Raw tweet collection for any keyword, hashtag, or boolean search query. No assumed use case — returns the full tweet dataset for downstream analysis.
Prerequisites
APIFY_TOKEN environment variable set- Optional: Apify MCP server installed
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Notes |
|---|
searchTerms | array | ✅ | [] | Twitter advanced search queries (e.g. ["#AI lang:en", "from:NASA"]) |
sort | string | Optional | Top | Sort order: Latest, Top, or Latest+Top |
tweetLanguage | string | Optional | — | ISO 639-1 language code (e.g. en) |
maxItems | number | Optional | Unlimited | Maximum tweets to return |
onlyVerifiedUsers | boolean | Optional | false | Only tweets from verified users |
onlyTwitterBlue | boolean | Optional | false | Only Twitter Blue subscribers |
onlyImage | boolean | Optional | false | Only tweets with images |
onlyVideo | boolean | Optional | false | Only tweets with videos |
onlyQuote | boolean | Optional | false | Only quote tweets |
author | string | Optional | — | Filter to a specific author handle |
inReplyTo | string | Optional | — | Tweets replying to a specific handle |
mentioning | string | Optional | — | Tweets mentioning a specific handle |
geotaggedNear | string | Optional | — | Tweets near a location |
withinRadius | string | Optional | — | Radius around geotaggedNear |
geocode | string | Optional | — | Lat/lng + radius string |
placeObjectId | string | Optional | — | Tweets tagged with a place |
minimumRetweets | number | Optional | — | Minimum retweet count |
minimumFavorites | number | Optional | — | Minimum like count |
minimumReplies | number | Optional | — | Minimum reply count |
start | string | Optional | — | Tweets after this date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
end | string | Optional | — | Tweets before this date (YYYY-MM-DD) |
includeSearchTerms | boolean | Optional | false | Add the matched search term to each tweet |
customMapFunction | string | Optional | — | JavaScript function to transform each output object |
Workflow
Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Build search query string
- [ ] Step 2: Run tweet-scraper
- [ ] Step 3: Poll for SUCCEEDED
- [ ] Step 4: Fetch and deliver dataset
Step 1: Build Search Query
- Hashtag search →
#keyword
- Exact phrase →
"exact phrase"
- Boolean →
word1 AND word2 -exclude
- From account →
from:username
- Mention →
@username
Step 2: Run the Actor
Recommended — run_actor.js (handles waiting, output, and file saving automatically):
# Quick answer (prints table to chat)
node scripts/run_actor.js \
--actor "apidojo~tweet-scraper" \
--input '{"param": "value"}'
# Save as CSV
node scripts/run_actor.js \
--actor "apidojo~tweet-scraper" \
--input '{"param": "value"}' \
--output YYYY-MM-DD_results.csv --format csv
# Save as JSON
node scripts/run_actor.js \
--actor "apidojo~tweet-scraper" \
--input '{"param": "value"}' \
--output YYYY-MM-DD_results.json --format json
APIFY_TOKEN must be set in environment or .env file.
If Apify MCP is available:
Tool: apify:run-actor
Actor: "apidojo~tweet-scraper"
Input:
{
"searchTerms": [""],
"maxItems": 200,
"since": "",
"lang": ""
}
REST API fallback:
curl -X POST \
"https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/apidojo~tweet-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"searchTerms": [""], "maxItems": 200}'
Save id as RUN_ID. Poll until status = SUCCEEDED:
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/actor-runs/$RUN_ID?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" | grep '"status"'
Fetch results:
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/actor-runs/$RUN_ID/dataset/items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN&format=json"
Step 3: Handle Edge Cases
- 0 results: Query may be too narrow, misspelled, or language-filtered. Broaden term, remove language filter, extend date range.
- < 20 results: Try removing
since/until constraints. Some low-volume terms have sparse data.
- Duplicate tweet IDs: Deduplicate by
id field before delivering.
- Suspended/deleted accounts: Tweets from suspended accounts return with empty author fields — flag these rows.
# Tweet Dataset: ""
Total collected: N | Date range: SINCE – UNTIL | Language: LANG
| Tweet ID | Author | Text (truncated) | Likes | Retweets | Replies | Timestamp |
|----------|--------|-----------------|-------|----------|---------|-----------|
| ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
Full dataset: N rows × 15 fields
Available fields: id, text, author_id, author_username, likeCount, retweetCount,
replyCount, quoteCount, lang, createdAt, tweetUrl, media, isRetweet, isQuote, source
Troubleshooting
Empty results for a valid hashtag: Twitter API indexing lag — try again after 15 minutes.
Rate limit error: Reduce maxItems to 100 and retry.
Timeout on large requests: Set maxItems: 500 max per run; chain multiple runs with date ranges for larger datasets.