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feat: add multi-tab fetching to news command for 5x more headlines

Browse Source 
Completely rewrites the news command to fetch from multiple Explore tabs
(For You, News, Sports, Entertainment) using GenericTimelineById GraphQL
API instead of just the ExplorePage initialTimeline. This delivers 15+
AI-curated headlines instead of 3, a 5x improvement in content discovery.

Key Changes:
- Add GenericTimelineById query ID support with auto-refresh capability
- Implement multi-tab fetching with cross-tab headline deduplication
- Add CLI flags for granular tab filtering (--for-you, --news-only,
  --sports, --entertainment, --trending-only)
- Fetch from 4 tabs by default (excludes trending to reduce noise)
- Add early stopping optimization when count is reached
- Handle tab-level errors gracefully without failing entire request

Implementation:
- Added TIMELINE_IDS constant with base64 timeline identifiers
- Created fetchTimelineTab() method for GenericTimelineById requests
- Created parseTimelineTabItems() for new response structure
- Removed old parseNewsItems() and extractNewsItemsFromInstructions()
- Updated all 7 tests to mock GenericTimelineById responses

API Changes:
- NewsFetchOptions: Added `tabs?: ExploreTab[]` option
- ExploreTab type exported for library consumers
- Backward compatible - existing code continues to work

Documentation:
- Added comprehensive "News & Trending" section with examples
- Updated command reference with all new flags
- Added library usage examples with tab filtering
- Updated JSON schema documentation

Testing:
- All 268 tests passing
- Real-world verified: fetches 15+ AI headlines across tabs
- Tab filtering verified: --sports, --entertainment, etc all work

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.5 <[email protected]>
This commit is contained in:
aavetis
2026-01-12 05:33:19 +00:00
committed by Peter Steinberger
co-authored by Claude Sonnet 4.5
parent 57d1498f1d
commit fb092f5cec
7 changed files with 344 additions and 424 deletions
Download Patch File Download Diff File Expand all files Collapse all files
src/commands/news.ts
+30 -3
View File
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
import type { Command } from 'commander';
import type { CliContext } from '../cli/shared.js';
import { TwitterClient } from '../lib/twitter-client.js';
import type { NewsItem } from '../lib/twitter-client-news.js';
import type { ExploreTab, NewsItem } from '../lib/twitter-client-news.js';
function formatPostCount(count: number): string {
if (count >= 1_000_000) {
@@ -69,11 +69,16 @@ export function registerNewsCommand(program: Command, ctx: CliContext): void {
program
.command('news')
.alias('trending')
.description("Fetch today's news and trending topics")
.description("Fetch AI-curated news and trending topics from Explore tabs")
.option('-n, --count <number>', 'Number of items to fetch', '10')
.option('--ai-only', 'Show only AI-curated news items')
.option('--with-tweets', 'Also fetch related tweets for each news item')
.option('--tweets-per-item <number>', 'Number of tweets to fetch per news item (default: 5)', '5')
.option('--for-you', 'Fetch only from For You tab')
.option('--news-only', 'Fetch only from News tab')
.option('--sports', 'Fetch only from Sports tab')
.option('--entertainment', 'Fetch only from Entertainment tab')
.option('--trending-only', 'Fetch only from Trending tab')
.option('--json', 'Output as JSON')
.option('--json-full', 'Output as JSON with full raw API response in _raw field')
.action(
@@ -82,6 +87,11 @@ export function registerNewsCommand(program: Command, ctx: CliContext): void {
aiOnly?: boolean;
withTweets?: boolean;
tweetsPerItem?: string;
forYou?: boolean;
newsOnly?: boolean;
sports?: boolean;
entertainment?: boolean;
trendingOnly?: boolean;
json?: boolean;
jsonFull?: boolean;
}) => {
@@ -112,12 +122,29 @@ export function registerNewsCommand(program: Command, ctx: CliContext): void {
process.exit(1);
}
// Determine which tabs to fetch from
const tabs: ExploreTab[] = [];
if (cmdOpts.forYou) tabs.push('forYou');
if (cmdOpts.newsOnly) tabs.push('news');
if (cmdOpts.sports) tabs.push('sports');
if (cmdOpts.entertainment) tabs.push('entertainment');
if (cmdOpts.trendingOnly) tabs.push('trending');
// If no specific tabs selected, use defaults (all tabs except trending)
const tabsToFetch = tabs.length > 0 ? tabs : undefined;
const client = new TwitterClient({ cookies, timeoutMs, quoteDepth });
const includeRaw = cmdOpts.jsonFull ?? false;
const withTweets = cmdOpts.withTweets ?? false;
const aiOnly = cmdOpts.aiOnly ?? false;
const result = await client.getNews(count, { includeRaw, withTweets, tweetsPerItem, aiOnly });
const result = await client.getNews(count, {
includeRaw,
withTweets,
tweetsPerItem,
aiOnly,
tabs: tabsToFetch,
});
if (result.success) {
printNewsItems(result.items, ctx, {
src/lib/index.ts
+1 -1
View File
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ export {
type TwitterUser,
} from './twitter-client.js';
export type { HomeTimelineFetchOptions } from './twitter-client-home.js';
export type { NewsFetchOptions, NewsItem, NewsResult } from './twitter-client-news.js';
export type { ExploreTab, NewsFetchOptions, NewsItem, NewsResult } from './twitter-client-news.js';
export type { SearchFetchOptions } from './twitter-client-search.js';
export type { TimelineFetchOptions } from './twitter-client-timelines.js';
export type { TweetFetchOptions } from './twitter-client-tweet-detail.js';
src/lib/query-ids.json
+1
View File
@@ -12,5 +12,6 @@
"Likes": "ETJflBunfqNa1uE1mBPCaw",
"ExploreSidebar": "lpSN4M6qpimkF4nRFPE3nQ",
"ExplorePage": "kheAINB_4pzRDqkzG3K-ng",
"GenericTimelineById": "uGSr7alSjR9v6QJAIaqSKQ",
"TrendHistory": "Sj4T-jSB9pr0Mxtsc1UKZQ"
}
src/lib/twitter-client-news.ts
+139 -191
View File
@@ -6,6 +6,17 @@ import type { SearchResult, TweetData } from './twitter-client-types.js';
const POST_COUNT_REGEX = /[\d.]+[KMB]?\s*posts?/i;
const POST_COUNT_MATCH_REGEX = /([\d.]+)([KMB]?)\s*posts?/i;
// Timeline IDs for different Explore tabs
const TIMELINE_IDS = {
forYou: 'VGltZWxpbmU6DAC2CwABAAAAB2Zvcl95b3UAAA==',
trending: 'VGltZWxpbmU6DAC2CwABAAAACHRyZW5kaW5nAAA=',
news: 'VGltZWxpbmU6DAC2CwABAAAABG5ld3MAAA==',
sports: 'VGltZWxpbmU6DAC2CwABAAAABnNwb3J0cwAA',
entertainment: 'VGltZWxpbmU6DAC2CwABAAAADWVudGVydGFpbm1lbnQAAA==',
} as const;
export type ExploreTab = keyof typeof TIMELINE_IDS;
/** Options for news fetch methods */
export interface NewsFetchOptions {
/** Include raw GraphQL response in `_raw` field */
@@ -16,6 +27,8 @@ export interface NewsFetchOptions {
tweetsPerItem?: number;
/** Filter to show only AI-curated news items */
aiOnly?: boolean;
/** Fetch from specific tabs only (default: all tabs) */
tabs?: ExploreTab[];
}
export interface NewsItem {
@@ -55,29 +68,94 @@ export function withNews<TBase extends AbstractConstructor<TwitterClientBase>>(
}
/**
* Fetch news and trending topics from Twitter's Explore page
* Fetch news and trending topics from Twitter's Explore page tabs
*/
async getNews(count = 10, options: NewsFetchOptions = {}): Promise<NewsResult> {
const { includeRaw = false, withTweets = false, tweetsPerItem = 5, aiOnly = false } = options;
const {
includeRaw = false,
withTweets = false,
tweetsPerItem = 5,
aiOnly = false,
tabs = ['forYou', 'news', 'sports', 'entertainment'],
} = options;
const debug = process.env.BIRD_DEBUG === '1';
// Try ExplorePage first - this has AI headlines in initialTimeline
if (debug) {
console.error('[getNews] Fetching from ExplorePage (has AI headlines)...');
console.error(`[getNews] Fetching from tabs: ${tabs.join(', ')}`);
}
const queryId = await this.getQueryId('ExplorePage');
const allItems: NewsItem[] = [];
const seenHeadlines = new Set<string>();
// Fetch from each tab
for (const tab of tabs) {
const timelineId = TIMELINE_IDS[tab];
if (!timelineId) {
continue;
}
try {
const tabItems = await this.fetchTimelineTab(tab, timelineId, count, aiOnly, includeRaw, debug);
// Deduplicate across tabs
for (const item of tabItems) {
if (!seenHeadlines.has(item.headline)) {
seenHeadlines.add(item.headline);
allItems.push(item);
}
}
if (debug) {
console.error(
`[getNews] Tab ${tab}: found ${tabItems.length} items, total unique: ${allItems.length}`,
);
}
// Stop early if we have enough
if (allItems.length >= count) {
break;
}
} catch (error) {
if (debug) {
console.error(`[getNews] Error fetching tab ${tab}:`, error);
}
// Continue with other tabs
}
}
if (allItems.length === 0) {
return { success: false, error: 'No news items found' };
}
// Limit to requested count
const items = allItems.slice(0, count);
if (withTweets) {
await this.enrichWithTweets(items, tweetsPerItem, includeRaw);
}
return { success: true, items };
}
/**
* Fetch a specific timeline tab using GenericTimelineById
*/
private async fetchTimelineTab(
tabName: string,
timelineId: string,
maxCount: number,
aiOnly: boolean,
includeRaw: boolean,
debug: boolean,
): Promise<NewsItem[]> {
const queryId = await this.getQueryId('GenericTimelineById');
const features = buildExploreFeatures();
const variables = {
includePromotedContent: true,
withBirdwatchNotes: false,
withCommunity: true,
withSuperFollowsUserFields: true,
withDownvotePerspective: false,
withReactionsMetadata: false,
withReactionsPerspective: false,
withSuperFollowsTweetFields: true,
timelineId: timelineId,
count: maxCount * 2, // Fetch more to account for filtering
includePromotedContent: false,
};
const params = new URLSearchParams({
@@ -85,196 +163,81 @@ export function withNews<TBase extends AbstractConstructor<TwitterClientBase>>(
features: JSON.stringify(features),
});
const url = `${TWITTER_API_BASE}/${queryId}/ExplorePage?${params.toString()}`;
const url = `${TWITTER_API_BASE}/${queryId}/GenericTimelineById?${params.toString()}`;
try {
const response = await this.fetchWithTimeout(url, {
method: 'GET',
headers: this.getHeaders(),
});
const response = await this.fetchWithTimeout(url, {
method: 'GET',
headers: this.getHeaders(),
});
if (!response.ok) {
const text = await response.text();
return { success: false, error: `HTTP ${response.status}: ${text.slice(0, 200)}` };
}
const data = (await response.json()) as {
// biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noExplicitAny: API response structure is complex
data?: any;
// biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noExplicitAny: API errors can have any structure
errors?: Array<{ message: string; code?: number; [key: string]: any }>;
};
// Debug: save response if BIRD_DEBUG_JSON is set
if (process.env.BIRD_DEBUG_JSON) {
const fs = await import('node:fs/promises');
const debugPath = process.env.BIRD_DEBUG_JSON.replace('.json', '-explorepage.json');
await fs.writeFile(debugPath, JSON.stringify(data, null, 2)).catch(() => {});
if (debug) {
console.error(`[ExplorePage] Saved response to ${debugPath}`);
}
}
if (data.errors && data.errors.length > 0) {
return { success: false, error: data.errors.map((e) => e.message).join('; ') };
}
const items = this.parseNewsItems(data, count, aiOnly, includeRaw);
if (items.length === 0) {
return { success: false, error: 'No news items found' };
}
if (withTweets) {
await this.enrichWithTweets(items, tweetsPerItem, includeRaw);
}
return { success: true, items };
} catch (error) {
const errorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
return { success: false, error: `Failed to fetch news: ${errorMessage}` };
if (!response.ok) {
const text = await response.text();
throw new Error(`HTTP ${response.status}: ${text.slice(0, 200)}`);
}
const data = (await response.json()) as {
// biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noExplicitAny: API response structure is complex
data?: any;
// biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noExplicitAny: API errors can have any structure
errors?: Array<{ message: string; code?: number; [key: string]: any }>;
};
// Debug: save response if BIRD_DEBUG_JSON is set
if (process.env.BIRD_DEBUG_JSON) {
const fs = await import('node:fs/promises');
const debugPath = process.env.BIRD_DEBUG_JSON.replace('.json', `-${tabName}.json`);
await fs.writeFile(debugPath, JSON.stringify(data, null, 2)).catch(() => {});
}
if (data.errors && data.errors.length > 0) {
throw new Error(data.errors.map((e) => e.message).join('; '));
}
// Parse timeline response
return this.parseTimelineTabItems(data, tabName, maxCount, aiOnly, includeRaw);
}
// biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noExplicitAny: API response structure is complex
private parseNewsItems(data: any, maxCount: number, aiOnly: boolean, includeRaw: boolean): NewsItem[] {
const allItems: NewsItem[] = [];
const seenHeadlines = new Set<string>();
const debug = process.env.BIRD_DEBUG === '1';
if (debug) {
console.error('[ExplorePage] Processing explore_page data...');
}
if (!data.data?.explore_page) {
return [];
}
const explorePage = data.data.explore_page;
if (debug) {
console.error('[ExplorePage] Available sections:', Object.keys(explorePage.body || {}));
}
const body = explorePage.body || {};
// Check the timelines array first (For You, News tabs, etc.)
// biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noExplicitAny: exploring API structure
const timelines = (body as any).timelines || [];
if (debug) {
console.error(`[ExplorePage] Found ${timelines.length} timelines`);
}
for (const timelineObj of timelines) {
if (debug) {
console.error(`[ExplorePage] Timeline ID: ${timelineObj.id}, Label: ${timelineObj.labelText}`);
console.error(`[ExplorePage] Timeline keys:`, Object.keys(timelineObj));
}
const timeline = timelineObj.timeline;
if (timeline) {
const instructions = timeline.timeline?.instructions ?? timeline.instructions ?? [];
if (debug) {
console.error(`[ExplorePage] Timeline ${timelineObj.labelText} has ${instructions.length} instructions`);
}
const itemsFromTimeline = this.extractNewsItemsFromInstructions(
instructions,
timelineObj.__typename || 'timeline',
seenHeadlines,
maxCount,
aiOnly,
includeRaw,
);
if (debug) {
console.error(`[ExplorePage] Timeline found ${itemsFromTimeline.length} AI news items`);
}
allItems.push(...itemsFromTimeline);
if (allItems.length >= maxCount) {
break;
}
}
}
// Also check initialTimeline as fallback
if (allItems.length < maxCount && body.initialTimeline) {
const timeline = body.initialTimeline.timeline;
if (timeline) {
const instructions = timeline.timeline?.instructions ?? [];
const itemsFromInitial = this.extractNewsItemsFromInstructions(
instructions,
'initialTimeline',
seenHeadlines,
maxCount - allItems.length,
aiOnly,
includeRaw,
);
allItems.push(...itemsFromInitial);
}
}
return allItems;
}
private extractNewsItemsFromInstructions(
/**
* Parse items from a GenericTimelineById response
*/
private parseTimelineTabItems(
// biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noExplicitAny: API response structure is complex
instructions: any[],
data: any,
source: string,
seenHeadlines: Set<string>,
maxCount: number,
aiOnly: boolean,
includeRaw: boolean,
): NewsItem[] {
const items: NewsItem[] = [];
const debug = process.env.BIRD_DEBUG === '1';
const seenHeadlines = new Set<string>();
// Navigate to timeline instructions
const timeline = data?.data?.timeline?.timeline;
if (!timeline) {
return [];
}
const instructions = timeline.instructions || [];
for (const instruction of instructions) {
if (instruction.type !== 'TimelineAddEntries') {
continue;
}
const entries = instruction.entries ?? [];
if (debug) {
console.error(`[${source}] Processing ${entries.length} entries`);
}
const entries = instruction.entries || [];
for (const entry of entries) {
if (items.length >= maxCount) {
break;
}
if (debug) {
console.error(
`[${source}] Entry ID: ${entry.entryId}, content type: ${entry.content?.__typename || entry.content?.entryType || 'unknown'}`,
);
// Check if this is a "Today's News" or news section header
if (entry.content?.header || entry.content?.displayType === 'VerticalConversation') {
console.error(`[${source}] Found potential news section:`, entry.content?.header);
}
}
const content = entry.content;
if (!content) {
continue;
}
// Handle TimelineTimelineItem (single trend item)
if (content.itemContent && items.length < maxCount) {
if (debug && content.itemContent.is_ai_trend) {
console.error(
`[ExplorePage] Found AI trend in ${entry.entryId}:`,
JSON.stringify(content.itemContent, null, 2).substring(0, 500),
);
}
if (content.itemContent) {
const newsItem = this.parseNewsItemFromContent(
content.itemContent,
entry.entryId,
@@ -290,11 +253,7 @@ export function withNews<TBase extends AbstractConstructor<TwitterClientBase>>(
}
// Handle TimelineTimelineModule (multiple items)
const itemsArray = content?.items ?? [];
if (debug && itemsArray.length > 0) {
console.error(`[${source}] Module has ${itemsArray.length} items`);
}
const itemsArray = content?.items || [];
for (const data of itemsArray) {
if (items.length >= maxCount) {
@@ -307,19 +266,6 @@ export function withNews<TBase extends AbstractConstructor<TwitterClientBase>>(
continue;
}
if (debug) {
console.error(
`[${source}] Module item type: ${itemContent.__typename}, name: ${itemContent.name}, is_ai: ${itemContent.is_ai_trend}`,
);
}
if (debug && itemContent.is_ai_trend) {
console.error(
`[ExplorePage] Found AI trend in module ${entry.entryId}:`,
JSON.stringify(itemContent, null, 2).substring(0, 500),
);
}
const newsItem = this.parseNewsItemFromContent(
itemContent,
entry.entryId,
@@ -339,6 +285,8 @@ export function withNews<TBase extends AbstractConstructor<TwitterClientBase>>(
return items;
}
// biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noExplicitAny: API response structure is complex
private parseNewsItemFromContent(
// biome-ignore lint/suspicious/noExplicitAny: API response structure is complex
itemContent: any,