How to Configure Twitter Cookies Manually Using the Agent-Reach CLI

Use the agent-reach configure twitter-cookies command to store your auth_token and ct0 values in ~/.agent-reach/config.yaml, either as separate arguments or as a full Cookie header string.

The Agent-Reach framework requires valid Twitter authentication tokens to enable its Twitter channel functionality. You can persistently store these credentials using the built-in CLI configuration command, which parses, validates, and saves the tokens to your local configuration file.

Using the configure twitter-cookies Command

The CLI provides a dedicated sub-command to handle Twitter authentication setup. When you execute agent-reach configure twitter-cookies <value>, the tool performs four distinct operations as implemented in agent_reach/cli.py.

Parsing the Input

The command accepts input through the _parse_twitter_cookie_input function (lines 54-72 in agent_reach/cli.py). It supports two distinct formats:

• Separate token values: Provide the auth_token and ct0 as two distinct arguments
• Full Cookie header: Provide a complete HTTP Cookie header string containing both values

Writing to Configuration

After parsing, the tokens are persisted via the Config.set API (lines 78-81 in agent_reach/cli.py). The values are written to ~/.agent-reach/config.yaml under the keys twitter_auth_token and twitter_ct0 respectively.

Validating Credentials

The CLI Optionally verifies the credentials by invoking twitter status with the newly-set environment variables TWITTER_AUTH_TOKEN and TWITTER_CT0 (lines 85-100 in agent_reach/cli.py). This confirms the cookies work before finalizing the configuration.

Channel Integration

The TwitterChannel class in agent_reach/channels/twitter.py (lines 84-88) checks for these environment variables when probing the twitter-cli backend. When present and valid, the channel reports "ok" and becomes available to agents.

Input Formats and Examples

You can supply the Twitter cookies using either format. Both approaches result in identical configuration entries.

Method 1: Separate Arguments

Provide the two tokens as distinct values:

agent-reach configure twitter-cookies abcdef123456 ghijk789012

Method 2: Full Cookie Header

Supply a complete Cookie header string (requires quotes to preserve the argument):

agent-reach configure twitter-cookies "auth_token=abcdef123456; ct0=ghijk789012; other=ignore"

Both commands produce the following entries in your configuration file:

# ~/.agent-reach/config.yaml

twitter_auth_token: abcdef123456
twitter_ct0: ghijk789012

Configuration Storage and Verification

The configuration is stored in YAML format in your user directory. After setting the cookies, verify the installation using the built-in diagnostic tool:

agent-reach doctor

Successful configuration displays the Twitter channel status as available, indicating that twitter-cli is fully functional for searches, tweets, timelines, and user queries.

Environment Variable Alternative

For scripts or temporary configurations, you can bypass the config file and export the variables directly:

export TWITTER_AUTH_TOKEN=abcdef123456
export TWITTER_CT0=ghijk789012
twitter status

This approach is useful for CI/CD pipelines or when rotating credentials frequently, though the CLI configuration method provides persistent storage across sessions.

Summary

• Use agent-reach configure twitter-cookies to persistently store Twitter authentication tokens
• Provide tokens as either separate arguments or a full Cookie header string
• Storage location is ~/.agent-reach/config.yaml under twitter_auth_token and twitter_ct0 keys
• Validation occurs automatically via twitter status to confirm credentials work
• Verification is available through agent-reach doctor to check channel status
• Environment variables TWITTER_AUTH_TOKEN and TWITTER_CT0 serve as runtime overrides

Frequently Asked Questions

What file format does the Agent-Reach CLI expect for Twitter cookies?

The CLI accepts two formats through the _parse_twitter_cookie_input function in agent_reach/cli.py. You can provide the auth_token and ct0 values as two separate command arguments, or as a single quoted string containing a standard HTTP Cookie header with semicolon-separated key-value pairs.

Where does Agent-Reach store the Twitter authentication tokens?

The tokens are stored in the per-user configuration file at ~/.agent-reach/config.yaml. The Config.set API writes the values under the keys twitter_auth_token and twitter_ct0, making them available for subsequent CLI operations and channel integrations.

How can I verify that my Twitter cookies are configured correctly?

Run the agent-reach doctor command to check the status of all configured channels. If the cookies are valid, the output will show the Twitter channel as "ok" and indicate that twitter-cli is fully available for searches, reading tweets, timelines, and user queries.

Can I use environment variables instead of the configuration file?

Yes. The TwitterChannel implementation in agent_reach/channels/twitter.py checks for the environment variables TWITTER_AUTH_TOKEN and TWITTER_CT0 when probing the backend. Exporting these variables allows you to use Twitter functionality without modifying the config file, though settings in the config file provide persistence across terminal sessions.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}