feat(bookmarks): add thread expansion flags

Adds thread expansion + filtering for bookmarks, with optional ancestor branches and metadata.\n\nCo-authored-by: Klaus <[email protected]>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,13 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 0.7.1 — 2026-01-19
+
+### Added
+- `bookmarks` thread expansion controls (`--expand-root-only`, `--author-chain`, `--author-only`, `--full-chain-only`, `--include-ancestor-branches`, `--include-parent`, `--thread-meta`, `--sort-chronological`) for richer context exports (#55) — thanks @kkretschmer2.
+
+### Fixed
+- `bookmarks` expanded JSON now preserves pagination `nextCursor`, and full-chain filtering only includes ancestor branches when requested.
+
 ## 0.7.0 — 2026-01-12
 
 ### Added

README.md

@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ bird bookmarks -n 5
 bird bookmarks --folder-id 123456789123456789 -n 5 # https://x.com/i/bookmarks/<folder-id>
 bird bookmarks --all --json
 bird bookmarks --all --max-pages 2 --json
+bird bookmarks --include-parent --json
 bird unbookmark 1234567890123456789
 bird unbookmark https://x.com/user/status/1234567890123456789
 
@@ -182,7 +183,7 @@ Fields:
 - `bird search "<query>" [-n count] [--all] [--max-pages n] [--cursor string] [--json]` — search for tweets matching a query; `--max-pages` requires `--all` or `--cursor`.
 - `bird mentions [-n count] [--user @handle] [--json]` — find tweets mentioning a user (defaults to the authenticated user).
 - `bird user-tweets <@handle> [-n count] [--cursor string] [--max-pages n] [--delay ms] [--json]` — get tweets from a user's profile timeline.
-- `bird bookmarks [-n count] [--folder-id id] [--all] [--max-pages n] [--cursor string] [--json]` — list your bookmarked tweets (or a specific bookmark folder); `--max-pages` requires `--all` or `--cursor`.
+- `bird bookmarks [-n count] [--folder-id id] [--all] [--max-pages n] [--cursor string] [--expand-root-only] [--author-chain] [--author-only] [--full-chain-only] [--include-ancestor-branches] [--include-parent] [--thread-meta] [--sort-chronological] [--json]` — list your bookmarked tweets (or a specific bookmark folder); expansion flags control thread context; `--max-pages` requires `--all` or `--cursor`.
 - `bird unbookmark <tweet-id-or-url...>` — remove one or more bookmarks by tweet ID or URL.
 - `bird likes [-n count] [--all] [--max-pages n] [--cursor string] [--json] [--json-full]` — list your liked tweets; `--max-pages` requires `--all` or `--cursor`.
 - `bird news [-n count] [--ai-only] [--with-tweets] [--tweets-per-item n] [--for-you] [--news-only] [--sports] [--entertainment] [--trending-only] [--json]` — fetch news and trending topics from X's Explore tabs.
@@ -195,6 +196,16 @@ Fields:
 - `bird whoami` — print which Twitter account your relay belongs to.
 - `bird check` — verify relay configuration and account access.
 
+Bookmarks flags:
+- `--expand-root-only`: expand threads only when the bookmark is a root tweet.
+- `--author-chain`: keep only the bookmarked author's connected self-reply chain.
+- `--author-only`: include all tweets from the bookmarked author within the thread.
+- `--full-chain-only`: keep the entire reply chain connected to the bookmarked tweet (all authors).
+- `--include-ancestor-branches`: include sibling branches for ancestors when using `--full-chain-only`.
+- `--include-parent`: include the direct parent tweet for non-root bookmarks.
+- `--thread-meta`: add thread metadata fields to each tweet.
+- `--sort-chronological`: sort output globally oldest to newest (default preserves bookmark order).
+
 Global options:
 - `--relay-base-url <url>`: twitter safe relay base URL (defaults to `TWITTER_RELAY_BASE_URL`).
 - `--profile-name <name>`: twitter safe relay profile name (sent as `x-profile-name`).

src/commands/bookmarks.ts

@@ -2,7 +2,14 @@ import type { Command } from 'commander';
 import { parsePaginationFlags } from '../cli/pagination.js';
 import type { CliContext } from '../cli/shared.js';
 import { extractBookmarkFolderId } from '../lib/extract-bookmark-folder-id.js';
+import {
+  addThreadMetadata,
+  filterAuthorChain,
+  filterAuthorOnly,
+  filterFullChain,
+} from '../lib/thread-filters.js';
 import { TwitterClient } from '../lib/twitter-client.js';
+import type { TweetData, TweetWithMeta } from '../lib/twitter-client-types.js';
 
 export function registerBookmarksCommand(program: Command, ctx: CliContext): void {
   program
@@ -13,6 +20,14 @@ export function registerBookmarksCommand(program: Command, ctx: CliContext): voi
     .option('--all', 'Fetch all bookmarks (paged)')
     .option('--max-pages <number>', 'Stop after N pages when using --all')
     .option('--cursor <string>', 'Resume pagination from a cursor')
+    .option('--expand-root-only', 'Only expand threads when bookmarked tweet is root')
+    .option('--author-chain', 'Only include author self-reply chains connected to the bookmark')
+    .option('--author-only', 'Include all tweets from bookmarked tweet author in thread')
+    .option('--full-chain-only', 'Save entire reply chain connected to the bookmarked tweet')
+    .option('--include-ancestor-branches', 'Include sibling branches for ancestors when using --full-chain-only')
+    .option('--include-parent', 'Include direct parent tweet for non-root bookmarks')
+    .option('--thread-meta', 'Add metadata fields (isThread, threadPosition, etc.)')
+    .option('--sort-chronological', 'Sort output globally oldest -> newest')
     .option('--json', 'Output as JSON')
     .option('--json-full', 'Output as JSON with full raw API response in _raw field')
     .action(
@@ -24,6 +39,14 @@ export function registerBookmarksCommand(program: Command, ctx: CliContext): voi
         all?: boolean;
         maxPages?: string;
         cursor?: string;
+        expandRootOnly?: boolean;
+        authorChain?: boolean;
+        authorOnly?: boolean;
+        fullChainOnly?: boolean;
+        includeAncestorBranches?: boolean;
+        includeParent?: boolean;
+        threadMeta?: boolean;
+        sortChronological?: boolean;
       }) => {
         const opts = program.opts();
         const timeoutMs = ctx.resolveTimeoutFromOptions(opts);
@@ -65,14 +88,148 @@ export function registerBookmarksCommand(program: Command, ctx: CliContext): voi
             ? await client.getAllBookmarks(paginationOptions)
             : await client.getBookmarks(count, timelineOptions);
 
-        if (result.success) {
+        if (!result.success) {
-          const emptyMessage = folderId ? 'No bookmarks found in folder.' : 'No bookmarks found.';
-          const isJson = Boolean(cmdOpts.json || cmdOpts.jsonFull);
-          ctx.printTweetsResult(result, { json: isJson, usePagination, emptyMessage });
-        } else {
           console.error(`${ctx.p('err')}Failed to fetch bookmarks: ${result.error}`);
           process.exit(1);
         }
+
+        if (cmdOpts.authorChain && (cmdOpts.authorOnly || cmdOpts.fullChainOnly)) {
+          console.error(
+            `${ctx.p('warn')}--author-chain already limits to the connected self-reply chain; ` +
+              'other chain filters are redundant.',
+          );
+        }
+        if (cmdOpts.includeAncestorBranches && !cmdOpts.fullChainOnly) {
+          console.error(`${ctx.p('warn')}--include-ancestor-branches only applies with --full-chain-only.`);
+        }
+
+        const bookmarks = result.tweets;
+        if (!bookmarks || bookmarks.length === 0) {
+          const emptyMessage = folderId ? 'No bookmarks found in folder.' : 'No bookmarks found.';
+          const isJson = Boolean(cmdOpts.json || cmdOpts.jsonFull);
+          ctx.printTweetsResult(result, { json: isJson, usePagination, emptyMessage });
+          return;
+        }
+
+        const expandedResults: TweetData[] = [];
+        const threadCache = new Map<string, TweetData[]>();
+        const includeMeta = Boolean(cmdOpts.threadMeta);
+        const includeParent = Boolean(cmdOpts.includeParent);
+        const expandRootOnly = Boolean(cmdOpts.expandRootOnly);
+        const filterAuthorChainFlag = Boolean(cmdOpts.authorChain);
+        const filterAuthorOnlyFlag = Boolean(cmdOpts.authorOnly);
+        const filterFullChainFlag = Boolean(cmdOpts.fullChainOnly);
+        const includeAncestorBranches = Boolean(cmdOpts.includeAncestorBranches) && filterFullChainFlag;
+        const useChronologicalSort = Boolean(cmdOpts.sortChronological);
+
+        const shouldAttemptExpand =
+          expandRootOnly || filterAuthorChainFlag || filterAuthorOnlyFlag || filterFullChainFlag;
+        const shouldFetchThread = shouldAttemptExpand || includeMeta;
+
+        const fetchThread = async (tweet: TweetData): Promise<TweetData[] | null> => {
+          const cachedKey = tweet.conversationId ?? tweet.id;
+          const cached = threadCache.get(cachedKey);
+          if (cached) {
+            return cached;
+          }
+
+          const threadResult = await client.getThread(tweet.id, { includeRaw });
+          if (!threadResult.success) {
+            console.error(
+              `${ctx.p('warn')}Failed to expand thread for ${tweet.id}: ${threadResult.error ?? 'Unknown error'}`,
+            );
+            return null;
+          }
+          if (!threadResult.tweets) {
+            console.error(`${ctx.p('warn')}No thread tweets returned for ${tweet.id}.`);
+            return null;
+          }
+
+          const rootKey = threadResult.tweets[0]?.conversationId ?? cachedKey;
+          threadCache.set(rootKey, threadResult.tweets);
+          return threadResult.tweets;
+        };
+
+        const delayBetweenExpansionsMs = 1000;
+
+        for (let index = 0; index < bookmarks.length; index += 1) {
+          const bookmark = bookmarks[index];
+          const isRoot = !bookmark.inReplyToStatusId;
+          let threadTweets: TweetData[] | null = null;
+
+          if (shouldFetchThread) {
+            if (!expandRootOnly || isRoot || includeMeta) {
+              if (index > 0) {
+                await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, delayBetweenExpansionsMs));
+              }
+              threadTweets = await fetchThread(bookmark);
+            }
+          }
+
+          let outputTweets: TweetData[] = [bookmark];
+
+          if (shouldAttemptExpand) {
+            if (expandRootOnly && !isRoot) {
+              outputTweets = [bookmark];
+            } else if (threadTweets) {
+              if (filterAuthorChainFlag) {
+                outputTweets = filterAuthorChain(threadTweets, bookmark);
+              } else {
+                outputTweets = filterFullChainFlag
+                  ? filterFullChain(threadTweets, bookmark, { includeAncestorBranches })
+                  : threadTweets;
+                if (filterAuthorOnlyFlag) {
+                  outputTweets = filterAuthorOnly(outputTweets, bookmark);
+                }
+              }
+            }
+          }
+
+          if (includeParent && bookmark.inReplyToStatusId) {
+            const alreadyIncluded = outputTweets.some((tweet) => tweet.id === bookmark.inReplyToStatusId);
+            if (!alreadyIncluded) {
+              const parentFromThread = threadTweets?.find((tweet) => tweet.id === bookmark.inReplyToStatusId);
+              if (parentFromThread) {
+                expandedResults.push(parentFromThread);
+              } else {
+                const parentResult = await client.getTweet(bookmark.inReplyToStatusId, { includeRaw });
+                if (parentResult.success && parentResult.tweet) {
+                  expandedResults.push(parentResult.tweet);
+                }
+              }
+            }
+          }
+
+          expandedResults.push(...outputTweets);
+        }
+
+        let finalResults: Array<TweetData | TweetWithMeta> = expandedResults;
+        if (includeMeta) {
+          finalResults = expandedResults.map((tweet) => {
+            const cacheKey = tweet.conversationId ?? tweet.id;
+            let conversationTweets = threadCache.get(cacheKey);
+            if (!conversationTweets) {
+              conversationTweets = [tweet];
+            }
+            return addThreadMetadata(tweet, conversationTweets);
+          });
+        }
+
+        const uniqueTweets = Array.from(new Map(finalResults.map((tweet) => [tweet.id, tweet])).values());
+        if (useChronologicalSort) {
+          uniqueTweets.sort((a, b) => {
+            const aTime = a.createdAt ? Date.parse(a.createdAt) : 0;
+            const bTime = b.createdAt ? Date.parse(b.createdAt) : 0;
+            return aTime - bTime;
+          });
+        }
+
+        const emptyMessage = folderId ? 'No bookmarks found in folder.' : 'No bookmarks found.';
+        const isJson = Boolean(cmdOpts.json || cmdOpts.jsonFull);
+        ctx.printTweetsResult(
+          { tweets: uniqueTweets, nextCursor: result.nextCursor },
+          { json: isJson, usePagination, emptyMessage },
+        );
       },
     );
 }

src/lib/thread-filters.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,146 @@
+import type { TweetData, TweetWithMeta } from './twitter-client-types.js';
+
+const sortByCreatedAt = (tweets: TweetData[]): TweetData[] =>
+  tweets.slice().sort((a, b) => {
+    const aTime = a.createdAt ? Date.parse(a.createdAt) : 0;
+    const bTime = b.createdAt ? Date.parse(b.createdAt) : 0;
+    return aTime - bTime;
+  });
+
+export function filterAuthorChain(tweets: TweetData[], bookmarkedTweet: TweetData): TweetData[] {
+  const author = bookmarkedTweet.author.username;
+  const byId = new Map(tweets.map((tweet) => [tweet.id, tweet]));
+  const chainIds = new Set<string>();
+
+  let current: TweetData | undefined = bookmarkedTweet;
+  while (current && current.author.username === author) {
+    chainIds.add(current.id);
+    const parentId = current.inReplyToStatusId;
+    if (!parentId) {
+      break;
+    }
+    const parent = byId.get(parentId);
+    if (!parent || parent.author.username !== author) {
+      break;
+    }
+    current = parent;
+  }
+
+  let changed = true;
+  while (changed) {
+    changed = false;
+    for (const tweet of tweets) {
+      if (tweet.author.username !== author) {
+        continue;
+      }
+      if (chainIds.has(tweet.id)) {
+        continue;
+      }
+      if (tweet.inReplyToStatusId && chainIds.has(tweet.inReplyToStatusId)) {
+        chainIds.add(tweet.id);
+        changed = true;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  return sortByCreatedAt(tweets.filter((tweet) => chainIds.has(tweet.id)));
+}
+
+export function filterAuthorOnly(tweets: TweetData[], bookmarkedTweet: TweetData): TweetData[] {
+  const author = bookmarkedTweet.author.username;
+  return tweets.filter((tweet) => tweet.author.username === author);
+}
+
+export function filterFullChain(
+  tweets: TweetData[],
+  bookmarkedTweet: TweetData,
+  options: { includeAncestorBranches?: boolean } = {},
+): TweetData[] {
+  const byId = new Map(tweets.map((tweet) => [tweet.id, tweet]));
+  const repliesByParent = new Map<string, TweetData[]>();
+
+  for (const tweet of tweets) {
+    if (!tweet.inReplyToStatusId) {
+      continue;
+    }
+    const list = repliesByParent.get(tweet.inReplyToStatusId) ?? [];
+    list.push(tweet);
+    repliesByParent.set(tweet.inReplyToStatusId, list);
+  }
+
+  const chainIds = new Set<string>();
+  const ancestorIds: string[] = [];
+
+  chainIds.add(bookmarkedTweet.id);
+  let current: TweetData | undefined = bookmarkedTweet;
+  while (current?.inReplyToStatusId) {
+    const parent = byId.get(current.inReplyToStatusId);
+    if (!parent) {
+      break;
+    }
+    if (!chainIds.has(parent.id)) {
+      chainIds.add(parent.id);
+      ancestorIds.push(parent.id);
+    }
+    current = parent;
+  }
+
+  const addDescendants = (startIds: string[]) => {
+    const queue = [...startIds];
+    while (queue.length > 0) {
+      const currentId = queue.shift();
+      if (!currentId) {
+        continue;
+      }
+      if (!chainIds.has(currentId)) {
+        chainIds.add(currentId);
+      }
+      const replies = repliesByParent.get(currentId) ?? [];
+      for (const reply of replies) {
+        if (chainIds.has(reply.id)) {
+          continue;
+        }
+        chainIds.add(reply.id);
+        queue.push(reply.id);
+      }
+    }
+  };
+
+  addDescendants([bookmarkedTweet.id]);
+
+  if (options.includeAncestorBranches) {
+    for (const ancestorId of ancestorIds) {
+      addDescendants([ancestorId]);
+    }
+  }
+
+  return sortByCreatedAt(tweets.filter((tweet) => chainIds.has(tweet.id)));
+}
+
+export function addThreadMetadata(tweet: TweetData, allConversationTweets: TweetData[]): TweetWithMeta {
+  const author = tweet.author.username;
+  const hasSelfReplies = allConversationTweets.some(
+    (candidate) => candidate.inReplyToStatusId === tweet.id && candidate.author.username === author,
+  );
+
+  const isRoot = !tweet.inReplyToStatusId;
+  let threadPosition: 'root' | 'middle' | 'end' | 'standalone';
+
+  if (isRoot && !hasSelfReplies) {
+    threadPosition = 'standalone';
+  } else if (isRoot && hasSelfReplies) {
+    threadPosition = 'root';
+  } else if (!isRoot && hasSelfReplies) {
+    threadPosition = 'middle';
+  } else {
+    threadPosition = 'end';
+  }
+
+  return {
+    ...tweet,
+    isThread: hasSelfReplies || !isRoot,
+    threadPosition,
+    hasSelfReplies,
+    threadRootId: tweet.conversationId ?? null,
+  };
+}

src/lib/twitter-client-types.ts

@@ -284,6 +284,13 @@ export interface TweetData {
   _raw?: GraphqlTweetResult;
 }
 
+export interface TweetWithMeta extends TweetData {
+  isThread: boolean;
+  threadPosition: 'root' | 'middle' | 'end' | 'standalone';
+  hasSelfReplies: boolean;
+  threadRootId: string | null;
+}
+
 export interface GetTweetResult {
   success: boolean;
   tweet?: TweetData;

tests/live/live-all.test.ts

@@ -247,6 +247,28 @@ d('live CLI (Twitter/X) all commands', () => {
     expect(Array.isArray(bookmarkTweets)).toBe(true);
   });
 
+  it('bookmarks full-chain-only with ancestor branches returns JSON array', async () => {
+    const bookmarks = await runBird(
+      [
+        ...baseArgs,
+        '--cookie-timeout',
+        cookieTimeoutArg,
+        'bookmarks',
+        '-n',
+        '1',
+        '--full-chain-only',
+        '--include-ancestor-branches',
+        '--json',
+      ],
+      {
+        timeoutMs: 45_000,
+      },
+    );
+    expect(bookmarks.exitCode).toBe(0);
+    const bookmarkTweets = parseJson<Array<{ id?: string }>>(bookmarks.stdout);
+    expect(Array.isArray(bookmarkTweets)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
   it('likes returns JSON array', async () => {
     const likes = await runBird([...baseArgs, 'likes', '-n', '10', '--json'], {
       timeoutMs: 45_000,

tests/thread-filters.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import { filterFullChain } from '../src/lib/thread-filters.js';
+import type { TweetData } from '../src/lib/twitter-client-types.js';
+
+const makeTweet = (
+  id: string,
+  createdAt: string,
+  inReplyToStatusId?: string,
+  conversationId = '1',
+): TweetData => ({
+  id,
+  text: id,
+  author: { username: 'alice', name: 'Alice' },
+  createdAt,
+  inReplyToStatusId,
+  conversationId,
+});
+
+describe('filterFullChain', () => {
+  it('returns ancestors + descendants from the bookmark only', () => {
+    const root = makeTweet('1', '2020-01-01T00:00:00Z');
+    const replyA = makeTweet('2', '2020-01-02T00:00:00Z', '1');
+    const bookmark = makeTweet('3', '2020-01-03T00:00:00Z', '2');
+    const childA = makeTweet('4', '2020-01-04T00:00:00Z', '3');
+    const childB = makeTweet('7', '2020-01-05T00:00:00Z', '4');
+    const siblingOfAncestor = makeTweet('5', '2020-01-06T00:00:00Z', '2');
+    const siblingOfRoot = makeTweet('6', '2020-01-07T00:00:00Z', '1');
+
+    const tweets = [siblingOfAncestor, childB, root, siblingOfRoot, bookmark, childA, replyA];
+
+    const result = filterFullChain(tweets, bookmark);
+    expect(result.map((tweet) => tweet.id)).toEqual(['1', '2', '3', '4', '7']);
+  });
+
+  it('includes ancestor branches when requested', () => {
+    const root = makeTweet('1', '2020-01-01T00:00:00Z');
+    const replyA = makeTweet('2', '2020-01-02T00:00:00Z', '1');
+    const bookmark = makeTweet('3', '2020-01-03T00:00:00Z', '2');
+    const childA = makeTweet('4', '2020-01-04T00:00:00Z', '3');
+    const childB = makeTweet('7', '2020-01-05T00:00:00Z', '4');
+    const siblingOfAncestor = makeTweet('5', '2020-01-06T00:00:00Z', '2');
+    const siblingOfRoot = makeTweet('6', '2020-01-07T00:00:00Z', '1');
+
+    const tweets = [siblingOfRoot, childA, replyA, childB, bookmark, root, siblingOfAncestor];
+
+    const result = filterFullChain(tweets, bookmark, { includeAncestorBranches: true });
+    expect(result.map((tweet) => tweet.id)).toEqual(['1', '2', '3', '4', '7', '5', '6']);
+  });
+});