jackwener/OpenCLI · warning · TimeoutError

twitter follow confirmation

Error message

twitter follow confirmation

What it means

After running the in-page follow flow, the command checks result.unconfirmed — set when the follow button's write had started but the confirmation (button-state change / toast) was never observed within the 1.5s window because the evaluate caught an exception. It throws TimeoutError('twitter follow confirmation', 1.5) with a hint that the follow may already have succeeded, so users check the profile before retrying to avoid double-follow side effects.

Source

Thrown at clis/twitter/follow.js:63

            }

            writeStarted = true;
            followBtn.click();
            await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 1500));

            // Verify
            const verify = document.querySelector('[data-testid$="-unfollow"]');
            if (verify) {
                return { ok: true, message: 'Successfully followed @${username}.' };
            } else {
                return { ok: false, unconfirmed: true, message: 'Follow action initiated but UI did not update.' };
            }
        } catch (e) {
            return { ok: false, unconfirmed: writeStarted, message: e.toString() };
        }
    })()`);
        if (result.unconfirmed) {
            throw new TimeoutError('twitter follow confirmation', 1.5, `${result.message} Check the profile before retrying; the follow may already have succeeded.`);
        }
        if (!result.ok) {
            throw new CommandExecutionError(result.message, 'Nothing changed. Open the profile in the browser and retry.');
        }
        await page.wait(2);
        return [{
                status: 'success',
                message: result.message
            }];
    }
});

View on GitHub (pinned to 49907e53dc)

Solutions

1. Open https://x.com/<username> in the browser and check whether you already follow the account before retrying — the write likely succeeded.
2. Simply retry the command; if already following, the follow flow will report the existing state rather than re-following.
3. Check for X UI changes or interstitials (rate-limit modal, login prompt) in the browser that block the confirmation signal.
4. Retry when the network is faster; persistent unconfirmed timeouts on a stable connection suggest a stale extractor (update/report).

Example fix

// before
// timeout on slow network -> assume failure, follow again
// after
// 1) verify at https://x.com/<username> whether the follow landed
// 2) only retry if not already following

// No pre-call check can fully prevent this; reduce likelihood by ensuring a
// fast, stable connection and no X interstitials before invoking:
async function pageLooksClean(page) {
  await page.wait({ selector: '[data-testid="primaryColumn"]' }); // page fully loaded
  return true;
}

function isConfirmedFollowResult(r) {
  return typeof r === 'object' && r !== null && r.ok === true && !r.unconfirmed;
}

try {
  await follow(username);
} catch (e) {
  if (e.code === 'TIMEOUT' && e.message.includes('twitter follow confirmation')) {
    // The write may have landed — verify before retrying to avoid confusion
    const following = await checkFollowingOnProfile(username); // manual or scripted
    if (!following) return retryWithBackoff(follow, username);
    return; // already followed
  }
  throw e;
}

When it happens

Trigger: The in-page follow script threw after writeStarted = true (e.g. the confirmation selector/toast never appeared, X's UI updated, or the page navigated); slow network or X latency means confirmation takes longer than the 1.5s window; a modal or rate-limit interstitial blocked the confirmation signal.

Common situations: Slow connections where the button state flip takes >1.5s; X A/B UI changes moving the confirmation indicator; the target account is protected/private so the follow enters a pending state that the script does not recognize; rate limiting altering the response.

Related errors

• Unexpected 12306 probe: ${JSON.stringify(probe)}
• Temporary chat did not become visible after selecting the me
• grok export-all history dialog
• Instagram caption editor did not appear
• Nothing changed. Open the profile in the browser and retry.

AI-assisted analysis of jackwener/OpenCLI@49907e53dc (2026-08-29). Data as JSON: /api/errors/c1de709f72c1df97. Report an issue: GitHub.