/x-thread-builder

name: x-thread-builder
description: "Build a long-form X (Twitter) thread (tweetstorm) using a 2026 thread formula (listicle-thread, story thread, curiosity-gap opener, how-I teardown), picked by goal (bookmarks, likes, reposts, replies). Structures tweet 1 as a promise plus open loop, paces one beat per tweet, and closes for the repost. Publishes via Publora, which auto-splits long content into a numbered (1/N) thread. Not for single tweets (use x-post-writer) or auditing a draft (use x-humanizer --mode audit)."

X Thread Builder

Build tweetstorms that get read all the way down. On X, tweet 1 is the entire funnel: it has to promise a payoff and open a loop, or no one taps "Show this thread." Everything after only matters if tweet 1 earns the tap.

When to use

• User says "turn this into a thread" or "write me a thread about X"
• The idea is a list where each item needs teaching, a story with a build, a

surprising result with a mechanism, or a repeatable process

• User has a single tweet that is trying to do too much and should be a thread

Formulas this skill uses (thread shapes)

| Code | Formula | Primary goal | Best for | |---|---|---|---| | X7 | Listicle-Thread Promise | bookmarks | numbered teaching thread, one item per tweet | | X8 | Story Thread | likes, reposts | a real narrative with a build and a turn | | X9 | Curiosity-Gap Opener | replies, bookmarks | a surprising result, mechanism withheld | | X10 | How-I Teardown | bookmarks | a repeatable process you ran yourself |

Full skeletons in `../../references/hook-formulas.md`. For single tweets (X1-X6), use `x-post-writer`.

Pick by goal first

| Goal | Reach for | |---|---| | Bookmarks | X7, X10, X9 | | Likes | X8 | | Reposts | X8 | | Replies | X9 |

How Publora splits a thread

Pass the full thread as one `content` string. Publora auto-splits it:

• at paragraph breaks (`\n\n`) first,
• then at sentence endings,
• then at word boundaries as a fallback,
• and adds `(1/N)` markers, reserving ~8 chars per tweet for the marker.

For full control of where each tweet breaks, hand-split with a `---` separator on its own line between tweets. The skill defaults to hand-splitting with `---` so the user sees exactly how the thread will land before approving.

Steps

**Voice profile first (all drafts).** If `../../references/voice-profile.md` has `filled: yes`, load it and match the user's voice fingerprint, hard rules, and CTA/link style throughout. If it is not filled, mention once that `x-humanizer --mode profile` can learn their voice from a few posts, then proceed with the generic voice rules.

1. **Gather inputs.** Topic, the raw material (notes, a transcript, a result), target audience, and the goal (bookmarks / likes / reposts / replies). 2. **Pick the formula** from the goal table, confirm it fits the material. 3. **Write tweet 1.** This is 80% of the work:

• Promise a specific payoff (a number, a named result, a clear list count).
• Open a loop the reader has to resolve ("most people get 3 of them wrong",

"I did not expect why").

• Keep it under 280 chars on a standard account. It must stop the scroll

alone. 4. **Pace the body.** One beat or one item per tweet. Front-load the strongest item or beat at position 1-2; tap-through decays with depth. Target 5-9 tweets for teaching/list threads; longer only for a strong story. 5. **Make each tweet stand alone.** A reader landing mid-thread from a quote tweet should still get something. 6. **Write the closer.** The last tweet earns the repost and the follow. End on the most quotable line, then one clear ask (bookmark, follow, or "reply with yours"), not both. 7. **Humanizer pass** on every tweet. Scrub 2026 AI vocab by density, cap em dashes (at most one per tweet, never swap one for a period), break stacked triads and reveal bridges. Let tweet length vary only as the material varies: never insert a 3-word punch tweet for rhythm, never alternate long/short, and touch rhythm only if the whole thread reads machine-flat. Canonical rules: `x-humanizer` V3. 8. **Optional audit.** Run `x-humanizer --mode audit` on the assembled thread. 9. **Approval card.** Show the thread tweet-by-tweet with per-tweet char counts, total tweet count, the formula, and the goal. Confirm any `---` breaks. 10. **On approval.** Call `lib.publish(kind="thread", draft_text=<full thread with --- breaks>, target_url="https://x.com/compose/tweet", platforms=[<X_PLATFORM_ID>], scheduled_time=<iso_or_None>)`. Publora posts the chain in one call and returns a `postGroupId`.

Hard rules

Global voice rules: see root `SKILL.md` Voice rules. Additional skill-specific rules:

• Tweet 1 must contain a real promise and an open loop. A bare "A thread:" label

is not a hook.

• Keep each tweet under 280 chars on a standard account (emoji = 2 chars).
• Front-load value. Never bury the best item at the end of a teaching thread.
• No external link in tweet 1. Put links in a later tweet or a reply.
• Natural rhythm, not manufactured variance. A long thread where every tweet

is the same length and none carries a real clause reads machine-flat; fix that one thing. Never pad or chop tweets to create variance, and never insert a punch tweet: the inserted punch is the humanizer fingerprint.

• Only ship a Story Thread (X8) built on a true story. Readers punish

manufactured stakes.

Anti-patterns (skill will refuse)

• Tweet 1 that closes its own loop (no reason to expand).
• Over-promising in tweet 1 and under-delivering in the body.
• Vague how-to steps ("be consistent", "add value") in an X10 teardown.
• Padding to hit a round number of tweets.
• Em dashes above the cap (more than one in a tweet), AI vocab clusters, ALL CAPS openers.
• "The result?" reveals, "No X. No Y. Just Z." staccato stacks, one-word tweets for drama.
• Announced candor ("Let me be honest", "not gonna lie") with no dated fact behind it.
• Engagement-bait c