Twitter Video Downloader: X Videos, GIFs & Images

Give this actor X / Twitter post URLs or bare status IDs and it downloads each post's videos, animated GIFs and original photos directly into your run's key-value store. Every media file is hashed with SHA-256 while streaming, and videos and GIFs are probed with ffprobe for duration, resolution, frame rate, codec and audio presence. No login, no cookies, no browser needed.

Who it's for

• AI & ML data engineers collecting high-resolution multimedia training datasets from X with verifiable checksums.
• Social media managers & brand archivists backing up viral marketing campaigns, video clips, and creative assets.
• Automation workflows (n8n, Make, Zapier) needing reliable, durable MP4 and JPEG storage URLs rather than expiring CDN links.

Why this one

• Flexible post input: Accepts full post URLs (x.com, twitter.com, mobile.twitter.com, fxtwitter.com, vxtwitter.com) or bare numeric status IDs.
• Highest-bitrate video selection: Automatically selects the best available MP4 video stream (up to 1080p+) and ignores m3u8 playlists.
• Original resolution photos: Downloads uncompressed source images (?name=orig) rather than downscaled thumbnails.
• Real ffprobe analysis: Extracts duration, fps, resolution, codec, and whether the file has audio directly from the stored media.
• Streaming checksums: Computes SHA-256 while streaming to temp storage, guaranteeing byte-level integrity.
• Fair billing: Misses, deleted/protected posts, duplicate files, and over-cap files are never charged.

What you get

Each downloaded media file produces one flat dataset row:

Field	Type	Description
postId / postUrl	text / link	The post's status ID and canonical x.com URL
kind	text	video, gif, image, or cover (video/GIF poster image)
mediaIndex	number	Zero-based index of the media item within the post
kvKey / kvUrl	text / link	Storage key and direct Apify key-value store record URL
originalMediaUrl	link	The direct CDN link from X/twimg
bitrate / bytes	number	Bitrate (for videos) and total size in bytes
sha256	text	SHA-256 checksum computed during stream
width / height	number	Pixel dimensions
duration_s / fps	number	Duration in seconds and frame rate
codec / hasAudio	text / boolean	Video codec and audio track presence
text	text	Full post text
authorScreenName / authorName	text	Author handle and display name
likeCount / createdAt	number / date	Likes count and post creation timestamp
isQuoted	boolean	True if this media originated from a quoted post
error	text	Error explanation if download failed (unbilled)

Scope and limits

• Public posts only: Private, deleted, suspended, or age-restricted posts return an error row and are never billed.
• No keyword/profile timelines: Timelines and search queries on X require authentication; this actor focuses specifically on individual post media extraction.
• Quoted post media: Optional via includeQuoted: true (default false).
• Direct MP4s: Videos and animated GIFs are saved as direct MP4 files.

Pricing

• Stored media file: $5 per 1,000 files
• Media download bandwidth (MB): $5 per 1,000 files

Plus a $0.01 start fee per run. Each event above is billed independently, only when it actually returns data — misses (found:false) are never charged.

Billing is per stored file (file event) plus per megabyte stored (megabyte event). Unavailable posts, deleted posts, duplicates, and over-cap files are never billed.

Example runs

1. Download video and cover still from a NASA post

   {"posts": ["https://x.com/NASA/status/2107850292305818006"], "kinds": "all"}
   

2. Download an animated GIF as MP4

   {"posts": ["https://twitter.com/GIPHY/status/1957913446118285360"], "kinds": "videos"}
   

3. Download original resolution photos

   {"posts": ["2107939889954029913"], "kinds": "images"}
   

Use-case variant candidate: none

How to use

1. In the Apify Console. Open the actor page and click Start — the posts field is already pre-filled with a working example. Results land in the run's dataset as soon as each item is found.
2. Via the API. Call it directly with a POST request — no Console needed once you have an API token:

   curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~x-media-downloader/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>" \
     -X POST \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"posts":["https://x.com/NASA/status/2107850292305818006","https://twitter.com/GIPHY/status/1957913446118285360","2107939889954029913"]}'
   

3. On a schedule. Save this actor as an Apify Task with the input you want, then add a Schedule (hourly, daily, weekly) so it runs on its own — no server of your own required.

Input

{
  "posts": [
    "https://x.com/NASA/status/2107850292305818006",
    "https://twitter.com/GIPHY/status/1957913446118285360",
    "2107939889954029913"
  ]
}

One per line: an X / Twitter post URL (x.com, twitter.com, mobile.twitter.com, fxtwitter.com, vxtwitter.com) or a bare numeric status ID. Accepted formats: https://x.com/NASA/status/2107850292305818006, https://twitter.com/GIPHY/status/1957913446118285360, 2107939889954029913.

Sample output

query	found	status	postId	postUrl	kind	mediaIndex	kvKey	kvUrl	originalMediaUrl	bitrate	bytes	sha256	width	height	duration_s	fps	codec	hasAudio	text	authorScreenName	authorName	likeCount	createdAt	isQuoted	error	scrapedAt
https://x.com/NASA/status/2107850292305818006	true	OK									<size (bytes)>				<duration (s)>											1970-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

Related actors

• X (Twitter) Profile Scraper: Followers, Bio & Stats: profile followers, bio and stats for the account behind a post.

Use it from Clay, n8n, Make, or an AI agent

This actor runs synchronously over plain HTTP — call it directly from a script, a workflow tool, or an AI agent, no Apify Console needed once you have an API token.

curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~x-media-downloader/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>" \
  -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"posts":["https://x.com/NASA/status/2107850292305818006","https://twitter.com/GIPHY/status/1957913446118285360","2107939889954029913"]}'

n8n. Add an HTTP Request node: Method POST, URL https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~x-media-downloader/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>, Body Content Type JSON, JSON Body {"posts":["https://x.com/NASA/status/2107850292305818006","https://twitter.com/GIPHY/status/1957913446118285360","2107939889954029913"]} (swap in an expression from an earlier node for a real value).

Clay. Add an "HTTP API" column: Method POST, URL https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/accountable_eel~x-media-downloader/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<YOUR_TOKEN>, Body {"posts":["{{post}}"]}, mapping the row's post into the posts array.

MCP. In Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client with the Apify MCP server, ask for "Twitter Video Downloader: X Videos, GIFs & Images" — the agent will find and run this actor.