X (Twitter) API for Trading: Social Sentiment Guide

Quick answer

The X (Twitter) API v2 recent search endpoint returns posts from the last seven days with an app-only bearer token created in the developer console (console.x.com). Since February 2026, new developers pay per use with prepaid credits.

X (Twitter) API at a glance

Pricing: Pay per use (credits)
Availability: Worldwide
Paper trading: Not applicable (data only)
Integration type: REST + API key
In AlgoGP: Design and backtest in AlgoGP, connect the exported code
Endpoint: GET /2/tweets/search/recent (last 7 days)
Auth: App-only Authorization: Bearer <token>
Pricing: Pay-per-use credits, bought in the developer console
Used by: filters.sentiment with source social

How social sentiment is scored

data_sources.recent_posts(query) asks for up to 100 recent English posts that match news_query, excluding reposts, and the same lexicon scorer as news turns them into a daily score. Recent search only reaches back seven days and X has no archive to replay, so social sentiment is used by live.py only; backtests run without it.

Use X (Twitter) API in AlgoGP

X (Twitter) API is read by the generated data_sources.py. Turn it on from config.json under filters.sentiment. In-app backtests replay news and sentiment from dated, keyless archives, so a key, if any, is only used when the exported live.py runs; store it in the project’s Keys & secrets or a local .env.

Key	What it is
`TWITTER_BEARER_TOKEN`	X (Twitter) API v2 bearer token for the sentiment filter (source "social"); live only.

Names the generated code reads. Add values under Keys & secrets or in a local .env.

New to X (Twitter) API? Follow the step-by-step X (Twitter) API API key guide.

X (Twitter) API: frequently asked questions

Is the X API free?

Not for reading posts at useful volumes. New developers use pay-per-use credits; set a spending cap in the console.

Can I backtest years of X sentiment?

Not with recent search, which covers seven days. Full-archive search is a separate, more expensive product.

Add X (Twitter) API signals to a strategy

Combine price rules with news and sentiment filters, test them point-in-time so nothing leaks from the future, and export the code.

Sentiment filters that block entries on bad news
Point-in-time replay in every backtest
Exported Python reads the same feed live

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X (Twitter) API alternatives

Independent guide. AlgoGP is not affiliated with X (Twitter) API. Limits, prices and availability change; confirm them in the official documentation. Nothing here is investment advice.