install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install x-cli

local Homebrew formula metadata

overview

Package summary

Command-line power tool for Twitter

Project links

Commands and aliases

x

history

Project history and usage

x-cli is Erik Michaels-Ober's command-line client lineage for Twitter, now framed as a command-line interface for the X API. Its history runs through the earlier `t` Ruby CLI, which became a recognizable terminal-first Twitter tool, and the current x-cli repository, which updates the idea for X API authentication and v1.1/v2 API behavior.

Project history

The original project documentation for `t` says it was created after the twitter Ruby gem removed its command-line interface in version 0.5.0. The `t` project was offered as a successor, but as a clean-room implementation containing none of the original CLI code.

The current x-cli README describes the tool as a command-line interface for the X API, with OAuth 1.0a and OAuth 2.0 authentication, v1.1 and v2 API support with fallback behavior, streaming commands, shell completion, and YAML configuration. It also preserves migration behavior from the older ~/.trc profile file to the newer ~/.xrc default.

Adoption history

The project became popular because it made Twitter scriptable from ordinary shells: posting, listing, searching, following, and account management could be composed with pipes and other Unix tools. The current GitHub repository still shows thousands of stars and hundreds of forks, reflecting its long-lived CLI niche.

How it is used

Historically, users ran commands such as `t authorize`, `t update`, `t whois`, and list-management commands after creating Twitter API credentials. The current x-cli command tree focuses on `x` commands for accounts, search, streams, delete/list/set operations, and profile management.

Configuration is part of the project's continuity: the current README states that ~/.xrc is the default profile config, while ~/.trc is read as a fallback and migrated on write. That preserves the older `t` ecosystem while moving the command name and API model toward X.

Why package nerds care

x-cli is package-nerd interesting as a social-network CLI that survived API churn, branding churn, and authentication changes. It is the kind of package users install not for a daemon or library, but to make a web platform automatable from shell scripts.

Timeline

twitter gem 0.5.0: The original gem CLI is removed, leading to the separate clean-room `t` project.
2010s: `t` becomes a RubyGems-installed Twitter command-line power tool.
2020s: The current x-cli repository presents the tool as an X API CLI with OAuth 1.0a/OAuth 2.0 and API v1.1/v2 support.
Current line: ~/.xrc becomes the default profile config while ~/.trc remains a migration fallback.

Related projects

The twitter Ruby gem is the ancestor context for the original CLI removal. The current x-cli README also identifies x-api as the client library layer for HTTP, authentication, and retry primitives.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Build metadata lists 2 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: ~/.xrc~/.trc

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`x`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version5.0.0

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv5.0.0

https://github.com/sferik/x-cli

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:x-cli
Version	5.0.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/x-cli
Homepage	https://github.com/sferik/x-cli
Repository	https://github.com/sferik/x-cli
Upstream docs	https://github.com/sferik/x-cli#readme
License	MIT
Source archive	https://github.com/sferik/x-cli/archive/refs/tags/v5.0.0.tar.gz
Build dependencies	pkgconf, rust
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	x-cli
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Conflicts With	xorg-server
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head stable

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/x-cli.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install x-cli with Homebrew