Twitter bookmarklet: open any X post in TwitterViewer

A Twitter bookmarklet is a bookmark that runs a few lines of code instead of opening a fixed page. Ours does one job: when you are looking at an X post or profile, one click opens the same post or profile in TwitterViewer, where you can read it without signing in. No extension to install and no account to create.

This page covers every way to get from X to TwitterViewer: the desktop bookmarklet, a bookmark script for iPhone, iPad and Android, the Android share target, and two methods that need no setup. Each section says how to install it, how to use it and what to do when it fails.

What is a Twitter bookmarklet?

A bookmarklet is an ordinary browser bookmark whose address begins with javascript: rather than https://. When you click it, the browser runs that short script on the page you are viewing instead of loading a new page. It lives in your bookmarks, so it works in any browser that supports bookmarks and asks for no permissions.

The one on this page is a single line. It reads the address of the current tab and checks whether the host is x.com or twitter.com, including the www. and mobile. variants. If it is, the script rebuilds the address with the TwitterViewer host and the same path, query and anchor, and sends the tab there. On any other site it shows a short message and leaves the page alone.

That is a shortcut for something you could do by hand: changing x.com to the TwitterViewer address in the address bar. The bookmarklet packages it into one click. It is also called a bookmark script or a "javascript bookmark", and it works on both x.com and twitter.com addresses.

Ways to open an X link in TwitterViewer

Five entry points suit different situations. Pick the one that matches the device you read X on.

Install the Twitter bookmarklet on desktop

The button sits at the top of this page, in the card titled "On desktop". It is a link your browser lets you drag.

1. Show your bookmarks bar. In Chrome, Edge and Firefox the shortcut is Ctrl+Shift+B on Windows and Linux or Cmd+Shift+B on a Mac. In Safari, choose View, then Show Favorites Bar.
2. Drag the Open in TwitterViewer button up to the bookmarks bar and drop it there.
3. Open any post or profile on x.com.
4. Click the new bookmark. The tab switches to the same post or profile in TwitterViewer.

The script carries the address of the site you were on when you dragged it. If it opens an unexpected address, delete the bookmark and drag a fresh copy from the site you want it to point at.

The result opens in the same tab, so use the back button to return to X. If you prefer a new tab, open the X page in a new tab first and run the bookmark there.

Set it up on iPhone and iPad

Mobile browsers have no bookmarks bar to drag to, so the mobile card shows the script as text with a Copy bookmark script button. You create a bookmark and paste the script in as its address. These steps are for Safari; menu names shift a little between iOS versions.

1. Open this page in Safari and tap Copy bookmark script.
2. Tap the Share button and choose Add Bookmark. Name it "Open in TwitterViewer" and save. The page it points at does not matter, because you will replace the address.
3. Open the Bookmarks list with the book icon, tap Edit, then tap the new bookmark.
4. Delete the address and paste the script. Check that it starts with javascript:, then tap Done.
5. Open an X post in Safari, open the Bookmarks list and tap your bookmark.

Two things catch people out. The bookmark only works in the browser where you created it, on pages loaded in that browser. Links tapped inside the X app open in a built-in viewer with no bookmarks, so the script cannot run there; open the link in Safari first. And if the browser removed the javascript: prefix when you pasted, type it back in front of the script before saving.

Set it up on Android

Android works the same way: copy the script, create a bookmark, replace its address. These steps are for Chrome; other browsers have similar menus.

1. Open this page and tap Copy bookmark script.
2. Open the browser menu and add the page to your bookmarks as "Open in TwitterViewer".
3. Open your bookmarks, tap the three-dot menu beside the new one and choose Edit. Replace the address with the pasted script, starting with javascript:, and save.
4. Open an X post in the browser. Type the bookmark's name into the address bar and choose it from the suggestions.

The last step differs from iOS. On many Android browsers, tapping a bookmark in the list loads it as a new page, so the script has no X page to read. Typing the name into the address bar and picking the suggestion runs it against the page you are on. If that fails too, the share route below is more reliable.

Share from X to TwitterViewer on Android

Android apps can register with the Share sheet, and TwitterViewer registers itself once you install it from your browser.

1. Open TwitterViewer in Chrome on Android, open the browser menu and choose Install app. On this page an Install app button also appears when your browser offers the install.
2. In the X app, open a post or profile and tap Share.
3. Choose TwitterViewer in the Share sheet. It opens straight to that post or profile.

The Share sheet sends the shared link, and sometimes a line of text, to a page on this site. That page takes the first link or username it finds and sends you to the matching view. A post link opens the post, a profile link or an @username opens the profile, a hashtag link opens Advanced Search with the tag filled in (that tool needs a Pro plan and a connected X account), and a community link opens the Communities Exporter. If nothing recognisable is in the text, you land on the home page.

iPhone and iPad do not list web apps in the Share sheet, so on iOS use the bookmark script above or the paste method below.

What the bookmarklet does and what it never touches

A script that runs on a page you are logged in to deserves scrutiny. This one is displayed in full in the mobile card, so you can read it.

• It reads the current page's host, path, query string and anchor. Nothing else on the page.
• It tests the host against x.com and twitter.com, with an optional www. or mobile. in front. Lookalike hosts such as x.com.example.net do not match.
• If the host matches, it sets the tab's address to the TwitterViewer host plus the same path, query and anchor. If not, it shows an alert and stops.
• It does not read cookies, local storage, page text, your timeline, your messages or your account details.
• It sends nothing by itself. The only network request is the page load you would make by clicking any link.

TwitterViewer receives the path and any query string that was in the X address, such as a tracking parameter X appended, exactly as a normal link would carry them.

Which X pages work

The script keeps the path of the X address, so it works wherever TwitterViewer has a page at the same path. That covers two kinds of page.

• Post pages, at /<username>/status/<id>. You get the post, the author's own thread and the replies we can load. See how to view X posts without logging in for what a no-login viewer can and cannot show.
• Profile pages, at /<username>. You get the profile header and recent posts. The Profile Viewer explains the limits.

Everything else on X has no matching address here. The home timeline, search results, hashtag pages, lists, notifications, settings and profile sub-pages such as /media or /with_replies open a "page not found" screen. Use a post or profile page instead, or one of the dedicated tools: the Media Viewer for an account's photos and videos, the Reply Viewer for replies.

Two limits come from X, not from the script. Protected (private) accounts cannot be shown, and deleted or suspended accounts have nothing to show. The bookmarklet still works, and the TwitterViewer page explains why nothing appeared.

Twitter bookmarklet not working?

Work through these in order.

Nothing happens when you click the button on this page. That is intended. Drag it to the bookmarks bar and click it from there on an X page.

It shows "Open this on an X post, profile or hashtag page." The script ran, and the tab is not on x.com or twitter.com. Open the X post first, then click the bookmark.

You get a "page not found" page. The X page has no matching address here. Use a post page or a profile page.

Clicking the bookmark does nothing at all. Likely causes:

• Your browser, or a policy from your school or employer, blocks javascript: addresses. Some managed browsers disable them entirely.
• A site's content security policy can block bookmarklets in some browsers. If that happens on x.com, use the Android share route or the paste method.
• The address lost its javascript: prefix when you pasted. Open the bookmark's edit screen and check the first characters.
• You are in an in-app browser, such as the one that opens when you tap a link in another app. Open the page in your main browser.

It opens an address that is not TwitterViewer. The script contains the address of the site where you copied it. Delete the bookmark and create a new one from the right site.

If none of this helps, skip the bookmark: copy the X link and paste it into the box on the TwitterViewer home page.

Is there a TwitterViewer browser extension?

No. TwitterViewer does not ship a browser extension for Chrome, Edge or Firefox. People who search for a Twitter viewer extension usually want to open X content in a viewer without much effort, and the bookmarklet is the lightweight version of that.

The trade-off is that a bookmarklet never adds buttons to X's own interface or runs in the background. For reading a post without signing in, that is enough. If you want to hear about new posts, the Watchlist emails you about the accounts you add to it. It is a Pro feature: you sign in to TwitterViewer, add up to 20 accounts, and checks run as often as every hour.

Open an X link in another site without the bookmarklet

Two methods need no installation and end at the same pages.

Paste the link. The home page has one box that accepts an X post link, a profile link, an @username or a post number. It understands x.com, twitter.com and mobile.twitter.com links as well as the preview-friendly variants some chat apps produce. Use it when someone sends you a link and you are not on X at all.

Change the address by hand. TwitterViewer uses the same paths as X. A post at x.com/NASA/status/123 lives at the TwitterViewer address followed by /NASA/status/123, and a profile at x.com/NASA is the TwitterViewer address followed by /NASA. Replace the host, keep the rest, press enter. This is exactly what the bookmarklet does, with the same limits.

If you want to save a post's video instead of reading it, paste the link into the Video Downloader or read how to download X videos. All of this is free; see pricing for what Pro adds.

Twitter Bookmarklet FAQs

What is a Twitter bookmarklet?

A Twitter bookmarklet is a browser bookmark that runs a short script on the page you are viewing instead of loading a fixed address. The TwitterViewer one checks that you are on an X or Twitter page and then opens the same post or profile in TwitterViewer in the same tab. It needs no extension, and you remove it by deleting the bookmark.

Is there a TwitterViewer browser extension?

No. There is no TwitterViewer extension for Chrome, Edge or Firefox. The bookmarklet is the lightweight alternative: the same one-click jump from X to the viewer, run only when you click it, with no browser permissions.

Is the Twitter bookmarklet safe?

The script is small and readable and does very little. It reads the address of the current tab, checks that the host is x.com or twitter.com, then changes the address. It does not read cookies, page content, your timeline or your account, and it makes no network request of its own. You can read the full script on this page.

Does the bookmarklet work in the X app?

No. A bookmarklet needs a browser with bookmarks, and the X app has none. On Android, install TwitterViewer from the browser menu and use the Share sheet in the X app. On iPhone and iPad, open the post in Safari first, or paste the link into the TwitterViewer home page.

Do I need an X account or a TwitterViewer account?

No to both. The bookmarklet works whether or not you are signed in to X, and TwitterViewer shows public posts and profiles without an account. It never sees your X session.

Why do I get a page not found screen?

The script keeps the path of the X address, and TwitterViewer only has pages at the paths of posts and profiles. A home timeline, search results, a hashtag page, a list or a sub-page such as /media has no match here. Go back to a post or profile page and run the bookmark again.

Can I open a private account's posts with it?

No. Protected accounts do not show their posts to anyone who is not an approved follower, and TwitterViewer only shows what X makes public. The bookmarklet opens the right page, and that page tells you the account is protected.

Can I open an X link in TwitterViewer without a bookmarklet?

Yes. Paste the post or profile link into the box on the TwitterViewer home page, or change x.com in the address bar to the TwitterViewer address and keep the rest of the path. Both give the same result as the bookmarklet, one link at a time.

Does it work with twitter.com and mobile links?

Yes. The script accepts x.com, twitter.com and the www. and mobile. variants of both. Short t.co links are not matched, because the script reads the host of the page you are on, so open the link first and then run the bookmark.