crossmind

Agent-native CLI for 15 social platforms. Token-efficient output, multi-account, built-in safety policies.

npm install -g crossmind

Don't want to manage the CLI yourself? crossmind.io runs the full growth strategy autonomously — no setup, no scripts, just results.

Why crossmind

Most social CLIs are built for humans. crossmind is built for AI agents:

• Compact output by default — single-line key:value format, no emoji, no decorative whitespace
• --json for structured pipelines — clean arrays with no outer wrapper
• No-auth first — public platforms work out of the box, no configuration required
• Built-in write safety — daily limits, random jitter delays, exponential backoff

Token Benchmark

Measured on x search "AI agent" 10 against raw X GraphQL JSON output (the format agents would otherwise consume):

| Format | Bytes | Approx tokens | vs raw | |--------|-------|---------------|--------| | Raw X GraphQL JSON | 15,568 | ~3,892 | baseline | | crossmind x search (compact) | 2,663 | ~666 | −83% | | crossmind x search --json | 4,687 | ~1,172 | −70% |

Per tweet: raw GraphQL response averages 1,556 bytes (full JSON object with author, metrics, urls, media, timestamps). crossmind compact line averages 266 bytes — ~5.8× smaller.

The raw JSON is already stripped down from the full v2 REST response (no entities, no referenced_tweets, no full user objects). Against a raw API call with standard field expansions, the reduction is larger.

Quick Start

# Public platforms — no auth required
crossmind hn top 10
crossmind reddit r MachineLearning 25 --sort top --time week
crossmind gh trending --lang typescript
crossmind arxiv search "transformer architecture" --cat cs.AI 10

# X (Twitter) — set OAuth token or cookie auth
export X_ACCESS_TOKEN=<your_oauth_token>
crossmind x home 10
crossmind x tweet "Hello from crossmind"

# Or authenticate interactively
crossmind auth login x
crossmind auth login reddit
crossmind auth login bsky --handle user.bsky.social --app-password <password>

Output Format

Default: compact single-line, agent-friendly. No emoji, no abbreviations, full integers.

1. score:342 comments:87 Show HN: We built a CLI for 15 social platforms https://...
2. score:198 comments:44 Ask HN: What tools do you use for social data? https://...

Add --json for structured output:

crossmind hn top 5 --json

[
  { "rank": 1, "score": 342, "comments": 87, "title": "Show HN: ...", "url": "https://..." }
]

Platforms

| Command | Platform | Auth | Read | Write | |-----------|-----------------|-------------------------|------|-------| | hn | Hacker News | None | Yes | No | | lb | Lobsters | None | Yes | No | | dev | DEV.to | None | Yes | No | | so | Stack Overflow | None | Yes | No | | arxiv | arXiv | None | Yes | No | | gh | GitHub | Optional PAT | Yes | No | | ph | Product Hunt | API key | Yes | No | | x | X (Twitter) | Cookie / OAuth 2.0 PKCE | Yes | Yes | | reddit | Reddit | OAuth 2.0 PKCE | Yes | Yes | | bsky | Bluesky | App password | Yes | Yes | | yt | YouTube | API key | Yes | No | | med | Medium | None (RSS) | Yes | No | | sub | Substack | None (RSS) | Yes | No | | ig | Instagram | Cookie | Yes | No | | li | LinkedIn | Cookie | Yes | No |

Authentication

X (Twitter) — How it works

X auth follows a priority chain:

1. Cookie auth (auth_token + ct0) — routes through the built-in scripts/x-fetch.py bridge, which uses curl_cffi Chrome TLS fingerprint impersonation. Enables full read access including home feed, bookmarks, and DM history.
2. OAuth 2.0 token (X_ACCESS_TOKEN or stored accessToken) — standard v2 REST API. Required for write operations (post, like, retweet, follow, DM send) and for reading likes.
3. Public bearer — no config needed. Supports search only.

Env var overrides (highest priority, checked before credential file):

| Env var | Maps to | Use case | |----------------------|--------------|-------------------------------------| | X_ACCESS_TOKEN | accessToken| OAuth 2.0 token from crossmind.io or manual PKCE flow | | X_AUTH_TOKEN | authToken | Cookie extracted from browser | | X_CT0 | ct0 | CSRF token paired with auth_token |

If X_ACCESS_TOKEN is missing or expired, commands that require OAuth will exit with:

Error: X OAuth token missing or expired. Set X_ACCESS_TOKEN or run: crossmind auth login x

Cookie auth (manual extraction from browser):

crossmind auth login x --auth-token <auth_token> --ct0 <ct0>
# Get from browser DevTools → Application → Cookies → twitter.com

# Or use automated extraction:
crossmind extract-cookie x

OAuth 2.0 PKCE (opens browser):

export X_CLIENT_ID=your_app_client_id
crossmind auth login x

Reddit

OAuth 2.0 PKCE flow (opens browser):

export REDDIT_CLIENT_ID=your_client_id
crossmind auth login reddit

Or extract session cookies directly from browser (no app registration needed):

crossmind extract-cookie reddit           # opens Playwright browser, saves reddit_session

Bluesky

App password (Settings → Privacy and Security → App Passwords):

crossmind auth login bsky --handle yourhandle.bsky.social --app-password xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx

GitHub

Personal access token (optional, increases rate limit from 60 → 5000 req/hr):

crossmind auth login gh --token ghp_xxxxxxxxxxxx

YouTube

Google API key (console.cloud.google.com → YouTube Data API v3):

crossmind auth login yt --token AIzaSy...

Instagram

Browser cookie extraction (opens Playwright browser):

crossmind extract-cookie instagram

LinkedIn

For posting (li post), provide an OAuth access token:

# Inject via env var (agent-friendly):
export LINKEDIN_ACCESS_TOKEN=<token>

# Or save to credential store:
crossmind auth login linkedin --access-token <token>

For read operations (profile, feed), extract session cookies:

crossmind extract-cookie linkedin

Commands Reference

Hacker News (hn)

crossmind hn top [limit]         # Top stories
crossmind hn new [limit]         # Newest stories
crossmind hn ask [limit]         # Ask HN
crossmind hn show [limit]        # Show HN
crossmind hn jobs [limit]        # Job postings

Lobsters (lb)

crossmind lb top [limit]         # Hottest stories
crossmind lb new [limit]         # Newest stories
crossmind lb hottest [limit]     # Hottest (24h)

DEV.to (dev)

crossmind dev top [limit]                # Top articles (past week)
crossmind dev latest [limit]             # Latest articles
crossmind dev search <query> [limit]     # Search by tag/keyword

Stack Overflow (so)

crossmind so top [limit]                           # Top questions by votes
crossmind so search <query> [limit]                # Search questions
crossmind so trending [limit]                      # Most active today
crossmind so top [limit] --tag javascript          # Filter by tag

arXiv (arxiv)

crossmind arxiv search <query> [limit] --cat cs.AI  # Search papers
crossmind arxiv recent [limit] --cat cs.LG          # Recent by category

Categories: cs.AI, cs.LG, cs.CL, cs.CV, stat.ML, math.OC, etc.

GitHub (gh)

crossmind gh search <query> [limit] --sort stars    # Search repos
crossmind gh trending [limit] --lang python         # Trending repos
crossmind gh issues <owner/repo> [limit]            # List issues
crossmind gh releases <owner/repo> [limit]          # List releases

Product Hunt (ph)

crossmind ph top [limit] --date 2024-01-15   # Top products by date
crossmind ph search <query> [limit]           # Search products

X / Twitter (x)

# Read (cookie auth preferred, falls back to v2 REST)
crossmind x search <query> [limit]              # Search recent tweets
crossmind x mentions <username> [limit]         # @mentions and replies to a user
crossmind x notifications [limit]               # Notification timeline — replies, mentions, likes, retweets (cookie auth)
crossmind x timeline <username> [limit]         # User timeline
crossmind x home [limit]                        # Home feed (auth required)
crossmind x profile <username>                  # User profile
crossmind x thread <tweet_id> [limit]           # Tweet + reply thread
crossmind x followers <username> [limit]        # User's followers
crossmind x following <username> [limit]        # Accounts user follows
crossmind x bookmarks [limit]                   # Your bookmarks (cookie)
crossmind x list <list_id> [limit]              # Tweets from a List
crossmind x likes <username> [limit]            # User's liked tweets (OAuth)
crossmind x dm-list [limit]                     # Recent DM events (OAuth)
crossmind x dm-conversation <username> [limit]  # DM history with user (OAuth)

# Write (OAuth required)
crossmind x tweet <text>
crossmind x reply <tweet_id> <text>
crossmind x like <tweet_id>
crossmind x unlike <tweet_id>
crossmind x retweet <tweet_id>
crossmind x unretweet <tweet_id>
crossmind x quote <tweet_id> <text>
crossmind x follow <username>
crossmind x unfollow <username>
crossmind x dm <username> <text>
crossmind x delete <tweet_id>
crossmind x bookmark <tweet_id>     # cookie auth required
crossmind x unbookmark <tweet_id>   # cookie auth required

Reddit (reddit)

# Read (public API — no auth required)
crossmind reddit r <subreddit> [limit] --sort hot --time day
crossmind reddit search <query> [limit] --sub MachineLearning
crossmind reddit comments <subreddit> <post_id> [limit]
crossmind reddit popular [limit]                 # r/popular feed
crossmind reddit all [limit]                     # r/all feed
crossmind reddit sub-info <subreddit>            # Subreddit metadata
crossmind reddit user <username>                 # User profile
crossmind reddit user-posts <username> [limit]   # User's posts
crossmind reddit user-comments <username> [limit] # User's comments
crossmind reddit read <post_id>                  # Post + top comments

# Read (OAuth required)
crossmind reddit home [limit]                    # Your front page
crossmind reddit saved [limit]                   # Your saved posts

# Write (OAuth required)
crossmind reddit comment <parent_id> <text>      # parent_id: t3_xxx or t1_xxx
crossmind reddit upvote <id>
crossmind reddit downvote <id>
crossmind reddit save <id>
crossmind reddit subscribe <subreddit>
crossmind reddit post <subreddit> <title> <url>       # Link post
crossmind reddit text-post <subreddit> <title> <text>  # Text post
crossmind reddit crosspost <target_sub> <post_id>
crossmind reddit delete <fullname>                    # Delete own post (t3_xxx) or comment (t1_xxx)

Bluesky (bsky)

# Read
crossmind bsky timeline [limit]
crossmind bsky search <query> [limit]
crossmind bsky feed <handle> [limit]
crossmind bsky profile <handle>

# Write (requires app password)
crossmind bsky post <text>
crossmind bsky reply <post_uri> <post_cid> <text>
crossmind bsky like <post_uri> <post_cid>
crossmind bsky repost <post_uri> <post_cid>
crossmind bsky follow <handle>
crossmind bsky delete <uri>

YouTube (yt)

crossmind yt search <query> [limit]     # Search videos (API key required)
crossmind yt channel <channel_id>       # Channel info

Medium (med)

crossmind med feed <publication> [limit]    # Publication feed
crossmind med profile <username> [limit]    # User's posts
crossmind med tag <tag> [limit]             # Posts by tag

Substack (sub)

crossmind sub feed <newsletter> [limit]     # Newsletter posts (e.g. "lenny")
crossmind sub latest <newsletter> [limit]   # Latest posts

Instagram (ig)

crossmind ig profile <username>             # User profile
crossmind ig posts <username> [limit]       # Recent posts

LinkedIn (li)

crossmind li post "text content"            # Post (requires OAuth token)
crossmind li delete <post_id>               # Delete post (OAuth token, post_id or full URN)
crossmind li profile <username>             # Profile (URL username, requires cookie auth)
crossmind li feed [limit]                   # Home feed (requires cookie auth)

Account Management

crossmind account list [platform]           # List all accounts
crossmind account use <platform> <name>     # Set default account
crossmind account remove <platform> <name>  # Remove credentials
crossmind account show <platform> [name]    # Show credential info

crossmind auth status                       # Auth status for all platforms
crossmind auth logout <platform> [name]     # Remove credentials

Multi-Account Support

# Save multiple X accounts
crossmind auth login x work --auth-token <token1> --ct0 <ct0_1>
crossmind auth login x personal --auth-token <token2> --ct0 <ct0_2>

# Use a specific account
crossmind x tweet "Work tweet" --account work
crossmind x timeline elonmusk --account personal

# Set default
crossmind account use x work

Data Directory

Credentials and daily write limits are stored in ~/.crossmind/ by default.

Override per-command:

crossmind x tweet "hello" --data-dir /tmp/crossmind-test

Or set globally:

export CROSSMIND_DATA_DIR=/path/to/data

Migrating from OpenClaw

If you're using OpenClaw and want a lighter path for programmatic social access:

| | crossmind-cli | OpenClaw | |---|---|---| | Install | npm install -g crossmind | Agent config + workflow setup | | Output | Token-efficient single-line or --json | JSON | | Write safety | Built-in daily limits + jitter | Manual configuration | | No-auth platforms | Works out of the box (HN, Reddit read, GitHub, arXiv) | Requires connector setup | | Managed option | crossmind.io — zero config, full strategy | — |

crossmind-cli handles the transport layer. If you want the strategy layer too — deciding what to post, where to engage, how to follow up — crossmind.io runs that autonomously on top.

Safety Policies

Write operations have multi-layer protection to prevent account bans:

| Protection | Details | |------------------|------------------------------------------------------------| | Daily limits | Per-operation caps (post: 10/day, reply: 30, like: 100) | | Random jitter | 1.5–4s random delay between write ops | | Exponential backoff | Auto-retry with backoff on 429 rate limit responses | | OAuth writes | All writes use official OAuth API paths, not UI simulation | | Revocable tokens | OAuth tokens can be revoked independently from the account |

How X Auth Works Internally

crossmind x home
    │
    ├─ loadXCredentials()
    │   ├─ reads ~/.crossmind/accounts/x/<name>.json
    │   └─ merges env vars (X_ACCESS_TOKEN, X_AUTH_TOKEN, X_CT0)
    │
    ├─ hasCookieAuth? (authToken + ct0)
    │   └─ YES → x-fetch.py bridge (Python curl_cffi, Chrome TLS)
    │              └─ x.com/i/api/graphql (GraphQL, full feed)
    │
    └─ accessToken? (OAuth)
        └─ YES → xRequest() → api.twitter.com/2/timelines/home
        └─ NO  → error: "Set X_ACCESS_TOKEN or run: crossmind auth login x"

The bundled scripts/x-fetch.py handles X's Chrome TLS fingerprint check. Without it, Node.js's native fetch() is rejected by X's bot detection. When the bridge is unavailable, the CLI falls back to the v2 REST API.

Runtime Dependencies

X cookie-auth commands (home feed, bookmarks, DMs) require Python 3. The curl_cffi library is installed automatically on first use — no manual setup needed.

Requirements

• Node.js 20+
• pnpm or npm
• For X cookie reads: Python 3 (curl_cffi is auto-installed on first use)

License

MIT