Developer tutorial

How to scrape Twitter (X) profiles with cURL (2026)

This tutorial shows how to scrape Twitter (X) profiles in cURL using the SocialCrawl API. You get a handle's follower and following counts, bio, verification, location, join date, and avatar without the paid X API from one GET request, with no X developer account, proxies, or HTML parsing. The code below is runnable as-is, and the response underneath it is a real, unedited call.

Code tested July 2026

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How it works

1
Get a free API keyCreate a SocialCrawl account and copy your API key from the dashboard. Every new account starts with free credits.
2
Set up cURLUse curl, which ships with macOS, Linux, and Windows 10 and later.
3
Call the X Profile endpointSend a GET request to /v1/twitter/profile with your API key in the x-api-key header and the `handle` parameter.
4
Read the responseParse the JSON. SocialCrawl returns a handle's follower and following counts, bio, verification, location, join date, and avatar without the paid X API in one normalized schema, so you write no HTML parsing or proxy code.

The code

A real, unedited response from the request above.

curl -G "https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/twitter/profile" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode "handle=NASA"

[ RESPONSE ]

{
  "success": true,
  "platform": "twitter",
  "endpoint": "/v1/twitter/profile",
  "data": {
    "author": {
      "id": "11348282",
      "username": "NASA",
      "display_name": "NASA",
      "avatar_url": "https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1321163587679784960/0ZxKlEKB_normal.jpg",
      "bio": "Making the seemingly impossible, possible. ✨",
      "verified": true,
      "followers": 92203829,
      "following": 119,
      "posts_count": 74231,
      "likes_count": null,
      "url": "https://x.com/i/communities/11348282",
      "private": false,
      "joined_at": null
    },
    "computed": {
      "engagement_rate": null,
      "language": "en",
      "content_category": "other",
      "estimated_reach": null
    }
  },
  "credits_used": 1,
  "credits_remaining": 9999,
  "request_id": "req_example000000",
  "cached": false
}

API reference for this endpoint

Prefer another language?

Python Node.js cURL

FAQ

Have a question? We got answers

Find answers to frequently asked questions about SocialCrawl's API, pricing, and capabilities.

Do I need a X developer account to scrape Twitter (X) profiles?

No. SocialCrawl handles authentication and proxies upstream, so you never register a X app, manage OAuth tokens, or run your own scrapers. One API key returns X data directly.

What does the X Profile endpoint return?

It returns a handle's follower and following counts, bio, verification, location, join date, and avatar without the paid X API. The response is normalized into SocialCrawl's unified schema, identical in shape across every platform.

How much does it cost to scrape Twitter (X) profiles?

Each call costs a small number of credits, and new accounts start with free credits. There are no monthly minimums, so you pay only for the calls you make.

Can I use this cURL code in production?

Yes. The snippet on this page is the real request against the live API. For production, add error handling and follow the response cursor to paginate through large result sets.

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