BotNetwork

Guide 15

Twitch, Reddit and X bots: chat, moderation and posting automation done right

Community platforms welcome helpful automation and punish spam. The difference is mostly disclosure, consent and respecting limits.

Guide2 min readUpdated

Twitch

Twitch bots usually read and send chat messages and react to channel events.

  • Reading chat and events: subscribe to EventSub (for example channel.chat.message) over WebSocket or webhooks. The older IRC interface still works but Twitch recommends EventSub and the API for new bots.
  • Sending messages: call the Helix Send Chat Message endpoint with a user access token that has the right scopes, such as user:write:chat and user:bot.
  • Limits: a non-moderator account can send about 20 messages per 30 seconds per channel; moderators and broadcasters get more. See the rate limits table and the comparison tool.
  • Good practice: give the bot its own account, ask the broadcaster to make it a moderator if it moderates, and avoid repeating messages.

Reddit

Reddit bots use the Data API with OAuth.

  • Register an app (script, web or installed type) and authenticate; unauthenticated scraping is not the way.
  • Send a unique, descriptive User-Agent such as platform:app-id:version (by u/yourname). Generic agents get throttled.
  • The free tier allows 100 queries per minute per OAuth client ID, averaged over 10 minutes. Read the X-Ratelimit-* headers.
  • Respect each subreddit's rules. Many forbid bots unless moderators approve them. Libraries such as PRAW handle authentication and rate limiting.

X

The X API v2 has access tiers with different monthly post and read caps and per-endpoint rate limits.

  • Posting requires OAuth 1.0a user context or OAuth 2.0 with PKCE and the right scopes.
  • Automated accounts should be labeled as automated in account settings, and the automation rules prohibit things like bulk unsolicited mentions, duplicate content across accounts and automated likes.
  • Check your plan's limits before designing features: some read endpoints are not available on lower tiers.

Shared principles

  • Disclose that the account is a bot in its name or profile.
  • Respond, do not broadcast: reply when called with a command or mention instead of posting unprompted.
  • Back off on 429s and honor reset headers. See reliability and rate limits.
  • Store less: keep IDs and the minimum state you need.
  • Give moderators control: an off switch, a cooldown setting and a way to report problems.

Check your understanding

1. What does Reddit expect in every API request?
2. Which practice fits all three platforms?