Content Scout

Content Scout

Don't post blind. Scout what's already out there, find the gap, then draft from a position of knowledge.

The Stack

Content Scout uses two tools: twitter-cli for X/Twitter data and Manus for cross-platform research. No alternatives, no menu. These work. Set them up.

1. Twitter CLI — Real-Time X/Twitter Data

twitter-cli talks to X/Twitter directly. No API key application, no developer portal, no approval wait. Cookie auth from your browser and you're live in 5 minutes.

Install

macOS:

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brew install go
go install github.com/missuo/twitter-cli@latest

Linux:

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# Download the latest binary from GitHub releases
curl -L https://github.com/missuo/twitter-cli/releases/latest/download/twitter-cli_Linux_x86_64.tar.gz | tar xz
sudo mv twitter /usr/local/bin/

Windows (WSL):

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# Use the Linux instructions inside WSL

No Go installed? Download the pre-built binary from releases — pick your OS, unzip, move to PATH. Done.

Auth Setup

You need two cookies from your X/Twitter session. This takes 60 seconds.

1. Open x.com in Chrome and log in

2. Press F12 (DevTools) → click Application tab → Cookies → https://x.com

3. Find and copy these two values:

   • auth_token — long hex string (starts with something like a1b2c3...)
   • ct0 — another long hex string

4. Set them as environment variables:

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# Add to your shell profile (~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc) so they persist:
echo 'export TWITTER_AUTH_TOKEN="paste_your_auth_token_here"' >> ~/.bashrc
echo 'export TWITTER_CT0="paste_your_ct0_here"' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

5. Test it:

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twitter search "Claude Code" --sort top --limit 5 --yaml

If you see tweets with engagement numbers — you're live.

Troubleshooting

• "command not found" → the binary isn't in your PATH. Run echo $PATH and move the binary to one of those directories, or add ~/go/bin to PATH: export PATH=$PATH:~/go/bin
• "unauthorized" or empty results → your cookies expired. Go back to step 2 and copy fresh ones. Cookies last a few months but X can rotate them.
• "rate limited" → wait 15 minutes. Don't run more than ~50 searches per hour.

Search Operators

Once you're set up, these operators give you surgical precision:

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"AI marketing" min_faves:100 -filter:replies filter:blue_verified since:2025-05-15

Key operators:

• min_faves:50 — skip noise, only proven posts
• -filter:replies -filter:nativeretweets — original content only
• filter:blue_verified — verified accounts only
• since:YYYY-MM-DD / until:YYYY-MM-DD — time window
• "exact phrase" — exact match
• (A OR B) — either term

2. Manus — Cross-Platform Deep Research (Dead Drop Setup)

Manus is an async browser agent. Twitter CLI handles X/Twitter. Manus handles everything else — LinkedIn, Reddit, newsletters, competitor websites, anywhere that needs a real browser.

You use it as a dead drop: drop a task in a shared GitHub repo, Manus picks it up, does the research, commits results. You pull results automatically. No babysitting.

Sign Up

1. Go to manus.im and create an account
2. You get a browser-based agent that can execute multi-step research tasks
3. Connect it to your GitHub account (it needs repo access to read tasks and push results)

Step 1: Create a shared GitHub repo

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# This is your dead drop — tasks go in, results come out
gh repo create manus-tasks --private
cd manus-tasks
mkdir tasks results tasks/done

Step 2: Add a CONTEXT.md

Write a CONTEXT.md in the repo root. This tells Manus who you are, what you care about, and how to format output. Include:

• Your domain (marketing, dev, crypto, etc.)
• What topics are high/medium/low signal
• Output rules: "never fabricate data, use JSON for data, markdown for analysis"
• The protocol: read from tasks/, write to results/, move done tasks to tasks/done/

This file is Manus's briefing doc. It reads it before every task.

Step 3: Drop tasks as markdown files

Create a task brief in tasks/ and push:

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# Task: Scout AI marketing content landscape
Type: research
Created: 2026-05-22

## Brief
Find the top-performing posts about AI for marketing teams on X, LinkedIn, and Reddit in the last 7 days. Extract exact text, engagement numbers, author handles.

## Output
JSON to results/ai-marketing-scout_2026-05-22.json
Each post: { author, text, platform, likes, shares, url, angle }

## Context
Planning next week's content. Need to find gaps — what's trending but underserved.

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git add tasks/ && git commit -m "task: ai marketing scout" && git push

Then open Manus and tell it:

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Here's my research task repo: https://github.com/[you]/manus-tasks

Read CONTEXT.md for my briefing and output rules.
Check tasks/ for new briefs. Execute them.
Commit results to results/ with message "result: [short description]".
Move completed tasks to tasks/done/.

Manus will clone the repo, read your brief, browse the platforms, and push results back. You don't need to be online.

Step 4: Set up auto-pull (the sync loop)

On your machine (or a VPS), set up a cron to pull results hourly:

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# crontab -e
0 * * * * cd /path/to/manus-tasks && git pull origin master --quiet

Or go further — write a script that:

1. Pulls the repo
2. Checks for new files in results/ since last check
3. Classifies results by topic
4. Caches them for your next planning session
5. Optionally notifies you (Slack, Telegram, etc.)

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# Pseudocode for the check loop
last_commit = read_state_file()
git_pull()
current_commit = get_head()
if current_commit != last_commit:
    changed = git_diff(last_commit, current_commit, path="results/")
    for file in changed:
        content = read(file)
        category = classify(filename)  # "competitors", "market-research", etc.
        cache_for_brief(category, content)
    save_state(current_commit)

Step 5: Feed results into Content Scout

When Manus drops results, pipe them into the scout workflow:

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"Read results/ai-marketing-scout_2026-05-22.json and run Content Scout analysis — find the gaps, recommend an angle."

The loop: you drop tasks → Manus researches → results auto-sync → Content Scout analyzes → you draft from a position of knowledge.

Step 6: Auto-Schedule (hands-free scouting)

Two sides to auto-schedule: your cron drops the task, Manus picks it up automatically.

Manus side — set up recurring execution:

In Manus, create a scheduled task (or use their API if available):

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Schedule: Every Friday 00:00 UTC
Repo: https://github.com/[you]/manus-tasks
Instructions: Read CONTEXT.md. Check tasks/ for any unprocessed briefs.
Execute each one. Commit results to results/. Move done tasks to tasks/done/.
If no new tasks, check if last week's scout is >7 days old and re-run it
with fresh data.

If Manus doesn't support native scheduling yet, you can trigger it manually each week — or use the cron below to auto-drop tasks so they're waiting whenever you next open Manus.

Your side — auto-generate the task brief:

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#!/bin/bash
# drop-content-scout.sh — auto-drop weekly scout task to Manus
# Cron: Thursday 20:00 your timezone — results land by Friday/Saturday

REPO="/path/to/manus-tasks"
TODAY=$(date '+%Y-%m-%d')
NEXT_MON=$(date -d 'next monday' '+%Y-%m-%d')
TASK_FILE="$REPO/tasks/${TODAY}_content-scout-w${NEXT_MON}.md"

# Guard: don't duplicate if already dropped this week
if ls "$REPO/tasks/"*content-scout-w${NEXT_MON}* 2>/dev/null | grep -q .; then
    exit 0
fi

cat > "$TASK_FILE" << HEREDOC
# Task: Weekly Content Scout — Week of $NEXT_MON
Type: research
Created: $TODAY

## Brief
Run a content landscape scout for next week's posts. Research across X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, and newsletters.

### Track 1: What's Trending (Global)
Search for viral posts about [YOUR TOPICS] in the past 7 days. Extract exact text, engagement numbers, author handles, URLs. Focus on posts with >500 likes.

### Track 2: What's Trending (Local/Niche)
Search your community platforms — Facebook groups, forums, local-language discussions. What questions are people asking? What are they struggling with?

### Track 3: Competitor Watch
Check what your top 3-5 competitor accounts posted this week. What performed? What format? What angle?

### Track 4: Gap Detection
Cross-reference tracks 1-3. Where is there audience interest but few posts? That's the gap.

## Output
Save as: results/content-scout_${TODAY}.md

Include:
- Direct URLs to every source
- Exact engagement numbers
- Final "Top 5 Content Opportunities" section with suggested angles

## Context
[Your page description, audience, what content style works for you]
HEREDOC

cd "$REPO"
git add "tasks/${TODAY}_content-scout-w${NEXT_MON}.md"
git commit -m "task: content scout for week of $NEXT_MON"
git push origin master

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# Add to crontab — Thursday evening, research lands by weekend
# crontab -e
0 20 * * 4 /path/to/drop-content-scout.sh

The full loop runs on autopilot: Thursday cron drops task → Manus researches overnight → Friday auto-pull syncs results → you plan next week's content from data, not guesses.

When to use Manus vs Twitter CLI alone

• Twitter CLI — quick scout, single platform, 5 minutes
• Manus — campaign planning, cross-platform landscape, quarterly strategy, anything that needs a real browser

Workflow

Step 1: Define Your Topic

What are you about to post about? Be specific. "AI" is too broad. "AI agents replacing junior devs" is searchable.

Step 2: Run the Scout Rounds

Three rounds. Each answers a different question.

Round 1: What's Performing Right Now

Pull the top posts on your topic sorted by engagement. Twitter CLI with --sort top or Manus with "find highest engagement posts about [topic]."

Extract for each post:

• Author handle and follower range
• The angle they took
• The hook (first 1-2 sentences)
• Likes, RTs, replies, views

Round 2: What's Fresh (Last 24-48h)

Filter to recent posts gaining traction. Use since: operator or tell Manus "last 48 hours only."

Focus on:

• Emerging angles and debates
• Which posts are accelerating (high engagement relative to post age)
• What the audience is reacting to right now

Round 3: What the Key Accounts Are Saying

Filter to verified or high-follower accounts. Use filter:blue_verified min_faves:100 or tell Manus "only accounts with 10K+ followers."

Focus on:

• What positions the thought leaders hold
• Their framing style
• Where they agree vs disagree with each other

Step 3: Analyze and Find the Gap

After collecting data from all three rounds, synthesize:

• What's working — which angles get the most engagement?
• What's saturated — which angles have 20+ posts saying the same thing?
• Where's the gap — what has audience interest but few posts?
• What hooks work — what first-line patterns drive engagement?

Step 4: Recommend Your Angle

Based on the gap analysis, recommend a specific angle that:

• Fills an underserved gap
• Matches the poster's voice and expertise
• Takes a position (not a summary)
• Has a proven hook pattern adapted to the new angle

Output: Intelligence Report

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# Content Scout: [Topic]

## Data Collected
- X/Twitter: [N] posts via Twitter CLI
- Cross-platform: [N] posts via Manus (if used)
- Time range: [dates]

## What's Working
- [Angle 1] — @handle got [N] likes with "[hook excerpt]"
- [Angle 2] — @handle got [N] likes with "[hook excerpt]"

## What's Saturated
- [Angle] — [N] posts in last 48h, engagement declining
- [Angle] — every account saying the same thing

## Content Gaps
- [Gap 1] — audience asking about this in replies, nobody posting about it
- [Gap 2] — adjacent angle with high engagement, untapped variation

## Hook Patterns That Work
- [Pattern]: "[example first line]" — [N] likes
- [Pattern]: "[example first line]" — [N] likes

## Recommended Angle
[Specific position to take, with suggested hook]

## Avoid
- [Overdone angle]
- [Angle with declining engagement]

For Marketing Teams

This fits directly into a content calendar:

1. Monday planning — scout all topics for the week, identify which gaps to fill which day
2. Pre-draft checkpoint — scout the specific angle before anyone writes
3. Competitor watch — scout what competitors posted this week, find what they missed
4. Campaign prep — scout audience sentiment on your campaign topic before launch

The skill turns "what should we post?" from a brainstorm into a decision backed by data.

Tips

• Scout the day you post — content landscapes shift fast, yesterday's gap might be today's noise
• Adjust thresholds for your niche — use min_faves:10 for niche topics, min_faves:500 for mainstream
• Use the gaps, not the trends — the goal isn't to copy what's working, it's to say what nobody else is saying
• Re-scout after big news — industry events reset the entire landscape overnight
• Manus for depth, CLI for speed — don't over-engineer a quick pre-post check with a full Manus run