



```sh

twurl accounts

  noradio

    HQsAGcBm5MQT4n6j7qVJw

    hhC7Koy2zRsTZvQh1hVlSA (default)

  testiverse

    guT9RsJbNQgVe6AwoY9BA

```



Notice that one of those consumer keys is marked as the default. To change the default use the `set` subcommand, passing then either just the username, if it's unambiguous, or the username and consumer key pair if it isn't unambiguous:



```sh

twurl set default testiverse

twurl accounts

  noradio

    HQsAGcBm5MQT4n6j7qVJw

    hhC7Koy2zRsTZvQh1hVlSA

  testiverse

    guT9RsJbNQgVe6AwoY9BA (default)

```



```sh

twurl set default noradio HQsAGcBm5MQT4n6j7qVJw

twurl accounts

  noradio

    HQsAGcBm5MQT4n6j7qVJw (default)

    hhC7Koy2zRsTZvQh1hVlSA

  testiverse

    guT9RsJbNQgVe6AwoY9BA

```



### Profiles and Bearer Tokens



While changing the default profile allows you to select which access token (OAuth1.0a) to use, bearer tokens don't link to any user profiles as the Application-only authentication doesn't require user context. That is, you can make an application-only request regardless of your default profile if you specify the `-c` (`--consumer-key`) option once you generate a bearer token with this consumer key. By default, twurl reads the current profile's consumer key and its associated bearer token from `~/.twurlrc` file.



## Contributors



Marcel Molina / @noradio



Erik Michaels-Ober / @sferik



and there are many [more](https://github.com/twitter/twurl/graphs/contributors)!