Guide

How to get a X (Twitter) API API key

Reading public posts needs an app-only bearer token. It belongs to an App inside a Project in the X developer console.

Open X (Twitter) API Use X (Twitter) API in a strategy
About 15 minutes 4 steps Checked October 2026

Before you start

  • An X account with a verified email (and phone)
  • A payment method for pay-per-use credits

Create your X (Twitter) API API key

  1. 1

    Open the developer console

    Sign in at console.x.com with your X account and accept the developer agreement, describing your use case (e.g. market sentiment research).

  2. 2

    Create a Project and an App

    Create a Project, then an App inside it. Name them after the bot (e.g. algogp-sentiment).

  3. 3

    Generate the bearer token

    Open the App’s Keys and tokens tab and generate the Bearer Token (app-only authentication). Copy it now; it is not shown again.

  4. 4

    Add credits and a limit

    In billing, buy a small amount of credits and set a monthly spending limit so a runaway loop cannot overspend.

Test the key

Before wiring the key into a strategy, make one request by hand. It separates “the key is wrong” from “my code is wrong”.

curl -s -H "Authorization: Bearer $TWITTER_BEARER_TOKEN" \
  "https://api.x.com/2/tweets/search/recent?query=bitcoin%20-is:retweet&max_results=10"
A data array of posts means the token works. 401 is a bad token; 402/403 points to credits or access level.

Add the key to your AlgoGP project

  1. 1

    Open your project’s APIs & keys tab

    Open the strategy project and select APIs & keys in the workspace tabs.

  2. 2

    Paste each value

    Paste the values into TWITTER_BEARER_TOKEN and click Save. Values are encrypted at rest, never shown again and never written into code or exports.

  3. 3

    Run locally with the same names

    Exported projects read the same names from .env (copy .env.example). Keep .env out of version control.

TWITTER_BEARER_TOKEN=paste-your-value-here
.env for local runs

Token safety

A bearer token can spend your credits. Keep it in AlgoGP Keys & secrets (stored as TWITTER_BEARER_TOKEN) or .env, and regenerate it from the same tab if it leaks.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need the API key and secret, or just the bearer token?

For reading public posts, only the bearer token. The consumer key/secret and user tokens are for acting on behalf of an account.

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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How the X (Twitter) API works

AlgoGP is not affiliated with X (Twitter) API. Menus get renamed from time to time; if a label differs, the official documentation has the current path.