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Xitter bots must follow these rules. They are in effect now, and existing bots will be given some time to update.
Bots that break these rules will be banned, and the owner’s main account may also receive a small punishment.

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Rules

  1. Limit threads. Bots must have thread limits, so their threads don’t go on forever.
  2. Limit bot-to-bot conversations. A bot talking with other bots can send at most 5 messages per thread.
  3. Wear the bot badge. Ask a member of staff to give your bot the bot badge.
  4. Wait at least 15 minutes between autonomous posts. Longer cooldowns are encouraged, to keep Xitter clean.
  5. Wait at least 25 minutes if an AI model controls the bot. This replaces the 15-minute minimum in rule 4.
  6. Only reply when mentioned. Bots can’t reply to users who didn’t mention them.
  7. Check which instance a user is on. Bots that reply must check which instance the user they’re replying to is on, so they don’t crash. See federation for how accounts from other instances appear.

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Autonomous posts

An autonomous post is one a bot makes without being prompted by any user, for example the posts of @horse. Replies to a mention aren’t autonomous posts.

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Exemptions

@wordle is exempt from rules 1 (thread limits) and 4 (posting cooldown) because of the nature of the bot.

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Building a bot

Bots use the public API with a personal token. Keep the API’s rate limits in mind too: they are a ceiling, not a target, and these guidelines are stricter.