How to Manually Configure Twitter Cookies in Agent Reach

To manually configure Twitter cookies in Agent Reach, extract the auth_token and ct0 values from your browser and run agent-reach configure twitter-cookies AUTH_TOKEN CT0, which stores them in ~/.agent-reach/config.yaml and validates access via twitter-cli.

Agent Reach requires two specific authentication tokens from X (formerly Twitter) to enable platform interactions. This guide covers the manual configuration process for the auth_token and ct0 cookies, showing exactly how they are parsed, stored, and validated according to the Panniantong/Agent-Reach source code.

Required Twitter Authentication Cookies

Agent Reach depends on two specific cookies that X uses to maintain authenticated sessions:

• auth_token: The primary session token identifying your X account.
• ct0: The CSRF token required for API requests.

These values are persisted in your local configuration file at ~/.agent-reach/config.yaml under the keys twitter_auth_token and twitter_ct0. The Config class in agent_reach/config.py handles the persistence layer, using Config.set() to write these sensitive values to disk.

Manual Configuration Methods

The CLI supports two input formats for manual configuration, both processed by the _parse_twitter_cookie_input function in agent_reach/cli.py (lines 24-42).

Method 1: Direct Token Arguments

Pass the two tokens as separate positional arguments:

agent-reach configure twitter-cookies YOUR_AUTH_TOKEN YOUR_CT0_VALUE

This is the most explicit method, sending the values directly to the configuration handler without additional parsing.

Method 2: Raw Cookie Header String

Paste the raw cookie string copied directly from your browser's developer tools:

agent-reach configure twitter-cookies "auth_token=AAA...; ct0=BBB...; other_value=ignore"

The parser extracts only the auth_token and ct0 key-value pairs, ignoring unrelated cookies. This method is useful when copying directly from Chrome's "Copy > Copy Cookies" feature.

How Agent Reach Validates Your Cookies

After storing the values, the CLI validates them immediately. In agent_reach/cli.py (lines 65-78), the _cmd_configure function performs a live test by:

1. Injecting the tokens into the environment variables TWITTER_AUTH_TOKEN and TWITTER_CT0.
2. Executing twitter status via subprocess.run.
3. Checking the output for "ok: true".

If validation succeeds, you will see:

✅ Twitter cookies configured!
Testing Twitter access... ✅ Twitter access works!

If the check fails, the CLI reports an error and allows you to re-run the configuration step.

Cookie Storage and Downstream Sync

Agent Reach distributes your credentials to multiple destinations to ensure compatibility with various helper tools:

• Agent Reach Config: Written to ~/.agent-reach/config.yaml via Config.set("twitter_auth_token", ...) and Config.set("twitter_ct0", ...).
• twitter-cli Environment: Temporarily exported as TWITTER_AUTH_TOKEN and TWITTER_CT0 environment variables during validation and usage.
• xfetch Legacy: Copied to ~/.config/xfetch/session.json via the _sync_xfetch_session function in agent_reach/cookie_extract.py for backward compatibility.
• bird-cli: Written as a source-able environment file to ~/.config/bird/credentials.env via _sync_bird_env.

Summary

• Manual configuration requires the auth_token and ct0 cookies from your X (Twitter) session.
• Use agent-reach configure twitter-cookies with either separate arguments or a raw cookie header string.
• The CLI validates credentials instantly by running twitter status and checking for "ok: true".
• Credentials are stored in ~/.agent-reach/config.yaml and synchronized to legacy tools like xfetch and bird.
• All parsing logic resides in agent_reach/cli.py, while storage and sync operations are handled by agent_reach/config.py and agent_reach/cookie_extract.py.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I find the auth_token and ct0 cookies?

Open your browser's Developer Tools, navigate to the Application (Chrome) or Storage (Firefox) tab, and locate the Cookies section for twitter.com or x.com. Copy the values for auth_token and ct0. Alternatively, use the browser's "Copy as cURL" feature and extract the values from the cookie string.

What file format does Agent Reach use to store Twitter cookies?

Agent Reach stores the cookies in a YAML configuration file at ~/.agent-reach/config.yaml under the keys twitter_auth_token and twitter_ct0. The Config class provides methods to read and write these values securely, and the CLI masks sensitive fields when displaying configuration summaries.

How does Agent Reach validate the configured cookies?

The CLI validates cookies by temporarily setting them as environment variables and executing twitter status via subprocess.run. It checks the command output for the string "ok: true". This verification ensures that the tokens are active and correctly formatted before the configuration step completes.

Can I configure Twitter cookies without installing browser extraction tools?

Yes. While Agent Reach supports automatic extraction via agent-reach configure --from-browser, you can manually configure cookies without any browser extraction dependencies. Simply obtain the auth_token and ct0 values from your browser's developer tools and run the manual configuration command with the two token values.

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