Programing
Iline Developer
This is @ryusei__46 speaking.
In this article, I'll explain how anyone can download X Spaces recording archives as audio files to their PC or smartphone.
Until June 2022, X Spaces recording archives were automatically deleted after one month. However, since then, the system was updated to permanently preserve these recordings, allowing listeners to continue playing them indefinitely as long as the host keeps the recording public.
That said, there's no guarantee that recording archives will remain available forever. Many users—including myself—want to save particularly valuable space recordings for offline access.
As someone who shares this concern, I've recently developed a web tool that makes it easy to download X Spaces recording archives as audio files.
This guide will primarily be aimed at general users. For the programming community, I'll also explain how to use Python to download X Spaces archives with a single command.
Download with Twitter Space Downloader
First, obtain a direct link to the X Space you wish to download.
Alternatively, copy the post URL with spaces from the browser's address bar.
このツールは、Xの配信済みスペースの録音アーカイブを手軽にダウンロードして、お手持ちのPCやスマホに保存できるようにします。配信済みのスペースのURLを入力するだけで簡単に録音データを取得できます。
When accessing the above site, you'll find a space link input field at the top. Enter your link and click the "Execute" button to the right.
This will add an entry to your "Download History" and place the download request in the server's processing queue, where it will be processed sequentially.
If the site is experiencing high traffic, downloads may take longer to complete. For popular sites, we're considering increasing server resources to improve processing speed.
Once downloads are completed on the server, each entry's "Status" will update to "Process Completed," making the download button clickable.
Since this site uses browser cookies to store download history, your progress won't be reset even if you close or leave the page while waiting for processing. However, after 24 hours have passed since completion, the server will automatically delete the data, resetting the history.
With this, you can now download X Space content. The file format will be "m4a."
bonus
We have released a sister tool called "X Video Downloader" that allows you to download videos from X posts with embedded videos. It also supports downloading live broadcast archives.
This tool allows you to easily download videos and live archives from X and save them to your PC or smartphone. Simply enter the URL containing the video to quickly download the video data.
Below, we'll explain how to download X Space content using the Python library via the command line.
Download X Spaces using the Python library "twspace-dl"
Since explaining it would be quite simple, I'll just give a quick overview.
The library we're using is called "twspace-dl." In fact, I used this very library in the backend of my recently developed web tool.
This library supports Windows, Linux, and macOS, so you can use it according to your specific environment. I'm on Windows myself, with Python version 3.10 installed.
pip install twspace-dlUsing the above command, install "twspace-dl."
After installation is complete, you'll also need "ffmpeg," an open-source media editing tool. Download and install it from the official website below.
After installation, add the path to the installed "ffmpeg.exe" to your system environment variables, then verify that running "ffmpeg -L" from the command line displays the version information.
twspace_dl -i 'space_url' -o 'output_path'You can then download the X space audio file in "m4a" format using the above command. The "-o" option should be specified if you want to set an output path. If omitted, the output will be saved in the current directory where the command is being executed.
If unable to download due to authentication error
During summer 2023, Twitter (now X) implemented several major feature changes, and it appears that tweets and timelines can no longer be retrieved without proper authentication. Even tweet and timeline embeds now require the user to be logged into X beforehand. The same applies to Space archives.
Therefore, when downloading Space content, you'll need X authentication credentials. Specifically, you'll need two cookie values returned by the server when logging into X through your web browser.
The required keys are auth_token and ct0 values. You provide this information when running the twspace_dl command by specifying the --input-cookie-file option and passing the path to the Netscape-style cookie file.
This cookie file can be easily created by installing the "Cookie-Editor" extension in your browser (Chrome).
Simple yet powerful Cookie Editor that allow you to quickly create, edit and delete cookies without leaving your tab.
After installing "Cookie-Editor," an icon will appear in the top-right corner of your browser. Click this icon while logged in to X to view all currently registered cookies in a list.
In the window that appears, click the "Export" button at the bottom right to select the format. Choose "Netscape" to download a text file containing your cookie information in Netscape format.
Then execute the command. Enter the absolute or relative path to the downloaded cookie file in the Cookie File Path field.
twspace_dl -i 'space_url' -o 'output_path' --input-cookie-file 'cookie file path'Bonus: How to transcribe Space Archive content
While requiring PC specifications, this article explains how to perform high-quality subtitle generation for free using Python.
This article provides a comprehensive guide to converting audio files—including videos and meeting minutes—into text completely free of charge using Python. No advanced programming knowledge is required; the process is straightforward.
Reference Page
The only tool to record Twitter spaces (yet)
A python module to download twitter spaces. Contribute to HoloArchivists/twspace-dl development by creating an account on GitHub.