Zero to X Posting in 20 Minutes

Step 1: Get Your X Credentials (5 min)

"API Keys" sound scary. They're not. Think of them like a password X gives your bot so it can post.

1.1 Sign Up at X Developer Portal

1. Go to developer.x.com
2. Sign in with your X account
3. Click "Apply" for a developer account
4. Choose "Basic" tier (free, or $100/mo if you need more)
5. Answer honestly: "I'm building an AI assistant for content automation"

1.2 Create Your App

Once approved:

1. Go to "Projects & Apps" → "Overview"
2. Click "Create App"
3. Name it something like "MyAIAssistant"
4. Copy these values:
   • API Key
   • API Secret
5. Go to "Keys and Tokens" tab
6. Generate Access Token and Access Token Secret

1.3 Get Your User ID

Your user ID is a number X uses internally. Easiest way:

1. Go to tweeterid.com
2. Enter your X handle (without @)
3. Copy the number

Step 2: Install OpenClaw

If you're reading this, OpenClaw is working. Skip to Step 3.

If not: buy a Hostinger VPS, SSH in, run the one-liner install from openclaw.ai, return here.

Step 3: Install the Skill (5 min)

Skills are plugins that give your agent new powers. The xpost skill gives it X superpowers.

3.1 Install via ClawHub

# Pull the skill from the registry
clawhub install x-api

# Or if you have the tar.gz locally
cd /data/.openclaw/workspace
clawhub install ./xpost.skill.tar.gz

3.2 Verify Installation

# Should see the xpost command now
which xpost
# Output: /data/clawd/bin/xpost

# Test help
xpost

# Should show usage instructions

Step 4: Configure Credentials (2 min)

Your agent needs the keys to drive. Create a config file:

mkdir -p ~/.config/x-api

cat > ~/.config/x-api/keys.env << 'EOF'
X_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
X_API_SECRET=your_api_secret_here
X_ACCESS_TOKEN=your_access_token_here
X_ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET=your_access_token_secret_here
X_USER_ID=your_numeric_user_id_here
EOF

Replace the values with what you copied in Step 1.

Test It

xpost mentions

If you see JSON output (possibly empty []), you're authenticated. If you see "Error," check your credentials.

Step 5: Post Your First Tweet (30 seconds)

This is the moment. Type:

xpost post "My AI just posted this. I'm now a cyborg."

Check your X timeline. It's there.

Step 6: Hook It Into Your Agent (5 min)

Posting manually is cool. Having your agent post automatically is power.

Option A: Quick Command

xpost post "Just shipped a new feature. Building in public hits different."

Option B: Scheduled Queues (The Real Power)

Create a queue file your agent checks:

{
  "timezone": "America/New_York",
  "posts_per_day": 2,
  "schedule": ["09:00", "18:00"],
  "queue": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "status": "scheduled",
      "time": "2026-03-01T09:00:00",
      "content": "Why I use Kimi K2.5 via NVIDIA NIM..."
    }
  ]
}

Then add to your HEARTBEAT.md:

## X Auto-Posting
Check x-tweet-queue.json every heartbeat. If current time matches 
scheduled post time (within 5 min), post via xpost and mark as posted.

Now your agent posts automatically on schedule.

Step 7: Engagement Automation

Auto-Reply to Mentions

Add to your daily checks:

xpost mentions

Like/Retweet Workflow

xpost like 1234567890
xpost retweet 1234567890
xpost follow @levelsio

Common Errors & Fixes

Your Mission

1. Post one tweet manually
2. Tell your agent to post one for you
3. Set up a scheduled queue with 3 tweets
4. Check mentions once

Ship Fast

"If it takes longer than an hour to set up, it's too complex"

This took 20 minutes. Now you have a system. Not a "strategy." A working bot that posts while you sleep.