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Tweepy

Web & HTTPWebPython
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What it is

Tweepy is a Python library for accessing the Twitter API easily. It provides a convenient interface to retrieve tweets, post updates, manage followers, and interact with Twitter data programmatically.

Tweepy allows you to authenticate with Twitter, access timelines, post tweets, search for tweets, follow users, and stream live data. It supports both the REST API and the streaming API with Pythonic syntax.

Installation

pip install tweepy

Getting started

The smallest useful thing you can do with it, and what each part means.

Authentication with API keys
import tweepy

consumer_key = 'YOUR_CONSUMER_KEY'
consumer_secret = 'YOUR_CONSUMER_SECRET'
access_token = 'YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN'
access_token_secret = 'YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN_SECRET'

auth = tweepy.OAuth1UserHandler(consumer_key, consumer_secret, access_token, access_token_secret)
api = tweepy.API(auth)
print('Authentication successful')
Shows how to authenticate with Twitter using API keys and access tokens.
Posting a tweet
api.update_status('Hello Tweepy!')
Posts a simple tweet to your authenticated Twitter account.

Advanced usage

Where the library earns its place over a simpler alternative.

Fetching user timeline
tweets = api.user_timeline(screen_name='twitter', count=5)
for tweet in tweets:
    print(tweet.text)
Retrieves the last 5 tweets from a specified user and prints their text.
Searching tweets
for tweet in tweepy.Cursor(api.search_tweets, q='Python', lang='en').items(10):
    print(tweet.created_at, tweet.text)
Searches for 10 recent English tweets containing the keyword 'Python'.
Streaming live tweets
class MyStream(tweepy.Stream):
    def on_status(self, status):
        print(status.text)

stream = MyStream(consumer_key, consumer_secret, access_token, access_token_secret)
stream.filter(track=['Python'], languages=['en'])
Streams live tweets containing the word 'Python' in English and prints them as they arrive.
Following a user
api.create_friendship(screen_name='twitter')
Follows a specified Twitter user.
Handling rate limits
api = tweepy.API(auth, wait_on_rate_limit=True, wait_on_rate_limit_notify=True)
Automatically waits and notifies when hitting Twitter API rate limits to prevent exceptions.

Errors and fixes

The failures you are most likely to hit, and what actually resolves them.

tweepy.errors.TweepyException
Catch general exceptions related to Twitter API requests.
tweepy.errors.RateLimitError
Wait until rate limits reset or use the `wait_on_rate_limit` parameter.
tweepy.errors.Unauthorized
Check that your API keys, access tokens, and permissions are correct.

Best practices

  • Keep API keys and access tokens secure using environment variables.
  • Use cursors for paginated endpoints to handle large datasets efficiently.
  • Handle exceptions for rate limits and network errors gracefully.
  • Use streaming API for real-time tweet collection and REST API for historical data.
  • Respect Twitter’s terms of service and rate limits to avoid suspension.

Background

Why it exists, and what it was reacting to.

Tweepy was created by Joshua Roesslein in 2009 to simplify interaction with the Twitter API. It abstracts authentication, request handling, and rate limits, enabling developers to focus on building applications and collecting social media data without dealing with raw HTTP requests.

Related libraries

Others in Web & HTTP for Python.

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