Build Your Own Twitter AI Bot: The Ultimate Guide

How to Create Your Own Twitter AI Agent Introduction Recently, I received a freelance offer to create a Twitter AI Agent. It sounded like a cool experience, so I decided to take on the challenge. I used ElizaOS, a framework built by the ai16z community that makes creating AI Agents much easier. After spending some time with it, I can confidently say that it has great potential. It just needs a bit more polish. Its main focus is to make AI Agent creation super user-friendly. I didn’t have to do much "coding," but a non-programmer might run into some challenges. One major issue I faced was the new update. Just a few days after I started working with ElizaOS, a major update was pushed. There were tons of guides, videos, and documentation on the old version, but I wanted to use the latest one since it had crucial new tooling. Since there were barely any resources on setting up the new version, I had to figure everything out through trial and error. In this article, I aim to save you time and make the setup process much easier. I won’t explain the entire ElizaOS framework—it’s massive with tons of tools and use cases. Instead, I'll provide a straightforward starting point, from which you can expand your AI Agent as needed. Project Initialization Before cloning the ElizaOS project, make sure you have the following installed: Node.js 23+: Download and Install pnpm 9+: Installation Guide Git GitHub CLI Clone the Repository There are multiple ways to initialize the project. The following worked best for me: gh repo clone elizaOS/eliza or git clone git@github.com:elizaOS/eliza.git Navigate into the project directory: cd eliza Switch to the development branch: git checkout develop Install dependencies: pnpm install Build the project: pnpm build Handling sqlite3 Errors If you encounter an error related to sqlite3 during the build process, run the following command and retry the build: pnpm exec npm rebuild better-sqlite3 If any other issues arise during initialization, check the AI documentation, GitHub issues, or ask for help on their Discord server. Setup the Environment File Copy .env.example to .env: cp .env.example .env Start the Agent (Test Run) To ensure everything is set up properly, let's run a sample chatbot. There’s already a built-in character sample we can use. Start the AI Agent: pnpm start In a new terminal, start the built-in chat UI: pnpm start:client Now navigate to: http://localhost:5173/ You should see a chatbot interface where you can interact with the default AI Agent. Create Your Own Character Creating a character personality file (.json) hasn't changed much in the new version, so the existing documentation is helpful. The best way to refine your AI Agent’s personality is through trial and error. Here’s a tool to assist with character creation: ElizaGen Character examples for reference: GitHub Character Repository Save your character files in the /characters folder. To use your custom AI Agent, start the program with a character flag: pnpm start --character="characters/myai.character.json" Download the Twitter Plugin Adding plugins in ElizaOS is straightforward. Simply run one command and configure your character file. Here’s the list of official ElizaOS plugins: Plugin Registry Or run: npx elizaos plugins list To install the Twitter plugin: npx elizaos plugins add @elizaos-plugins/client-twitter Then, modify your character’s JSON file to enable the plugin: { "clients": ["twitter"], "plugins": ["@elizaos-plugins/client-twitter"] } Set Up Your AI Provider Running your own AI model locally (e.g., DeepSeek) would be great, but AI models require significant resources. Using an external AI provider is usually more practical. I found Heurist to be the best provider: Simple setup Affordable Accepts crypto payments Offers various AI models, including uncensored ones Steps to Set Up Heurist: Sign in to Heurist Deposit some credits (even a few cents are enough for testing) Generate and copy your API Key Add the API Key to your .env file: HEURIST_API_KEY=YourApiKey Set your preferred AI models: SMALL_HEURIST_MODEL=deepseek/deepseek-v3 MEDIUM_HEURIST_MODEL=deepseek/deepseek-v3 LARGE_HEURIST_MODEL=deepseek/deepseek-v3 USE_HEURIST_EMBEDDING=true For custom models, check: Heurist's Model List Configure the Twitter Plugin To enable Twitter integration, set up the required credentials in .env: TWITTER_USERNAME= TWITTER_PASSWORD= TWITTER_EMAIL= TWITTER_2FA_SECRET= Important Tip: Set the Twitter account to "Automated" in the account settings. This informs Twitter that the account is run by code, reducing the risk of being banned. Optional Twitter Configuratio

Mar 10, 2025 - 20:40

Build Your Own Twitter AI Bot: The Ultimate Guide

How to Create Your Own Twitter AI Agent

Introduction

Recently, I received a freelance offer to create a Twitter AI Agent. It sounded like a cool experience, so I decided to take on the challenge. I used ElizaOS, a framework built by the ai16z community that makes creating AI Agents much easier. After spending some time with it, I can confidently say that it has great potential. It just needs a bit more polish. Its main focus is to make AI Agent creation super user-friendly. I didn’t have to do much "coding," but a non-programmer might run into some challenges.

One major issue I faced was the new update. Just a few days after I started working with ElizaOS, a major update was pushed. There were tons of guides, videos, and documentation on the old version, but I wanted to use the latest one since it had crucial new tooling. Since there were barely any resources on setting up the new version, I had to figure everything out through trial and error.

In this article, I aim to save you time and make the setup process much easier. I won’t explain the entire ElizaOS framework—it’s massive with tons of tools and use cases. Instead, I'll provide a straightforward starting point, from which you can expand your AI Agent as needed.

Project Initialization

Before cloning the ElizaOS project, make sure you have the following installed:

Node.js 23+: Download and Install
pnpm 9+: Installation Guide
Git
GitHub CLI

Clone the Repository

There are multiple ways to initialize the project. The following worked best for me:

gh repo clone elizaOS/eliza

git clone git@github.com:elizaOS/eliza.git

Navigate into the project directory:

cd eliza

Switch to the development branch:

git checkout develop

Install dependencies:

pnpm install

Build the project:

pnpm build

Handling `sqlite3` Errors

If you encounter an error related to sqlite3 during the build process, run the following command and retry the build:

pnpm exec npm rebuild better-sqlite3

If any other issues arise during initialization, check the AI documentation, GitHub issues, or ask for help on their Discord server.

Setup the Environment File

Copy .env.example to .env:

cp .env.example .env

Start the Agent (Test Run)

To ensure everything is set up properly, let's run a sample chatbot. There’s already a built-in character sample we can use.

Start the AI Agent:

pnpm start

In a new terminal, start the built-in chat UI:

pnpm start:client

Now navigate to:

http://localhost:5173/

You should see a chatbot interface where you can interact with the default AI Agent.

Create Your Own Character

Creating a character personality file (.json) hasn't changed much in the new version, so the existing documentation is helpful. The best way to refine your AI Agent’s personality is through trial and error.

Here’s a tool to assist with character creation:

ElizaGen

Character examples for reference:

GitHub Character Repository

Save your character files in the /characters folder.

To use your custom AI Agent, start the program with a character flag:

pnpm start --character="characters/myai.character.json"

Download the Twitter Plugin

Adding plugins in ElizaOS is straightforward. Simply run one command and configure your character file.

Here’s the list of official ElizaOS plugins:

Plugin Registry
Or run:

  npx elizaos plugins list

To install the Twitter plugin:

npx elizaos plugins add @elizaos-plugins/client-twitter

Then, modify your character’s JSON file to enable the plugin:

{
    "clients": ["twitter"],
    "plugins": ["@elizaos-plugins/client-twitter"]
}

Set Up Your AI Provider

Running your own AI model locally (e.g., DeepSeek) would be great, but AI models require significant resources. Using an external AI provider is usually more practical.

I found Heurist to be the best provider:

Simple setup
Affordable
Accepts crypto payments
Offers various AI models, including uncensored ones

Steps to Set Up Heurist:

Sign in to Heurist
Deposit some credits (even a few cents are enough for testing)
Generate and copy your API Key
Add the API Key to your .env file:

HEURIST_API_KEY=YourApiKey

Set your preferred AI models:

SMALL_HEURIST_MODEL=deepseek/deepseek-v3
MEDIUM_HEURIST_MODEL=deepseek/deepseek-v3
LARGE_HEURIST_MODEL=deepseek/deepseek-v3
USE_HEURIST_EMBEDDING=true

For custom models, check:
Heurist's Model List

Configure the Twitter Plugin

To enable Twitter integration, set up the required credentials in .env:

TWITTER_USERNAME=
TWITTER_PASSWORD=
TWITTER_EMAIL=
TWITTER_2FA_SECRET=

Important Tip: Set the Twitter account to "Automated" in the account settings. This informs Twitter that the account is run by code, reducing the risk of being banned.

Optional Twitter Configurations

TWITTER_DRY_RUN=false
TWITTER_POLL_INTERVAL=600
TWITTER_TARGET_USERS=
TWITTER_RETRY_LIMIT=
TWITTER_SEARCH_ENABLE=false
ENABLE_TWITTER_POST_GENERATION=true
POST_INTERVAL_MIN=150
POST_INTERVAL_MAX=300
POST_IMMEDIATELY=false
ENABLE_ACTION_PROCESSING=true

To add a Discord approval system (so the bot doesn’t post anything dumb), create a bot in Discord Developer Portal and add these values:

TWITTER_APPROVAL_DISCORD_CHANNEL_ID=
TWITTER_APPROVAL_DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN=
TWITTER_APPROVAL_ENABLED=true
TWITTER_APPROVAL_CHECK_INTERVAL=1000000

Final Step: Run Your AI Agent

Run your bot with:

pnpm start --character="characters/myai.character.json"

Thanks for reading! I hope this guide was helpful. If you need any assistance, feel free to ask in the comments or DM me!