NAME

Net::Twitter - A perl interface to the Twitter API

VERSION

This document describes Net::Twitter version 3.14000

SYNOPSIS

use Net::Twitter;
use Scalar::Util 'blessed';

# When no authentication is required:
my $nt = Net::Twitter->new(legacy => 0);

# As of 13-Aug-2010, Twitter requires OAuth for authenticated requests
my $nt = Net::Twitter->new(
    traits   => [qw/OAuth API::REST/],
    consumer_key        => $consumer_key,
    consumer_secret     => $consumer_secret,
    access_token        => $token,
    access_token_secret => $token_secret,
);

my $result = $nt->update('Hello, world!');

eval {
    my $statuses = $nt->friends_timeline({ since_id => $high_water, count => 100 });
    for my $status ( @$statuses ) {
        print "$status->{created_at} <$status->{user}{screen_name}> $status->{text}\n";
    }
};
if ( my $err = $@ ) {
    die $@ unless blessed $err && $err->isa('Net::Twitter::Error');

    warn "HTTP Response Code: ", $err->code, "\n",
         "HTTP Message......: ", $err->message, "\n",
         "Twitter error.....: ", $err->error, "\n";
}

DESCRIPTION

This module provides a perl interface to the Twitter APIs. See http://dev.twitter.com/doc for a full description of the Twitter APIs.

NOTICE! BASIC AUTHENTICATION IS DEAD

As of 31-Aug-2010, Twitter no longer supports Basic Authentication. OAuth is now required for authenticated requests. For more information, please see http://github.com/semifor/Net-Twitter/wiki/Net::Twitter-and-the-death-of-Basic-Authentication.

Other Twitter compatible services may still accept Basic Authentication, so support for it remains in Net::Twitter.

OMG! THE MOOSE!

Net::Twitter is Moose based. Moose provides some advantages, including the ability for the maintainer of this module to respond quickly to Twitter API changes.

See Net::Twitter::Lite if you need an alternative without Moose and its dependencies.

Net::Twitter::Lite's API method definitions and documentation are generated from Net::Twitter. It is a related module, but does not depend on Net::Twitter or Moose for installation.

RETURN VALUES

Net::Twitter decodes the data structures returned by the Twitter API into native perl data structures (HASH references and ARRAY references). The full layout of those data structures are not documented, here. They change often, usually with the addition of new elements, and documenting all of those changes would be a significant challenge.

Instead, rely on the online Twitter API documentation and inspection of the returned data.

The Twitter API online documentation is located at http://dev.twitter.com/doc.

To inspect the data, use Data::Dumper or similar module of your choice. Here's a simple example using Data::Dumper:

use Data::Dumper;

my $r = $nt->search($search_term);
print Dumper $r;

For more information on perl data structures, see perlreftut, perldsc, and perllol.

METHODS AND ARGUMENTS

new

This constructs a Net::Twitter object. It takes several named parameters, all of them optional:

traits

An ARRAY ref of traits used to control which APIs the constructed Net::Twitter object will support and how it handles errors. Possible values are:

API::REST

Provides support for the Twitter REST API methods.

API::Search

Provides support for the Twitter Search API methods.

API::TwitterVision

Provides support for the TwitterVision API. See http://twittervision.com/api.html.

WrapError

Net::Twitter normally throws exceptions on error. When this trait is included, Net::Twitter returns undef when a method fails and makes the error available through method get_error. This is the way all errors were handled in Net::Twitter versions prior to version 3.00.

OAuth

The OAuth trait provides OAuth authentication rather than the default Basic Authentication for Twitter API method calls. See the "Authentication" section and Net::Twitter::Role::OAuth for full documentation.

InflateObjects

When this optional trait is included, Net::Twitter inflates HASH refs returned by Twitter into objects with read accessors for each element. In addition, it inflates dates to DateTime objects and URLs to URI objects. Objects that include a created_at attribute also have a relative_created_at method.

For example, with InflateObjects applied, the <friends_timeline> method returns an array of status objects:

$r = $nt->friends_timeline;
for my $status ( @$r ) {
    $r->user->screen_name; # same as $r->{user}{screen_name}

    # $created_at is a DateTime; $age is a DateTime::Duration
    my $age = DateTime->now - $r->created_at;

    # print an age in a similar style to the Twitter web site, e.g.:
    # less than a minute ago
    # about a minute ago
    # 6 minutes ago
    # 1 day ago
    # etc.
    print $r->relative_created_at;
RateLimit

The RateLimit trait adds utility methods that return information about the current rate limit status. See Net::Twitter::Role::RateLimit for details.

Legacy

This trait provides backwards compatibility to Net::Twitter versions prior to 3.00. It implies the traits API::REST, API::Search, API::TwitterVision, and API::WrapError. It also provides additional functionality to ensure consistent behavior for applications written for use with legacy versions of Net::Twitter.

In the current version, this trait is automatically included if the traits option is not specified. This ensures backwards compatibility for existing applications using Net::Twitter versions prior to 3.00. See section "LEGACY COMPATIBILITY" for more details.

Some examples of using the traits parameter in new:

# provide support for *only* the REST API; throw exceptions on error
$nt = Net::Twitter->new(traits => ['API::REST']);

# provide support for both the REST and Search APIs; wrap errors
$nt = Net::Twitter->new(traits => [qw/API::REST API::Search WrapError/]);

# ensure full legacy support
$nt = Net::Twitter->new(traits => ['Legacy']);

# currently, these 2 calls to new are equivalent:
$nt = Net::Twitter->new();
$nt = Net::Twitter->new(traits => ['Legacy']);
legacy

A boolean. If set to 0, new constructs a Net::Twitter object implementing the REST API and throws exceptions on API method errors.

Net::Twitter->new(legacy => 0);

is a shortcut for:

Net::Twitter->new(traits => ['API::REST']);

If set to 1, new constructs a Net::Twitter object with the Legacy trait.

Net::Twitter->new(legacy => 1);

is a shortcut for:

Net::Twitter->new(traits => ['Legacy']);
username

This is the username for Basic Authentication. NOTE: as of 31-Aug-2010, Twitter no longer supports Basic Authentication. Use OAuth instead. Other Twitter compatible services may, however, accept Basic Authentication, so support for it remains in Net::Twitter.

password

This is the password used for Basic Authentication.

clientname

The value for the X-Twitter-Client-Name HTTP header. It defaults to "Perl Net::Twitter". Note: This option has nothing to do with the "via" application byline.

clientver

The value for the X-Twitter-Client-Version HTTP header. It defaults to current version of the Net::Twitter module.

clienturl

The value for the X-Twitter-Client-URL HTTP header. It defaults to the search.cpan.org page for the Net::Twitter distribution.

useragent_class

The LWP::UserAgent compatible class used internally by Net::Twitter. It defaults to "LWP::UserAgent". For POE based applications, consider using "LWP::UserAgent::POE".

useragent_args

An HASH ref of arguments to pass to constructor of the class specified with useragent_class, above. It defaults to {} (an empty HASH ref).

useragent

The value for User-Agent HTTP header. It defaults to "Net::Twitter/$VERSION (Perl)", where $VERSION is the current version of Net::Twitter.

source

Twitter on longer uses the source parameter. Support for it remains in Net::Twitter for any compatible services that may use it. It was originally used by Twitter to provide an "via" application byline.

apiurl

The URL for the Twitter API. This defaults to "http://api.twitter.com/1". This option is available when the API::REST trait is included.

apihost

DEPRECATED - Setting the apiurl is sufficient.

apirealm

A string containing the Twitter API realm used for Basic Authentication. It defaults to "Twitter API". This option is available when the API::REST trait is included.

identica

If set to 1, Net::Twitter overrides the defaults for apiurl, apihost, and apirealm to "http://identi.ca/api", "identi.ca:80", and "Laconica API" respectively. It defaults to 0. This option is available when the API::REST trait is included.

consumer_key

A string containing the OAuth consumer key provided by Twitter when an application is registered. This option is available when the OAuth trait is included.

consumer_secret

A string containing the OAuth consumer secret. This option is available when the OAuth trait is included.

ssl

If set to 1, an SSL connection will be used for all API calls. Defaults to 0.

netrc

(Optional) Sets the machine key to look up in .netrc to obtain credentials. If set to 1, Net::Twitter will use the value of the netrc_machine option (below).

# in .netrc
machine api.twitter.com
  login YOUR_TWITTER_USER_NAME
  password YOUR_TWITTER_PASSWORD
machine semifor.twitter.com
  login semifor
  password SUPERSECRET

# in your perl program
$nt = Net::Twitter->new(netrc => 1);
$nt = Net::Twitter->new(netrc => 'semifor.twitter.com');
netrc_machine

(Optional) Sets the machine entry to look up in .netrc when <netrc = 1>> is used. Defaults to api.twitter.com.

decode_html_entities

Twitter encodes HTML entities in the text field of statuses. Set this option to 1 to have them automatically decoded. Default 0.

credentials($username, $password)

Set the credentials for Basic Authentication. This is helpful for managing multiple accounts.

ua

Provides access to the constructed user agent object used internally by Net::Twitter. Use it with caution.

AUTHENTICATION

As of 31-Aug-2010, Twitter requires OAuth for authenticated requests. Other Twitter compatible services, like Identi.ca, accept Basic Authentication. So, Net::Twitter provides support for both.

To set up OAuth, include the OAuth trait and include the consumer_key and consumer_secret options to "new". See Net::Twitter::Role::OAuth for more information on using OAuth, including examples.

To set up Basic Authentication in Net::Twitter, provide the username and password options to "new" or call the "credentials" method.

In addition to the arguments specified for each API method described below, an additional authenticate parameter can be passed. To request an Authorization header, pass authenticated => 1; to suppress an authentication header, pass authentication => 0. Even if requested, an Authorization header will not be added if there are no user credentials (username and password for Basic Authentication; access tokens for OAuth).

This is probably only useful for the "rate_limit_status" method in the REST API, since it returns different values for an authenticated and a non-authenticated call.

API METHODS AND ARGUMENTS

Most Twitter API methods take parameters. All Net::Twitter API methods will accept a HASH ref of named parameters as specified in the Twitter API documentation. For convenience, many Net::Twitter methods accept simple positional arguments. The positional parameter passing style is optional; you can always use the named parameters in a HASH reference if you prefer.

You may pass any number of required parameters as positional parameters. You must pass them in the order specified in the documentation for each method. Optional parameters must be passed as named parameters in a HASH reference. The HASH reference containing the named parameters must be the final parameter to the method call. Any required parameters not passed as positional parameters, must be included in the named parameter HASH reference.

For example, the REST API method update has one required parameter, status. You can call update with a HASH ref argument:

$nt->update({ status => 'Hello world!' });

Or, you can use the convenient, positional parameter form:

$nt->update('Hello world!');

The update method also has an optional parameter, in_reply_to_status_id. To use it, you must use the HASH ref form:

$nt->update({ status => 'Hello world!', in_reply_to_status_id => $reply_to });

You may use the convenient positional form for the required status parameter with the optional parameters specified in the named parameter HASH reference:

$nt->update('Hello world!', { in_reply_to_status_id => $reply_to });

Convenience form is provided for the required parameters of all API methods. So, these two calls are equivalent:

$nt->friendship_exists({ user_a => $fred, user_b => $barney });
$nt->friendship_exists($fred, $barney);

Many API methods have aliases. You can use the API method name, or any of its aliases, as you prefer. For example, these calls are all equivalent:

$nt->friendship_exists($fred, $barney);
$nt->relationship_exists($fred, $barney);
$nt->follows($fred, $barney);

Aliases support both the HASH ref and convenient forms:

$nt->follows({ user_a => $fred, user_b => $barney });

Cursors and Paging

Some methods return partial results a page at a time. Originally, methods that returned partial results used a page parameter. A more recent addition to the Twitter API for retrieving multiple pages uses the cursor parameter. Usually, a method uses either the page parameter or the cursor parameter, but not both. There have been exceptions to this rule when Twitter deprecates the use of page for a method in favor of cursor. In that case, both methods may work during a transition period. So, if a method supports both, you should always use the cursor parameter.

Paging

For methods that support paging, the first page is returned by passing page => 1, the second page by passing page => 2, etc. If no page parameter is passed, the first page is returned.

Here's an example that demonstrates how to obtain all favorites in a loop:

my @favs;
for ( my $page = 1; ; ++$page ) {
    my $r = $nt->favorites({ page => $page });
    last unless @$r;

    push @favs, @$r;
}

Cursors

Cursoring employs a different strategy. To obtain the first page of results, pass cursor => -1. Twitter returns a reference to a hash that includes entries next_cursor, previous_cursor, and an entry with a reference to an array containing a page of the requested items. The key for the array reference will be named users, ids, or something similar depending upon the type of returned items. For example, when cursor parameter is used with the followers_ids method, the returned in hash entry ids.

The next_cursor value can be used in a subsequent call to obtain the next page of results. When you have obtained the last page of results, next_cursor will be 0. Likewise, you can use the value for previous_cursor to obtain the previous page of results. When you have obtained the first page, previous_cursor will be 0.

Here's an example that demonstrates how to obtain all follower IDs in a loop using the cursor parameter:

my @ids;
for ( my $cursor = -1, my $r; $cursor; $cursor = $r->{next_cursor} ) {
    $r = $nt->followers_ids({ cursor => $cursor });
    push @ids, @{ $r->{ids} };
}

Synthetic Arguments

In addition to the arguments described in the Twitter API Documentation for each API method, Net::Twitter supports additional synthetic arguments.

authenticate

When set to 1, Net::Twitter will provide an Authorization header for the API call; when set to 0, it will suppress the Authentication header. This argument overrides the defined authentication behavior for the API method. It is probably only useful for the rate_limit_satus method which returns different values for authenticated and unauthenticated calls. See "AUTHENTICATION" for more details.

since

API methods that accept the since_id argument will also accept the synthetic since argument, instead. since may be a Date::Time object, an epoch time (the number of seconds since the system epoch), or a string in the same format returned by Twitter for the created_at attribute. Only statuses with a created_at time greater than since will be returned by the API call.

REST API Methods

These methods are provided when trait API::REST is included in the traits option to new.

Common Parameters

id

Several of these methods accept a user ID as the id parameter. The user ID can be either a screen name, or the users numeric ID. To disambiguate, use the screen_name or user_id parameters, instead.

For example, These calls are equivalent:

$nt->create_friend('perl_api');    # screen name
$nt->create_friend(1564061);       # numeric ID
$nt->create_friend({ id => 'perl_api' });
$nt->create_friend({ screen_name => 'perl_api' });
$nt->create_friend({ user_id     => 1564061 });

However user_id 911 and screen_name 911 are separate Twitter accounts. These calls are NOT equivalent:

$nt->create_friend(911); # interpreted as screen name
$nt->create_friend({ user_id => 911 }); # screen name: richellis

Whenever the id parameter is required and user_id and screen_name are also parameters, using any one of them satisfies the requirement.

skip_user

The timeline methods all accept an optional skip_user parameter. When set to a true value, the statuses returned in a timeline will not contain an entire embedded user HASH. Instead, the user node will contain only an id element to indicate the numerical ID of the Twitter user that sent the status.

Methods

account_settings
Parameters: none
Required: none

Returns the current trend, geo and sleep time information for the authenticating user.

Returns: HashRef

account_totals
Parameters: none
Required: none

Returns the current count of friends, followers, updates (statuses) and favorites of the authenticating user.

Returns: HashRef

all_lists
all_lists(id)
Parameters: id, user_id, screen_name
Required: id

Returns all lists the authenticating or specified user subscribes to, including their own. The user is specified using the user_id or screen_name parameters. If no user is given, the authenticating user is used. Requires authentication unless requesting for another user.

Returns: ArrayRef[List]

block_exists
block_exists(id)
Parameters: id, user_id, screen_name
Required: id

Returns if the authenticating user is blocking a target user. Will return the blocked user's object if a block exists, and error with HTTP 404 response code otherwise.

Returns: BasicUser

blocking
blocking(page)
Parameters: page
Required: none

Returns an array of user objects that the authenticating user is blocking.

Returns: ArrayRef[BasicUser]

blocking_ids
Parameters: none
Required: none

Returns an array of numeric user ids the authenticating user is blocking.

Returns: ArrayRef[Int]

create_block
create_block(id)
Parameters: id
Required: id

Blocks the user specified in the ID parameter as the authenticating user. Returns the blocked user when successful. You can find out more about blocking in the Twitter Support Knowledge Base.

Returns: BasicUser

create_favorite
create_favorite(id)
Parameters: id
Required: id

Favorites the status specified in the ID parameter as the authenticating user. Returns the favorite status when successful.

Returns: Status

create_friend
create_friend(id)
alias: follow_new
Parameters: id, user_id, screen_name, follow
Required: id

Befriends the user specified in the ID parameter as the authenticating user. Returns the befriended user when successful. Returns a string describing the failure condition when unsuccessful.

Returns: BasicUser

create_saved_search(query)
Parameters: query
Required: query

Creates a saved search for the authenticated user.

Returns: SavedSearch

destroy_block
destroy_block(id)
Parameters: id
Required: id

Un-blocks the user specified in the ID parameter as the authenticating user. Returns the un-blocked user when successful.

Returns: BasicUser

destroy_direct_message
destroy_direct_message(id)
Parameters: id
Required: id

Destroys the direct message specified in the required ID parameter. The authenticating user must be the recipient of the specified direct message.

Returns: DirectMessage

destroy_favorite
destroy_favorite(id)
Parameters: id
Required: id

Un-favorites the status specified in the ID parameter as the authenticating user. Returns the un-favorited status.

Returns: Status

destroy_friend
destroy_friend(id)
alias: unfollow
Parameters: id, user_id, screen_name
Required: id

Discontinues friendship with the user specified in the ID parameter as the authenticating user. Returns the un-friended user when successful. Returns a string describing the failure condition when unsuccessful.

Returns: BasicUser

destroy_saved_search(id)
Parameters: id
Required: id

Destroys a saved search. The search, specified by id, must be owned by the authenticating user.

Returns: SavedSearch

destroy_status
destroy_status(id)
Parameters: id
Required: id

Destroys the status specified by the required ID parameter. The authenticating user must be the author of the specified status.

Returns: Status

direct_messages
Parameters: since_id, max_id, count, page
Required: none

Returns a list of the 20 most recent direct messages sent to the authenticating user including detailed information about the sending and recipient users.

Returns: ArrayRef[DirectMessage]

disable_notifications
disable_notifications(id)
Parameters: id
Required: id

Disables notifications for updates from the specified user to the authenticating user. Returns the specified user when successful.

Returns: BasicUser

enable_notifications
enable_notifications(id)
Parameters: id
Required: id

Enables notifications for updates from the specified user to the authenticating user. Returns the specified user when successful.

Returns: BasicUser

end_session
Parameters: none
Required: none

Ends the session of the authenticating user, returning a null cookie. Use this method to sign users out of client-facing applications like widgets.

Returns: Error

favorites
Parameters: id, page
Required: none

Returns the 20 most recent favorite statuses for the authenticating user or user specified by the ID parameter.

Returns: ArrayRef[Status]

followers
Parameters: id, user_id, screen_name, cursor
Required: none

Returns a reference to an array of the user's followers. If id, user_id, or screen_name is not specified, the followers of the authenticating user are returned. The returned users are ordered from most recently followed to least recently followed.

Use the optional cursor parameter to retrieve users in pages of 100. When the cursor parameter is used, the return value is a reference to a hash with keys previous_cursor, next_cursor, and users. The value of users is a reference to an array of the user's friends. The result set isn't guaranteed to be 100 every time as suspended users will be filtered out. Set the optional cursor parameter to -1 to get the first page of users. Set it to the prior return's value of previous_cursor or next_cursor to page forward or backwards. When there are no prior pages, the value of previous_cursor will be 0. When there are no subsequent pages, the value of next_cursor will be 0.

Returns: HashRef|ArrayRef[User]

followers_ids
followers_ids(id)
Parameters: id, user_id, screen_name, cursor
Required: id

Returns a reference to an array of numeric IDs for every user following the specified user.

Use the optional cursor parameter to retrieve IDs in pages of 5000. When the cursor parameter is used, the return value is a reference to a hash with keys previous_cursor, next_cursor, and ids. The value of ids is a reference to an array of IDS of the user's followers. Set the optional cursor parameter to -1 to get the first page of IDs. Set it to the prior return's value of previous_cursor or next_cursor to page forward or backwards. When there are no prior pages, the value of previous_cursor will be 0. When there are no subsequent pages, the value of next_cursor will be 0.

Returns: HashRef|ArrayRef[Int]

friends
alias: following
Parameters: id, user_id, screen_name, cursor
Required: none

Returns a reference to an array of the user's friends. If id, user_id, or screen_name is not specified, the friends of the authenticating user are returned. The returned users are ordered from most recently followed to least recently followed.

Use the optional cursor parameter to retrieve users in pages of 100. When the cursor parameter is used, the return value is a reference to a hash with keys previous_cursor, next_cursor, and users. The value of users is a reference to an array of the user's friends. The result set isn't guaranteed to be 100 every time as suspended users will be filtered out. Set the optional cursor parameter to -1 to get the first page of users. Set it to the prior return's value of previous_cursor or next_cursor to page forward or backwards. When there are no prior pages, the value of previous_cursor will be 0. When there are no subsequent pages, the value of next_cursor will be 0.

Returns: Hashref|ArrayRef[User]

friends_ids
friends_ids(id)
alias: following_ids
Parameters: id, user_id, screen_name, cursor
Required: id

Returns a reference to an array of numeric IDs for every user followed the specified user.

Use the optional cursor parameter to retrieve IDs in pages of 5000. When the cursor parameter is used, the return value is a reference to a hash with keys previous_cursor, next_cursor, and ids. The value of ids is a reference to an array of IDS of the user's friends. Set the optional cursor parameter to -1 to get the first page of IDs. Set it to the prior return's value of previous_cursor or next_cursor to page forward or backwards. When there are no prior pages, the value of previous_cursor will be 0. When there are no subsequent pages, the value of next_cursor will be 0.

Returns: HashRef|ArrayRef[Int]

friends_timeline
alias: following_timeline
Parameters: since_id, max_id, count, page, skip_user
Required: none

Returns the 20 most recent statuses posted by the authenticating user and that user's friends. This is the equivalent of /home on the Web.

Returns: ArrayRef[Status]

friendship_exists
friendship_exists(user_a, user_b)
alias: relationship_exists
alias: follows
Parameters: user_a, user_b
Required: user_a, user_b

Tests for the existence of friendship between two users. Will return true if user_a follows user_b, otherwise will return false.

Returns: Bool

friendships_incoming
friendships_incoming(cursor)
Parameters: cursor
Required: cursor

Returns an HASH ref with an array of numeric IDs in the ids element for every user who has a pending request to follow the authenticating user.

Returns: HashRef

friendships_outgoing
friendships_outgoing(cursor)
Parameters: cursor
Required: cursor

Returns an HASH ref with an array of numeric IDs in the ids element for every protected user for whom the authenticating user has a pending follow request.

Returns: HashRef

geo_id
geo_id(id)
Parameters: id
Required: id

Returns details of a place returned from the reverse_geocode method.

Returns: HashRef

home_timeline
Parameters: since_id, max_id, count, page, skip_user, exclude_replies, contributor_details, include_rts, include_entities, trim_user, include_my_retweet
Required: none

Returns the 20 most recent statuses, including retweets, posted by the authenticating user and that user's friends. This is the equivalent of /timeline/home on the Web.

Returns: ArrayRef[Status]

lookup_friendships
Parameters: user_id, screen_name
Required: none

Returns the relationship of the authenticating user to the comma separated list or ARRAY ref of up to 100 screen_names or user_ids provided. Values for connections can be: following, following_requested, followed_by, none. Requires authentication.

Returns: ArrayRef

lookup_users
Parameters: user_id, screen_name
Required: none

Return up to 20 users worth of extended information, specified by either ID, screen name, or combination of the two. The author's most recent status (if the authenticating user has permission) will be returned inline. This method is rate limited to 1000 calls per hour.

This method will accept user IDs or screen names as either a comma delimited string, or as an ARRAY ref. It will also accept arguments in the normal HASHREF form or as a simple list of named arguments. I.e., any of the following forms are acceptable:

$nt->lookup_users({ user_id => '1234,6543,3333' });
$nt->lookup_users(user_id => '1234,6543,3333');
$nt->lookup_users({ user_id => [ 1234, 6543, 3333 ] });
$nt->lookup_users({ screen_name => 'fred,barney,wilma' });
$nt->lookup_users(screen_name => ['fred', 'barney', 'wilma']);

$nt->lookup_users(
    screen_name => ['fred', 'barney' ],
    user_id     => '4321,6789',
);

Returns: ArrayRef[User]

mentions
alias: replies
Parameters: since_id, max_id, count, page
Required: none

Returns the 20 most recent mentions (statuses containing @username) for the authenticating user.

Returns: ArrayRef[Status]

new_direct_message
new_direct_message(user, text)
Parameters: user, text, screen_name, user_id
Required: user, text

Sends a new direct message to the specified user from the authenticating user. Requires both the user and text parameters. Returns the sent message when successful. In order to support numeric screen names, the screen_name or user_id parameters may be used instead of user.

Returns: DirectMessage

public_timeline
public_timeline(skip_user)
Parameters: skip_user
Required: none

Returns the 20 most recent statuses from non-protected users who have set a custom user icon. Does not require authentication. Note that the public timeline is cached for 60 seconds so requesting it more often than that is a waste of resources.

If user credentials are provided, public_timeline calls are authenticated, so they count against the authenticated user's rate limit. Use ->public_timeline({ authenticate => 0 }) to make an unauthenticated call which will count against the calling IP address' rate limit, instead.

Returns: ArrayRef[Status]

rate_limit_status
Parameters: none
Required: none

Returns the remaining number of API requests available to the authenticated user before the API limit is reached for the current hour.

Use ->rate_limit_status({ authenticate => 0 }) to force an unauthenticated call, which will return the status for the IP address rather than the authenticated user. (Note: for a web application, this is the server's IP address.)

Returns: RateLimitStatus

Parameters: id
Required: id

If available, returns an array of replies and mentions related to the specified status. There is no guarantee there will be any replies or mentions in the response. This method is only available to users who have access to #newtwitter. Requires authentication.

Returns: ArrayRef[Status]

report_spam
report_spam(id)
Parameters: id, user_id, screen_name
Required: id

The user specified in the id is blocked by the authenticated user and reported as a spammer.

Returns: User

retweet
retweet(id)
Parameters: id
Required: id

Retweets a tweet. Requires the id parameter of the tweet you are retweeting. Returns the original tweet with retweet details embedded.

Returns: Status

retweeted_by
retweeted_by(id)
Parameters: id, count, page
Required: id

Returns up to 100 users who retweeted the status identified by id.

Returns: ArrayRef[User]

retweeted_by_ids
retweeted_by_ids(id)
Parameters: id, count, page
Required: id

Returns the IDs of up to 100 users who retweeted the status identified by id.

Returns: ArrayRef[User]

retweeted_by_me
Parameters: since_id, max_id, count, page
Required: none

Returns the 20 most recent retweets posted by the authenticating user.

Returns: ArrayRef[Status]

retweeted_by_user
retweeted_by_user(id)
Parameters: id, user_id, screen_name
Required: id

Returns the 20 most recent retweets posted by the specified user. The user is specified using the user_id or screen_name parameters. This method is identical to retweeted_by_me except you can choose the user to view. Does not require authentication, unless the user is protected.

Returns: ArrayRef

retweeted_to_me
Parameters: since_id, max_id, count, page
Required: none

Returns the 20 most recent retweets posted by the authenticating user's friends.

Returns: ArrayRef[Status]

retweeted_to_user
retweeted_to_user(id)
Parameters: id, user_id, screen_name
Required: id

Returns the 20 most recent retweets posted by users the specified user follows. The user is specified using the user_id or screen_name parameters. This method is identical to retweeted_to_me except you can choose the user to view. Does not require authentication, unless the user is protected.

Returns: ArrayRef

retweets
retweets(id)
Parameters: id, count
Required: id

Returns up to 100 of the first retweets of a given tweet.

Returns: Arrayref[Status]

retweets_of_me
alias: retweeted_of_me
Parameters: since_id, max_id, count, page
Required: none

Returns the 20 most recent tweets of the authenticated user that have been retweeted by others.

Returns: ArrayRef[Status]

reverse_geocode
reverse_geocode(lat, long)
Parameters: lat, long, accuracy, granularity, max_results
Required: lat, long

Search for places (cities and neighborhoods) that can be attached to a statuses/update. Given a latitude and a longitude, return a list of all the valid places that can be used as a place_id when updating a status. Conceptually, a query can be made from the user's location, retrieve a list of places, have the user validate the location he or she is at, and then send the ID of this location up with a call to statuses/update.

There are multiple granularities of places that can be returned -- "neighborhoods", "cities", etc. At this time, only United States data is available through this method.

lat

Required. The latitude to query about. Valid ranges are -90.0 to +90.0 (North is positive) inclusive.

long

Required. The longitude to query about. Valid ranges are -180.0 to +180.0 (East is positive) inclusive.

accuracy

Optional. A hint on the "region" in which to search. If a number, then this is a radius in meters, but it can also take a string that is suffixed with ft to specify feet. If this is not passed in, then it is assumed to be 0m. If coming from a device, in practice, this value is whatever accuracy the device has measuring its location (whether it be coming from a GPS, WiFi triangulation, etc.).

granularity

Optional. The minimal granularity of data to return. If this is not passed in, then neighborhood is assumed. city can also be passed.

max_results

Optional. A hint as to the number of results to return. This does not guarantee that the number of results returned will equal max_results, but instead informs how many "nearby" results to return. Ideally, only pass in the number of places you intend to display to the user here.

Returns: HashRef

saved_searches
Parameters: none
Required: none

Returns the authenticated user's saved search queries.

Returns: ArrayRef[SavedSearch]

sent_direct_messages
Parameters: since_id, max_id, page
Required: none

Returns a list of the 20 most recent direct messages sent by the authenticating user including detailed information about the sending and recipient users.

Returns: ArrayRef[DirectMessage]

show_direct_message
show_direct_message(id)
Parameters: id
Required: id

Returns a single direct message, specified by an id parameter. Like the direct_messages request, this method will include the user objects of the sender and recipient. Requires authentication.

Returns: HashRef

show_friendship
show_friendship(id)
alias: show_relationship
Parameters: source_id, source_screen_name, target_id, target_id_name
Required: id

Returns detailed information about the relationship between two users.

Returns: Relationship

show_saved_search(id)
Parameters: id
Required: id

Retrieve the data for a saved search, by ID, owned by the authenticating user.

Returns: SavedSearch

show_status
show_status(id)
Parameters: id
Required: id

Returns a single status, specified by the id parameter. The status's author will be returned inline.

Returns: Status

show_user
show_user(id)
Parameters: id
Required: id

Returns extended information of a given user, specified by ID or screen name as per the required id parameter. This information includes design settings, so third party developers can theme their widgets according to a given user's preferences. You must be properly authenticated to request the page of a protected user.

Returns: ExtendedUser

suggestion_categories
Parameters: none
Required: none

Returns the list of suggested user categories. The category slug can be used in the user_suggestions API method get the users in that category . Does not require authentication.

Returns: ArrayRef

test
Parameters: none
Required: none

Returns the string "ok" status code.

Returns: Str

Parameters: lat, long
Required: none

Returns the locations with trending topic information. The response is an array of "locations" that encode the location's WOEID (a Yahoo! Where On Earth ID http://developer.yahoo.com/geo/geoplanet/) and some other human-readable information such as a the location's canonical name and country.

When the optional lat and long parameters are passed, the available trend locations are sorted by distance from that location, nearest to farthest.

Use the WOEID returned in the location object to query trends for a specific location.

Returns: ArrayRef[Location]

Parameters: woeid
Required: woeid

Returns the top 10 trending topics for a specific location. The response is an array of "trend" objects that encode the name of the trending topic, the query parameter that can be used to search for the topic on Search, and the direct URL that can be issued against Search. This information is cached for five minutes, and therefore users are discouraged from querying these endpoints faster than once every five minutes. Global trends information is also available from this API by using a WOEID of 1.

Returns: ArrayRef[Trend]

update
update(status)
Parameters: status, lat, long, place_id, display_coordinates, in_reply_to_status_id
Required: status

Updates the authenticating user's status. Requires the status parameter specified. A status update with text identical to the authenticating user's current status will be ignored.

status

Required. The text of your status update. URL encode as necessary. Statuses over 140 characters will cause a 403 error to be returned from the API.

in_reply_to_status_id

Optional. The ID of an existing status that the update is in reply to. o Note: This parameter will be ignored unless the author of the tweet this parameter references is mentioned within the status text. Therefore, you must include @username, where username is the author of the referenced tweet, within the update.

lat

Optional. The location's latitude that this tweet refers to. The valid ranges for latitude is -90.0 to +90.0 (North is positive) inclusive. This parameter will be ignored if outside that range, if it is not a number, if geo_enabled is disabled, or if there not a corresponding long parameter with this tweet.

long

Optional. The location's longitude that this tweet refers to. The valid ranges for longitude is -180.0 to +180.0 (East is positive) inclusive. This parameter will be ignored if outside that range, if it is not a number, if geo_enabled is disabled, or if there not a corresponding lat parameter with this tweet.

place_id

Optional. The place to attach to this status update. Valid place_ids can be found by querying reverse_geocode.

display_coordinates

Optional. By default, geo-tweets will have their coordinates exposed in the status object (to remain backwards compatible with existing API applications). To turn off the display of the precise latitude and longitude (but keep the contextual location information), pass display_coordinates = 0> on the status update.

Returns: Status

update_delivery_device
update_delivery_device(device)
Parameters: device
Required: device

Sets which device Twitter delivers updates to for the authenticating user. Sending none as the device parameter will disable IM or SMS updates.

Returns: BasicUser

update_friendship
update_friendship(id)
Parameters: id, user_id, screen_name, device, retweets
Required: id

Allows you enable or disable retweets and device notifications from the specified user. All other values are assumed to be false. Requires authentication.

Returns: HashRef

update_profile
Parameters: name, email, url, location, description
Required: none

Sets values that users are able to set under the "Account" tab of their settings page. Only the parameters specified will be updated; to only update the "name" attribute, for example, only include that parameter in your request.

Returns: ExtendedUser

update_profile_background_image
update_profile_background_image(image)
Parameters: image, use
Required: image

Updates the authenticating user's profile background image. The image parameter must be an arrayref with the same interpretation as the image parameter in the update_profile_image method. The use parameter allows you to specify whether to use the uploaded profile background or not. See that method's documentation for details.

Returns: ExtendedUser

update_profile_colors
Required: none

Sets one or more hex values that control the color scheme of the authenticating user's profile page on twitter.com. These values are also returned in the /users/show API method.

Returns: ExtendedUser

update_profile_image
update_profile_image(image)
Parameters: image
Required: image

Updates the authenticating user's profile image. The image parameter is an arrayref with the following interpretation:

[ $file ]
[ $file, $filename ]
[ $file, $filename, Content_Type => $mime_type ]
[ undef, $filename, Content_Type => $mime_type, Content => $raw_image_data ]

The first value of the array ($file) is the name of a file to open. The second value ($filename) is the name given to Twitter for the file. If $filename is not provided, the basename portion of $file is used. If $mime_type is not provided, it will be provided automatically using LWP::MediaTypes::guess_media_type().

$raw_image_data can be provided, rather than opening a file, by passing undef as the first array value.

Returns: ExtendedUser

user_suggestions
user_suggestions(category)
alias: follow_suggestions
Parameters: category, lang
Required: category

Access the users in a given category of the Twitter suggested user list and return their most recent status if they are not a protected user. Currently supported values for optional parameter lang are en, fr, de, es, it. Does not require authentication.

Returns: ArrayRef

user_timeline
Parameters: id, user_id, screen_name, since_id, max_id, count, page, skip_user
Required: none

Returns the 20 most recent statuses posted from the authenticating user. It's also possible to request another user's timeline via the id parameter. This is the equivalent of the Web /archive page for your own user, or the profile page for a third party.

Returns: ArrayRef[Status]

users_search(q)
alias: find_people
alias: search_users
Parameters: q, per_page, page
Required: q

Run a search for users similar to Find People button on Twitter.com; the same results returned by people search on Twitter.com will be returned by using this API (about being listed in the People Search). It is only possible to retrieve the first 1000 matches from this API.

Returns: ArrayRef[Users]

verify_credentials
Parameters: none
Required: none

Returns an HTTP 200 OK response code and a representation of the requesting user if authentication was successful; returns a 401 status code and an error message if not. Use this method to test if supplied user credentials are valid.

Returns: ExtendedUser

Search API Methods

These methods are provided when trait API::Search is included in the traits option to new.

search(q)
Parameters: q, callback, lang, rpp, page, since_id, geocode, show_user
Required: q

Returns a HASH reference with some meta-data about the query including the next_page, refresh_url, and max_id. The statuses are returned in results. To iterate over the results, use something similar to:

my $r = $nt->search($searh_term);
for my $status ( @{$r->{results}} ) {
    print "$status->{text}\n";
}

Returns: HashRef

Parameters: none
Required: none

Returns the top ten queries that are currently trending on Twitter. The response includes the time of the request, the name of each trending topic, and the url to the Twitter Search results page for that topic.

Returns: ArrayRef[Query]

Parameters: exclude
Required: none

Returns the current top ten trending topics on Twitter. The response includes the time of the request, the name of each trending topic, and query used on Twitter Search results page for that topic.

Returns: HashRef

Parameters: date, exclude
Required: none

Returns the top 20 trending topics for each hour in a given day.

Returns: HashRef

Parameters: date, exclude
Required: none

Returns the top 30 trending topics for each day in a given week.

Returns: HashRef

Lists API Methods

These methods are provided when trait API::Lists is included in the traits option to new. All Lists API methods require a user parameter. It is the screen_name of the list owner.

add_list_member
add_list_member(user, list_id, id)
Parameters: user, list_id, id
Required: user, list_id, id

Adds the user identified by id to the list.

Returns a reference the added user as a hash reference.

Returns: User

create_list
create_list(user, name)
Parameters: user, name, mode, description
Required: user, name

Creates a new list for the authenticated user. The mode parameter may be either public or private. If not specified, it defaults to public.

Returns: HashRef

delete_list
delete_list(user, list_id)
Parameters: user, list_id
Required: user, list_id

Deletes a list owned by the authenticating user. Returns the list as a hash reference.

Returns:

delete_list_member
delete_list_member(user, list_id, id)
alias: remove_list_member
Parameters: user, list_id, id
Required: user, list_id, id

Deletes the user identified by id from the specified list.

Returns the deleted user as a hash reference.

Returns:

get_list
get_list(user, list_id)
Parameters: user, list_id
Required: user, list_id

Returns the specified list as a hash reference.

Returns: HashRef

get_lists
get_lists(user)
alias: list_lists
Parameters: user, cursor
Required: user

Returns a reference to an array of lists owned by the specified user. If the user is the authenticated user, it returns both public and private lists. Otherwise, it only returns public lists.

When the cursor parameter is used, a hash reference is returned; the lists are returned in the lists element of the hash.

Returns: ArrayRef[List]

is_list_member
is_list_member(user, list_id, id)
Parameters: user, list_id, id
Required: user, list_id, id

Returns the list member as a HASH reference if id is a member of the list. Otherwise, returns undef.

Returns: ArrayRef[User]

is_list_subscriber
is_list_subscriber(user, list_id, id)
alias: is_subscribed_list
Parameters: user, list_id, id
Required: user, list_id, id

Returns the subscriber as a HASH reference if id is a subscriber to the list. Otherwise, returns undef.

Returns: ArrayRef[User]

list_members
list_members(user, list_id)
Parameters: user, list_id, id, cursor
Required: user, list_id

Returns the list members as an array reference.

The optional id parameter can be used to determine if the user specified by id is a member of the list. If so, the user is returned as a hash reference; if not, undef is returned.

When the cursor parameter is used, a hash reference is returned; the members are returned in the users element of the hash.

Returns: ArrayRef[User]

list_memberships
list_memberships(user)
Parameters: user, cursor
Required: user

Returns the lists the specified user is a member of as an array reference.

When the cursor parameter is used, a hash reference is returned; the lists are returned in the lists element of the hash.

Returns:

list_statuses
list_statuses(user, list_id)
Parameters: user, list_id, since_id, max_id, per_page, page
Required: user, list_id

Returns a timeline of list member statuses as an array reference.

Returns: ArrayRef[Status]

list_subscribers
list_subscribers(user, list_id)
Parameters: user, list_id, id, cursor
Required: user, list_id

Returns the subscribers to a list as an array reference.

When the cursor parameter is used, a hash reference is returned; the subscribers are returned in the users element of the hash.

Returns: ArrayRef[User]

list_subscriptions
list_subscriptions(user)
Parameters: user, cursor
Required: user

Returns a lists to which the specified user is subscribed as an array reference.

When the cursor parameter is used, a hash reference is returned; the lists are returned in the lists element of the hash.

Returns:

subscribe_list
subscribe_list(user, list_id)
Parameters: user, list_id
Required: user, list_id

Subscribes the authenticated user to the specified list.

Returns: List

unsubscribe_list
unsubscribe_list(user, list_id)
Parameters: user, list_id
Required: user, list_id

Unsubscribes the authenticated user from the specified list.

Returns: List

update_list
update_list(user, list_id)
Parameters: user, list_id, name, mode, description
Required: user, list_id

Updates a list to change the name, mode, description, or any combination thereof.

Returns: HashRef

TwitterVision API Methods

These methods are provided when trait API::TwitterVision is included in the traits option to new.

current_status
current_status(id)
Parameters: id, callback
Required: id

Get the current location and status of a user.

Returns: HashRef

update_twittervision
update_twittervision(location)
Parameters: location
Required: location

Updates the location for the authenticated user.

Returns: HashRef

LEGACY COMPATIBILITY

This version of Net::Twitter automatically includes the Legacy trait if no traits option is provided to new. Therefore, these 2 calls are currently equivalent:

$nt = Net::Twitter->new(username => $user, password => $passwd);
$nt = Net::Twitter->new(
    username => $user,
    password => $passwd,
    traits   => ['Legacy'],
);

Thus, existing applications written for a prior version of Net::Twitter should continue to run, without modification, with this version.

In a future release, the default traits may change. Prior to that change, however, a nearer future version will add a warning if no traits option is provided to new. To avoid this warning, add an appropriate traits option to your existing application code.

ERROR HANDLING

There are currently two strategies for handling errors: throwing exceptions and wrapping errors. Exception handling is the newer, recommended strategy.

Wrapping Errors

When trait WrapError is specified (or Legacy, which includes trait WrapError), Net::Twitter returns undef on error. To retrieve information about the error, use methods http_code, http_message, and get_error. These methods are described in the Net::Twitter::Role::WrapError.

if ( my $followers = $nt->followers ) {
    for my $follower ( @$followers ) {
        #...
    }
}
else {
    warn "HTTP message: ", $nt->http_message, "\n";
}

Since an error is stored in the object instance, this error handling strategy is problematic when using a user agent like LWP::UserAgent::POE that provides concurrent requests. The error for one request can be overwritten by a concurrent request before you have an opportunity to access it.

Exception Handling

When Net::Twitter encounters a Twitter API error or a network error, it throws a Net::Twitter::Error object. You can catch and process these exceptions by using eval blocks and testing $@:

eval {
    my $statuses = $nt->friends_timeline(); # this might die!

    for my $status ( @$statuses ) {
        #...
    }
};
if ( $@ ) {
    # friends_timeline encountered an error

    if ( blessed $@ && $@->isa('Net::Twitter::Error') ) {
        #... use the thrown error obj
        warn $@->error;
    }
    else {
        # something bad happened!
        die $@;
    }
}

Net::Twitter::Error stringifies to something reasonable, so if you don't need detailed error information, you can simply treat $@ as a string:

eval { $nt->update($status) };
if ( $@ ) {
    warn "update failed because: $@\n";
}

FAQ

Why does ->followers({ screen_name => $friend }) return my followers instead of $friends's?

First, check carefully to make sure you've spelled "screen_name" correctly. Twitter sometimes discards parameters it doesn't recognize. In this case, the result is a list of your own followers---the same thing that would happen if you called followers without the screen_name parameter.

How do I use the geocode parameter in the Search API?

The geocode parameter value includes a latitude, longitude, and radius separated with commas.

$r = $nt->search({ geocode => "45.511795,-122.675629,25mi" });
How do I get Twitter to display something other than "from Perl Net::Twitter"?

If you set the source parameter to api, twitter will display "from API", and if you set it to the empty string, twitter will display, "from web".

$nt = Net::Twitter->new(netrc => 1,legacy => 0,ssl => 1,source => 'api');
$nt->update('A post with the source parameter overridden.');
# result: http://twitter.com/semifor_test/status/6541105458

$nt = Net::Twitter->new(netrc => 1,legacy => 0,ssl => 1,source => '');
$nt->update('A post with the source parameter overridden.');
# result: http://twitter.com/semifor_test/status/6541257224

If you want something other than "Net::Twitter", "API", or "web", you need to register an application and use OAuth authentication. If you do that, you can have any name you choose for the application printed as the source. Since rolling out OAuth, Twitter has stopped issuing new registered source parameters, only existing register source parameters are valid.

SEE ALSO

Net::Twitter::Error

The Net::Twitter exception object.

http://dev.twitter.com/doc

This is the official Twitter API documentation. It describes the methods and their parameters in more detail and may be more current than the documentation provided with this module.

LWP::UserAgent::POE

This LWP::UserAgent compatible class can be used in POE based application along with Net::Twitter to provide concurrent, non-blocking requests.

Catalyst::Authentication::Credential::Twitter

This module, by Jesse Stay, provides Twitter OAuth authentication support for the popular Catalyst web application framework.

SUPPORT

Please report bugs to bug-net-twitter@rt.cpan.org, or through the web interface at https://rt.cpan.org/Dist/Display.html?Queue=Net-Twitter.

Join the Net::Twitter IRC channel at irc://irc.perl.org/net-twitter.

Follow perl_api: http://twitter.com/perl_api.

Track Net::Twitter development at http://github.com/semifor/Net-Twitter.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many thanks to Chris Thompson <cpan@cthompson.com>, the original author of Net::Twitter and all versions prior to 3.00.

Also, thanks to Chris Prather (perigrin) for answering many design and implementation questions, especially with regards to Moose.

AUTHOR

Marc Mims <marc@questright.com> (@semifor on Twitter)

CONTRIBUTORS

Roberto Etcheverry <retcheverry@gmail.com> (@retcheverry on Twitter)

KATOU Akira

Francisco Pecorella

Doug Bell <doug@plainblack.com>

LICENSE

Copyright (c) 2009 Marc Mims

The Twitter API itself, and the description text used in this module is:

Copyright (c) 2009 Twitter

This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY

BECAUSE THIS SOFTWARE IS LICENSED FREE OF CHARGE, THERE IS NO WARRANTY FOR THE SOFTWARE, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW. EXCEPT WHEN OTHERWISE STATED IN WRITING THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND/OR OTHER PARTIES PROVIDE THE SOFTWARE "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS WITH YOU. SHOULD THE SOFTWARE PROVE DEFECTIVE, YOU ASSUME THE COST OF ALL NECESSARY SERVICING, REPAIR, OR CORRECTION.

IN NO EVENT UNLESS REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW OR AGREED TO IN WRITING WILL ANY COPYRIGHT HOLDER, OR ANY OTHER PARTY WHO MAY MODIFY AND/OR REDISTRIBUTE THE SOFTWARE AS PERMITTED BY THE ABOVE LICENSE, BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR DAMAGES, INCLUDING ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF DATA OR DATA BEING RENDERED INACCURATE OR LOSSES SUSTAINED BY YOU OR THIRD PARTIES OR A FAILURE OF THE SOFTWARE TO OPERATE WITH ANY OTHER SOFTWARE), EVEN IF SUCH HOLDER OR OTHER PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.