Social Media Integrations: Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok¶

How AI agents actually access Twitter/X, Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn, and TikTok. Real tools, real install commands, real costs.

Last updated: February 14, 2026

Table of Contents¶

Twitter/X Access
Reddit Access
YouTube Access
LinkedIn Access
TikTok & Instagram
The Social Media Monitoring Stack
Running 24/7 Without Going Broke
Quick-Start Install Commands

Twitter/X Access¶

How OpenClaw Does It: Bird CLI¶

OpenClaw uses Bird (@steipete/bird) -- a GraphQL-based CLI that uses browser cookies instead of the Twitter API.

npm install -g @steipete/bird

How cookie auth works: 1. Log into X/Twitter in your browser 2. Bird auto-extracts cookies from Chrome/Firefox/Brave/Arc 3. Or manually copy auth_token and ct0 from DevTools > Application > Cookies

Bird commands:

Command	What It Does
`bird whoami`	Show authenticated account
`bird search "query" -n 10`	Search tweets
`bird tweet "text"`	Post a tweet
`bird reply <id> "text"`	Reply to a tweet
`bird home`	Read home timeline
`bird mentions`	Read mentions
`bird trending`	Get trending topics
`bird user-tweets @handle`	Get user's tweets
`bird thread <url>`	Load full conversation thread

Why Bird over Twitter API? Twitter API costs $200-5,000/month. Bird is free.

MCP Servers for Twitter/X¶

MCP Server	Auth Method	Features	Install
@0xhijo/mcp_twitter	Credentials OR API keys	11 tools: post, reply, search, follow, profile	`npx mcp_twitter`
@mbelinky/x-mcp-server	OAuth 1.0a/2.0	Post w/ images/GIFs, search, delete	`npx -y @mbelinky/x-mcp-server`
@enescinar/twitter-mcp	API keys	Post, search	`npx -y @enescinar/twitter-mcp`
@0xGval/twitter-X-mcp-server	RapidAPI (free tier)	Search only	Clone repo + npm install
Composio Twitter	Managed OAuth	Full read/write	`mcp.composio.dev/twitter`
Apify Twitter Scraper	Scraping (no API)	Full scraping	`mcp.apify.com`

Best Option: @0xhijo/mcp_twitter (Credentials Mode)¶

This is the most popular because it bypasses the paid Twitter API entirely:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "twitter": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp_twitter"],
      "env": {
        "TWITTER_AUTH_MODE": "CREDENTIALS",
        "TWITTER_USERNAME": "your_handle",
        "TWITTER_PASSWORD": "your_password",
        "TWITTER_EMAIL": "your@email.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

No API key purchase needed. Uses direct login.

Twitter/X API Pricing (If You Want Official Access)¶

Tier	Price	Read Limit	Write Limit
Free	$0	~1,500 tweets/month	1 req/15min
Basic	$200/mo	10,000-15,000/month	1,667/month
Pro	$5,000/mo	1M/month	100K/month
Enterprise	$42,000+/mo	50M+/month	Custom

Verdict: Don't pay. Use Bird or the credentials-mode MCP.

Nitter Status¶

Nitter is effectively dead. After Twitter removed guest accounts (Jan 2024), most public instances shut down. Self-hosting requires real Twitter accounts that risk being banned. Use Bird or MCP servers instead.

Reddit Access¶

MCP Servers for Reddit¶

MCP Server	Auth	Features	Install
mcp-server-reddit (Hawstein)	None needed	8 read-only tools	`pip install mcp-server-reddit`
Composio Reddit	Managed OAuth	Full read/write	`mcp.composio.dev/reddit`
OpenClaw Reddit Skill	Optional OAuth	Read, search, post, reply	Built into OpenClaw

Best Option: mcp-server-reddit (Zero Auth)¶

No API key needed. Uses Reddit's public JSON API:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "reddit": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["mcp-server-reddit"]
    }
  }
}

Tools available: get_frontpage_posts, get_subreddit_hot_posts, get_subreddit_new_posts, get_subreddit_top_posts, get_subreddit_rising_posts, get_post_content, get_post_comments, get_subreddit_info

Other Reddit Access Methods¶

Method	Pros	Cons
Brave Search (`site:reddit.com`)	No auth, works everywhere	Summarized results only
PRAW (Python)	Full API, mature library	OAuth setup, rate limited
Playwright	Full page access, no limits	Slow, fragile, blocked
Composio	Managed, read/write	Costs money

Reddit API Limits (2026)¶

Free OAuth: 100 requests/minute, ~10K/month
Unauthenticated: 10 requests/minute
Commercial: Requires Reddit approval + paid access

YouTube Access¶

How to Turn YouTube Videos into Text Agents Can Learn From¶

The practical workflow: extract transcripts (auto-generated or manual captions) and feed them to your agent.

MCP Servers for YouTube Transcripts¶

MCP Server	Setup Effort	Install
@fabriqa.ai/youtube-transcript-mcp	Low	`claude mcp add --scope user youtube-transcript npx @fabriqa.ai/youtube-transcript-mcp@latest`
ergut/youtube-transcript-mcp	Zero (remote)	`npx mcp-remote https://youtube-transcript-mcp.ergut.workers.dev/sse`
kimtaeyoon83	Low	`npx -y @smithery/cli install @kimtaeyoon83/mcp-server-youtube-transcript --client claude`

Best Option: ergut (Zero Setup, Remote)¶

Hosted on Cloudflare Workers. No local dependencies:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "youtube-transcript": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-remote", "https://youtube-transcript-mcp.ergut.workers.dev/sse"]
    }
  }
}

Tool: get_transcript -- pass a YouTube URL, get the full transcript back.

Python Library (For Custom Pipelines)¶

pip install youtube-transcript-api

from youtube_transcript_api import YouTubeTranscriptApi
transcript = YouTubeTranscriptApi.get_transcript("VIDEO_ID")
# Returns: [{'text': '...', 'start': 0.0, 'duration': 2.5}, ...]

No API key needed. Works with auto-generated subtitles.

Limitations¶

Only works for videos with captions (auto-generated or manual)
Videos without captions: need Whisper or similar speech-to-text
OpenClaw has a Whisper skill for local speech-to-text
25K token limit per transcript on most MCP servers (request without timestamps to reduce size)

LinkedIn Access¶

The LinkedIn Automation Landscape (2026)¶

LinkedIn is the hardest platform to automate due to aggressive anti-bot detection. "Human Behavior Emulation" is now required -- simple API calls get accounts banned.

MCP Servers for LinkedIn¶

MCP Server	Auth	Features	Risk Level
Composio LinkedIn	Managed OAuth	Post, read feed, send messages, manage connections	Low (managed compliance)
Apify LinkedIn Scraper	Scraping	Profile data, company data, job listings	Medium (rate limited)
Custom via Playwright	Browser automation	Full control, but fragile	High (ban risk)

LinkedIn Automation Tools (Non-MCP)¶

Tool	Type	Best For	Price
Linkboost	Cloud-based	AI content generation, scheduling, engagement	$49-199/mo
Expandi	Cloud-based	Outreach sequences, connection requests	$99/mo
Zoho Social	SaaS	Multi-platform posting (LinkedIn + others)	$15-65/mo
Phantombuster	API + Scraping	Data extraction, automated actions	$69-399/mo
n8n + LinkedIn API	Self-hosted	Custom workflows, free	Free (BYO API)

LinkedIn Best Practices for AI Agents¶

Stay under 100 connection requests/week -- LinkedIn's known threshold
Vary posting times -- exact intervals = bot detection
Use LinkedIn's official API when possible (limited but safe)
Composio is the safest MCP option -- handles OAuth and rate limits
Never scrape at scale without a proxy rotation setup
Content generation is safe -- just use AI to write, then post manually or via API

LinkedIn API Access (Official)¶

Tier	Access	Cost
Community Management	Read company page, post content	Free (requires app approval)
Marketing Developer	Ad management, analytics	Free (requires app approval)
Compliance	Full access for enterprise compliance tools	Paid (enterprise only)

Verdict: LinkedIn is best used for content generation (AI writes posts) rather than full automation. The API is restrictive and ban risks are real.

TikTok & Instagram¶

TikTok Automation Tools¶

Tool	Type	Features	Price
ReelFarm	AI video creation	Auto-generate TikTok videos from text prompts	$29-99/mo
Fliki	AI video	Text-to-video with AI voices, auto-posting	$28-88/mo
ViewCreator	Dashboard	Multi-account management, AI content, scheduling	$49/mo
NapoleonCat	Moderation	Auto-reply DMs, spam detection, sentiment analysis	$32-299/mo
Axiom.ai	Browser bot	No-code TikTok automation (post, comment, extract)	Free-$50/mo
n8n + TikTok API	Self-hosted	Custom workflows	Free

TikTok API Access¶

TikTok's official API is more restrictive than Twitter's:

Feature	Available	Requirement
Post videos	Yes	TikTok for Developers app approval
Read comments	Yes	App approval
Auto-reply DMs	Limited	Business account required
Analytics	Yes	Creator or Business account
Scraping	No (ToS violation)	Risk of ban

Instagram (Meta API)¶

Tool	Features	Access
Meta Graph API	Post, read comments, analytics	Business account + app approval
Composio Instagram	MCP-based, managed OAuth	Via Composio platform
n8n Instagram node	Post, read, reply via workflow	Free (Meta API credentials)
Apify Instagram	Scraping profiles, posts, comments	Apify subscription

Content Pipeline Pattern (All Platforms)¶

The most common AI agent social media setup:

AI Agent (OpenClaw/Claude Code)
    │
    ├── Generate content (text, images, video ideas)
    │
    ├── Platform-specific formatting
    │   ├── Twitter: 280 chars, thread format
    │   ├── LinkedIn: Professional tone, 1300 chars
    │   ├── TikTok: Script + Fliki/ReelFarm for video
    │   └── Instagram: Image + caption
    │
    ├── Review queue (human approval recommended)
    │
    └── Post via API/MCP
        ├── Twitter: Bird CLI or mcp_twitter
        ├── LinkedIn: Composio or official API
        ├── TikTok: ReelFarm or TikTok API
        └── Instagram: Meta Graph API

Platform	Automation Risk	Ban Severity	Recovery
Twitter/X	Medium	Account suspension	Appeal possible
Reddit	Low (read-only)	Shadowban	New account
YouTube	Low (transcripts only)	N/A	N/A
LinkedIn	High	Permanent ban	Very difficult
TikTok	Medium	Shadow ban → permanent	New account
Instagram	Medium	Action blocks → suspension	Appeal possible

Rule of thumb: Use AI for content creation, humans (or careful API calls) for posting. Full automation works for Twitter and Reddit. LinkedIn and TikTok need a human-in-the-loop.

What Power Users Actually Run¶

Based on Reddit (r/ClaudeCode, r/AI_Agents, r/SideProject, r/openclaw):

Platform	Tool	Why
Twitter/X	Bird CLI (cookie auth)	Free, full access, no API costs
Reddit	mcp-server-reddit	Zero auth, read-only is usually enough
YouTube	youtube-transcript MCP	Feed tutorial/explainer videos to agents
LinkedIn	Composio MCP or official API	Safest option, managed OAuth
TikTok	ReelFarm + TikTok API	AI video creation + posting
Instagram	Meta Graph API	Business accounts, managed posting
All social	Composio MCP	Single endpoint for 200+ platforms
Orchestration	OpenClaw + n8n	n8n handles 400+ integrations, OpenClaw handles AI

From r/SideProject -- a user built 4 agents in 4 hours: - Agent 1: Reddit monitoring + posting - Agent 2: Twitter engagement via Bird - Agent 3: Content generation from monitored threads - Agent 4: Orchestrator coordinating all three - Result: 20→100 Reddit karma, 6 meaningful comments, 9 Twitter replies in 3 days

OpenClaw + n8n Stack¶

The openclaw-n8n-stack repo provides Docker Compose with both pre-configured:

git clone https://github.com/caprihan/openclaw-n8n-stack
cd openclaw-n8n-stack && cp .env.template .env
docker-compose up -d
# OpenClaw: port 3456, n8n: port 5678

OpenClaw handles AI reasoning. n8n handles the 400+ platform integrations.

Running 24/7 Without Going Broke¶

The "$500 Overnight Bill" Is Real¶

One heartbeat asking "Is it daytime yet?" 25 times overnight: $18.75/night
"Simple scheduled tasks" overnight: 5.7M tokens ($200) between 10pm-11am
Research swarms 24/7: $400-600/month

Cost Control Checklist¶

Set hard spending caps at the API provider -- Anthropic, OpenAI, OpenRouter all support this
Use cheap models for background/overnight tasks:
Kimi K2.5: $0.10/M tokens (cached) vs Claude Opus at $15/M = 150x cheaper
Haiku 4.5 for simple checks
Restrict cron jobs to useful hours -- no 3am tasks unless truly needed
Batch checks into heartbeat instead of multiple independent cron jobs
Set alerts at 50%, 75%, 90% of budget
Monitor weekly -- one user found $70/month in redundant calls

Smart Model Routing¶

Use expensive models only when interacting, cheap models for background:

Task Type	Model	Cost
Interactive coding/chat	Claude Opus 4.6	$5-25/M tokens
Background monitoring	Kimi K2.5	$0.10-2.80/M tokens
Simple checks/heartbeats	Haiku 4.5	$1-5/M tokens
Content generation	Claude Sonnet 4.5	$3-15/M tokens

Docker Setup for Always-On¶

git clone https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw.git
cd openclaw && ./docker-setup.sh
# Or: docker-compose up -d

VPS costs: $5-20/month (DigitalOcean, Contabo, Hostinger). No GPU needed.

Quick-Start Install Commands¶

# === TWITTER/X ===
# Bird CLI (cookie auth, free, what OpenClaw uses)
npm install -g @steipete/bird
bird --cookie-source chrome whoami

# Twitter MCP (credentials mode, no API key)
# Add to Claude Code MCP config: npx mcp_twitter

# === REDDIT ===
# Reddit MCP (zero auth, read-only)
pip install mcp-server-reddit
# Or: claude mcp add --scope user reddit uvx mcp-server-reddit

# === YOUTUBE ===
# YouTube Transcript MCP (for Claude Code)
claude mcp add --scope user youtube-transcript npx @fabriqa.ai/youtube-transcript-mcp@latest

# Zero-setup remote alternative:
# Add to config: npx mcp-remote https://youtube-transcript-mcp.ergut.workers.dev/sse

# Python library (for custom scripts)
pip install youtube-transcript-api

# === LINKEDIN ===
# Best via Composio (managed OAuth, MCP-compatible)
# Or use n8n LinkedIn node for self-hosted workflows

# === TIKTOK ===
# ReelFarm for AI video generation: https://reel.farm
# Or TikTok for Developers API (requires app approval)

# === INSTAGRAM ===
# Meta Graph API (Business account required)
# Or Composio Instagram MCP

# === ALL-IN-ONE ===
# Composio handles 200+ platforms via single MCP endpoint
# https://mcp.composio.dev

# === FULL STACK (OpenClaw + n8n) ===
git clone https://github.com/caprihan/openclaw-n8n-stack
cd openclaw-n8n-stack && cp .env.template .env && docker-compose up -d