Build your own Digital Twin

In the realm of social media automation, consistency and efficiency are critical. Whether you’re building a digital twin to mimic user behaviors or managing a brand’s online presence, a reliable automation backend can significantly reduce manual overhead. The Digital-Twin-Starter-kit by 0xLazAI is a lightweight yet powerful Node.js-based backend that simplifies automated Twitter posting using cron jobs and direct API control. Read the workshop guide here or watch the video tutorial on Youtube.

Overview

The Digital-Twin-Starter-kit is a backend application designed to automatically post tweets on a timed schedule. Its capabilities extend from autonomous tweet publishing to manual tweet control via RESTful endpoints. It leverages the agent-twitter-client library to interact with the Twitter API and uses cron scheduling for periodic execution.

Key Features

• Automated Tweet Scheduling: Automatically posts tweets at defined intervals.
  
• Manual Control Interface: Exposes endpoints for on-demand tweet publishing.
  
• Cron Job Management: Provides full API-based control over the cron lifecycle (start, stop, status).
  
• Tweet Customization: Tweet content generation logic is modular and easily extendable.
  

Architecture & Folder Structure

The repository is organized into a clean and modular structure:

├── config/           # Configuration files

├── controller/       # Core logic for tweet operations

├── routes/           # API routes

├── services/         # Cron job scheduler logic

├── character.json    # Placeholder for tweet content or persona data

├── index.js          # Entry point for the application

Getting Started

To get the service running:

1. Install Dependencies
   

npm install

1. Setup Environment Variables
   
   Create a .env file and configure your Twitter credentials:
   

TWITTER_USERNAME=your_twitter_username

TWITTER_PASSWORD=your_twitter_password

TWITTER_EMAIL=your_twitter_email

PORT=3005

2. Start the Application
   

npm start       # For production

npm run dev     # For development

API Endpoints

The backend provides simple yet effective endpoints:

Cron Job Control

• GET /api/cron/status – Check current status of the cron job
  
• POST /api/cron/start – Manually initiate cron-based tweeting
  
• POST /api/cron/stop – Manually stop the cron job
  

Tweet Control

• POST /api/tweet – Manually post a tweet
  

Customizing Tweet Logic

Tweet generation logic resides in controller/twitterController.js. Modify the alithfunction() function to change what gets posted:

const alithfunction = () => {

  return "Your custom tweet content";

};

This allows you to integrate dynamic content, fetch real-time data, or generate AI-based responses for richer engagement.

Cron Schedule Configuration

The default schedule is set to every minute using the cron syntax * * * * *. To adjust the frequency, modify the rule in services/cronService.js. Examples:

• Every 5 minutes: */5 * * * *
  
• Every hour: 0 */1 * * *
  
• Daily at 9 AM: 0 9 * * *
  

Monitoring and Logging

The system logs all events including:

• Cron service startup and shutdown
  
• Tweet posting success or failure
  
• Errors in Twitter communication
  

Monitoring can be done through logs or via the /api/cron/status endpoint.

Troubleshooting

• Cron Not Running: Use the status endpoint to confirm its state.
  
• Twitter Authentication Errors: Recheck credentials in your .env file.
  
• Service Stoppage: The cron service restarts automatically on server reboot.
  

Conclusion

The Digital-Twin-Starter-kit offers a foundational backend for anyone interested in social media automation. Its simplicity, combined with extensibility, makes it ideal for developers building AI personas, digital twins, or scheduled social bots. With just a few configuration steps, you can launch a fully operational Twitter automation backend tailored to your unique needs.

Explore the full source code on GitHub and youtube::

👉 Digital-Twin-Starter-kit on GitHub

👉 Digital-Twin-Starter-kit on Youtube