Chunked Media Upload

This guide walks you through uploading videos and large media files using the chunked upload. Reference for the X API v2 standard tier covering quickstart.

This guide walks you through uploading videos and large media files using the chunked upload workflow.

For video or large media uploads, you must:

1. INIT — Initialize the upload and get a media_id
2. APPEND — Upload each chunk of the file
3. FINALIZE — Complete the upload
4. STATUS — (If needed) Wait for processing to complete

See this sample code for a complete Python example.

---

Step 1: Initialize upload (INIT)

Start the upload session to get a media_id:

cURL

shellscript

curl -X POST "https://api.x.com/2/media/upload" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $USER_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: multipart/form-data" \
  -F "command=INIT" \
  -F "media_type=video/mp4" \
  -F "total_bytes=1048576" \
  -F "media_category=amplify_video"

from xdk import Client

client = Client(bearer_token="YOUR_USER_ACCESS_TOKEN")

# Initialize chunked upload
response = client.media.init_upload(
    media_type="video/mp4",
    total_bytes=1048576,
    media_category="amplify_video"
)

media_id = response.data.id
print(f"Media ID: {media_id}")

import { Client } from "@xdevplatform/xdk";

const client = new Client({ accessToken: "YOUR_USER_ACCESS_TOKEN" });

// Initialize chunked upload
const response = await client.media.initUpload({
  mediaType: "video/mp4",
  totalBytes: 1048576,
  mediaCategory: "amplify_video",
});

const mediaId = response.data?.id;
console.log(`Media ID: ${mediaId}`);

Response:

{
  "data": {
    "id": "1880028106020515840",
    "media_key": "13_1880028106020515840",
    "expires_after_secs": 1295999
  }
}

---

Step 2: Upload chunks (APPEND)

Upload each chunk of the file. For example, split a 3 MB file into 3 chunks:

cURL

shellscript

curl -X POST "https://api.x.com/2/media/upload" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $USER_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: multipart/form-data" \
  -F "command=APPEND" \
  -F "media_id=1880028106020515840" \
  -F "segment_index=0" \
  -F "media=@/path/to/chunk1.mp4"

from xdk import Client

client = Client(bearer_token="YOUR_USER_ACCESS_TOKEN")

# Upload chunks
chunk_size = 1024 * 1024  # 1 MB chunks

with open("video.mp4", "rb") as f:
    segment_index = 0
    while True:
        chunk = f.read(chunk_size)
        if not chunk:
            break
        
        client.media.append_upload(
            media_id=media_id,
            segment_index=segment_index,
            media=chunk
        )
        segment_index += 1
        print(f"Uploaded chunk {segment_index}")

import { Client } from "@xdevplatform/xdk";
import fs from "fs";

const client = new Client({ accessToken: "YOUR_USER_ACCESS_TOKEN" });

// Upload chunks
const chunkSize = 1024 * 1024; // 1 MB chunks
const fileBuffer = fs.readFileSync("video.mp4");

let segmentIndex = 0;
for (let offset = 0; offset < fileBuffer.length; offset += chunkSize) {
  const chunk = fileBuffer.slice(offset, offset + chunkSize);
  
  await client.media.appendUpload({
    mediaId,
    segmentIndex,
    media: chunk,
  });
  
  console.log(`Uploaded chunk ${segmentIndex + 1}`);
  segmentIndex++;
}

Chunking advantages:

• Improved reliability on slow networks
• Uploads can be paused and resumed
• Failed chunks can be retried individually

---

Step 3: Finalize upload (FINALIZE)

Complete the upload after all chunks are sent:

cURL

shellscript

curl -X POST "https://api.x.com/2/media/upload" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $USER_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: multipart/form-data" \
  -F "command=FINALIZE" \
  -F "media_id=1880028106020515840"

from xdk import Client

client = Client(bearer_token="YOUR_USER_ACCESS_TOKEN")

# Finalize upload
response = client.media.finalize_upload(media_id=media_id)

print(f"Processing state: {response.data.processing_info.state}")

import { Client } from "@xdevplatform/xdk";

const client = new Client({ accessToken: "YOUR_USER_ACCESS_TOKEN" });

// Finalize upload
const response = await client.media.finalizeUpload({ mediaId });

console.log(`Processing state: ${response.data?.processing_info?.state}`);

Response:

{
  "data": {
    "id": "1880028106020515840",
    "media_key": "13_1880028106020515840",
    "size": 1048576,
    "expires_after_secs": 86400,
    "processing_info": {
      "state": "pending",
      "check_after_secs": 1
    }
  }
}

If processing_info is returned, proceed to Step 4 to wait for processing. If not, the media is ready to use.

---

Step 4: Check status (STATUS)

If processing_info was returned, poll for processing completion:

cURL

shellscript

curl "https://api.x.com/2/media/upload?command=STATUS&media_id=1880028106020515840" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $USER_ACCESS_TOKEN"

from xdk import Client
import time

client = Client(bearer_token="YOUR_USER_ACCESS_TOKEN")

# Wait for processing to complete
while True:
    response = client.media.get_status(media_id=media_id)
    state = response.data.processing_info.state
    
    if state == "succeeded":
        print("Media ready!")
        break
    elif state == "failed":
        print("Processing failed")
        break
    else:
        check_after = response.data.processing_info.check_after_secs
        print(f"Processing... checking again in {check_after}s")
        time.sleep(check_after)

import { Client } from "@xdevplatform/xdk";

const client = new Client({ accessToken: "YOUR_USER_ACCESS_TOKEN" });

// Wait for processing to complete
while (true) {
  const response = await client.media.getStatus({ mediaId });
  const state = response.data?.processing_info?.state;
  
  if (state === "succeeded") {
    console.log("Media ready!");
    break;
  } else if (state === "failed") {
    console.log("Processing failed");
    break;
  } else {
    const checkAfter = response.data?.processing_info?.check_after_secs ?? 1;
    console.log(`Processing... checking again in ${checkAfter}s`);
    await new Promise((r) => setTimeout(r, checkAfter * 1000));
  }
}

Processing states: pending → in_progress → succeeded or failed

---

Step 5: Create Post with media

Once processing is complete, create a Post with the media:

cURL

shellscript

curl -X POST "https://api.x.com/2/tweets" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $USER_ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "text": "Check out this video!",
    "media": {
      "media_ids": ["1880028106020515840"]
    }
  }'

from xdk import Client

client = Client(bearer_token="YOUR_USER_ACCESS_TOKEN")

# Create Post with media
response = client.posts.create(
    text="Check out this video!",
    media={"media_ids": [media_id]}
)

print(f"Posted: {response.data.id}")

import { Client } from "@xdevplatform/xdk";

const client = new Client({ accessToken: "YOUR_USER_ACCESS_TOKEN" });

// Create Post with media
const response = await client.posts.create({
  text: "Check out this video!",
  media: { mediaIds: [mediaId] },
});

console.log(`Posted: ${response.data?.id}`);

---

Media categories

Category	Description
tweet_image	Image for a Post
tweet_gif	Animated GIF for a Post
tweet_video	Video for a Post
amplify_video	Amplify video

---

Next steps

Best practices

File constraints and requirements

Create Posts

Post with media

API Reference

Full endpoint documentation