Auto-Tweet Setup - Complete Guide

🎉 What’s Been Set Up

I’ve created a fully automated system that will tweet every time you publish a new blog post. Here’s what’s in place:

Files Created:

1. .github/workflows/auto-tweet-new-post.yml
   • GitHub Action that triggers on new posts
   • Runs automatically when you push to master branch
2. .github/scripts/tweet-new-post.py
   • Python script that posts the tweet
   • Extracts title and excerpt from your post
   • Formats the tweet nicely
3. docs/X-API-SETUP-GUIDE.md
   • Step-by-step guide to get Twitter API credentials
4. docs/GITHUB-SECRETS-SETUP.md
   • Instructions for adding credentials to GitHub

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📝 How It Works

Your normal workflow stays the same:

1. Create blog post in _posts/
2. Write content in markdown
3. Commit and push to GitHub

What happens automatically:

1. GitHub Actions detects the new post
2. Extracts title and excerpt
3. Posts tweet: “📝 New post: [Title] [Excerpt] [URL]”
4. Done! ✨

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✅ Next Steps (Your To-Do List)

Step 1: Get Twitter API Credentials (5-10 minutes)

📄 Follow: docs/X-API-SETUP-GUIDE.md

You’ll get 4 values:

• API Key
• API Key Secret
• Access Token
• Access Token Secret

Step 2: Add Secrets to GitHub (2 minutes)

📄 Follow: docs/GITHUB-SECRETS-SETUP.md

Add the 4 credentials to your GitHub repository secrets.

Step 3: Test It! (optional)

Create a test blog post with an excerpt to see it work.

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📋 Blog Post Format

Add an excerpt field to your front matter:

---
layout: post
title: "Your Awesome Post Title"
date: 2025-10-25 19:50:00 -0700
categories: category1 category2
excerpt: "A short 1-2 sentence summary for the tweet"
---

Example tweet that will be posted:

📝 New post: Your Awesome Post Title

A short 1-2 sentence summary for the tweet

https://nightowlcoder.github.io/your-awesome-post-title

If you don’t add an excerpt:

📝 New post: Your Awesome Post Title

https://nightowlcoder.github.io/your-awesome-post-title

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🔍 How to Check if It Worked

After pushing a new post:

1. Go to: https://github.com/NightOwlCoder/NightOwlCoder.github.io/actions
2. Click on the latest workflow run
3. Watch it execute (takes ~30 seconds)
4. Check your Twitter (@OwlCoder) for the new tweet!

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🐛 Troubleshooting

Workflow doesn’t run?

• Make sure you pushed to the master branch
• Check that your post is in _posts/ directory
• Verify GitHub Actions are enabled in your repo settings

Tweet doesn’t post?

• Check the workflow logs in the Actions tab
• Verify all 4 secrets are correctly added
• Make sure your Twitter app has “Read and Write” permissions

Tweet looks weird?

• Check your excerpt length (keep it under 100-150 chars for best results)
• Make sure your post has valid front matter with title

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🎯 Benefits

✅ Never forget to promote - Automatic on every push
✅ Consistent format - Every tweet looks professional
✅ Zero extra work - Part of your normal workflow
✅ Custom excerpts - You control the message
✅ Full automation - Set it and forget it

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📚 Quick Reference

File	Purpose
.github/workflows/auto-tweet-new-post.yml	GitHub Action workflow
.github/scripts/tweet-new-post.py	Tweet posting script
docs/X-API-SETUP-GUIDE.md	Get Twitter credentials
docs/GITHUB-SECRETS-SETUP.md	Add credentials to GitHub

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Ready to get started? Follow Step 1 in the X-API-SETUP-GUIDE.md!