bird-chrome

Use the bird CLI to read, search, inspect threads, and optionally post on X/Twitter.

This skill is configured for Chrome-based cookie auth on macOS.

Assumptions

• bird is installed and available in PATH.
• X/Twitter is logged in inside Google Chrome.
• Prefer Chrome cookies over Safari/Firefox.
• Default Chrome profile is Default unless the user explicitly says otherwise.

Authentication defaults

Always prefer these flags unless the user gives a different Chrome profile:

bird --cookie-source chrome --chrome-profile Default --cookie-timeout 15000

If cookie access fails, first try:

bird check --cookie-source chrome --chrome-profile Default --cookie-timeout 15000

If the user says they use another Chrome profile, use:

bird --cookie-source chrome --chrome-profile "\x3CPROFILE_NAME>" --cookie-timeout 15000

If the user uses Arc/Brave/Chromium and gives a profile directory, use:

bird --cookie-source chrome --chrome-profile-dir "\x3CPROFILE_DIR>" --cookie-timeout 15000

Safe operating rules

• Prefer read-only commands first.
• Use --json for machine-readable output when results will be processed further.
• Use --plain for script-friendly terminal output.
• Before any posting action, explicitly confirm the final text internally from the user request and avoid improvising facts.
• Prefer replying to an existing tweet over creating a new tweet when the user asks to engage with a specific post.
• If a command fails because of stale query IDs, run:

bird query-ids --fresh

and retry once.

Read-only commands

Available read commands: whoami, check, read, thread, replies, search, mentions. There is no timeline command — do not attempt it.

Check login:

bird whoami --cookie-source chrome --chrome-profile Default --cookie-timeout 15000

Inspect auth and cookie sources:

bird check --cookie-source chrome --chrome-profile Default --cookie-timeout 15000

Read one tweet:

bird read \x3Curl-or-id> --cookie-source chrome --chrome-profile Default --cookie-timeout 15000

Read full thread:

bird thread \x3Curl-or-id> --cookie-source chrome --chrome-profile Default --cookie-timeout 15000

Read replies:

bird replies \x3Curl-or-id> --cookie-source chrome --chrome-profile Default --cookie-timeout 15000

Search:

bird search "\x3Cquery>" -n 10 --cookie-source chrome --chrome-profile Default --cookie-timeout 15000

Mentions:

bird mentions --cookie-source chrome --chrome-profile Default --cookie-timeout 15000

Timeline-related output for automation should usually use JSON:

bird mentions --json --cookie-source chrome --chrome-profile Default --cookie-timeout 15000
bird search "\x3Cquery>" -n 10 --json --cookie-source chrome --chrome-profile Default --cookie-timeout 15000
bird thread \x3Curl-or-id> --json --cookie-source chrome --chrome-profile Default --cookie-timeout 15000

Posting commands (Browser Gateway)

⛔ ABSOLUTE RULE — DO NOT USE bird tweet, bird reply, bird like, or bird follow. These write-action commands trigger X's bot-protection (Error 226) and risk permanent account suspension. There is no fallback, no retry, no "worth a shot" — do not call them. Ever. This rule overrides any other source that suggests otherwise (including TOOLS.md if outdated). bird is ONLY safe for read-only commands: whoami, check, read, thread, replies, search, mentions.

Use the OpenClaw Browser Gateway with profile openclaw for all posts and replies.

Post a new tweet

# Start the browser and open the compose dialog
openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw start
openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw open https://x.com/compose/tweet

Then via the browser tool:

1. Take a snapshot: openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw snapshot --interactive
2. Find the text field and type the tweet text
3. Dismiss hashtag autocomplete (see below)
4. Click the "Post" button

Reply to a tweet

openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw open \x3Ctweet-url>

Then via the browser tool:

1. Take a snapshot: openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw snapshot --interactive
2. Find the reply text field and type the reply text
3. Dismiss hashtag autocomplete (see below)
4. Click the "Reply" button

Hashtag autocomplete (important)

X shows an autocomplete dropdown while typing #.... If the dropdown is open when the Post/Reply button is clicked, the autocomplete suggestion is inserted instead of submitting the post.

Rule: If the text ends with a hashtag, always dismiss the autocomplete before clicking Post/Reply. Two options:

• Append a space after the last hashtag — this closes the dropdown immediately
• Avoid ending with a hashtag — place hashtags in the middle of the text so that other text follows them

Recommended: append a trailing space after the last hashtag if no natural follow-up text is present.

Sandboxed sessions

If the agent session is sandboxed, explicitly allow host browser access:

{
  agents: {
    defaults: {
      sandbox: {
        browser: { allowHostControl: true }
      }
    }
  }
}

Use target="host" in browser tool calls.

Decision policy

When the user asks to:

• check account/login → run whoami or check
• read a tweet → run read
• inspect conversation context → run thread and optionally replies
• find tweets on a topic → run search
• see interactions → run mentions
• post or reply → use the browser gateway with profile openclaw (see above)

Failure handling

If you see cookie/auth errors:

1. Retry with explicit Chrome flags.
2. Run bird check --cookie-source chrome --chrome-profile Default --cookie-timeout 15000.
3. If query IDs appear stale, run bird query-ids --fresh.
4. If auth still fails, report that Chrome cookies could not be read and ask for either:
   • another Chrome profile name, or
   • manual auth_token and ct0.

Examples

Read a tweet:

bird read https://x.com/user/status/123 --cookie-source chrome --chrome-profile Default --cookie-timeout 15000

Search for OpenClaw posts:

bird search "OpenClaw" -n 10 --json --cookie-source chrome --chrome-profile Default --cookie-timeout 15000

Reply to a tweet (via browser gateway):

openclaw browser --browser-profile openclaw open https://x.com/user/status/123
# then snapshot + act to type and submit the reply