How to use it
- Write what you want to say in plain words, with any numbers or names you want in the post. The model won’t add others.
- Add a link if you have one. X counts every link as 23 characters however long it is, and the counts already include it.
- Pick an angle and a tone. “A mix” gives you a statement, a tip, a question and a short list to compare.
- Copy the post you like, edit it, and check the count in X’s composer, which has the final word.
How X counts a post
| What | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Post length | 280 characters. Longer posts are an X Premium feature. | X Help: How to post X developer docs: counting characters |
| Links | Every link counts as 23, because X wraps it in a t.co link | X developer docs: counting characters |
| Emoji | Each emoji counts as 2 | X developer docs: counting characters |
| Chinese, Japanese, Korean | Each character counts as 2 | X developer docs: counting characters |
| Hashtags | X recommends no more than 2 per post. They help a post show up in X search for that word. | X Help: How to use hashtags |
Checked against each platform’s own help and developer pages in October 2026.
We count every option the way X’s developer docs describe and drop any that go over 280. That’s why a post with a long link can look too long and still fit, and a post with a few emoji can look short and not.
What fits in 280 characters
- One idea. If you have a second point, it’s a second post.
- The specific thing first. “Our page now loads in 1.3s” says more than “Some thoughts on performance”.
- Line breaks for lists and before-and-afters. Two short lines read faster than one long one.
- Hashtags only when they name the topic. The generator adds none unless you ask, and never more than X’s recommended 2.
Honest limits
We find links the way people usually paste them. X also links some bare domains we don’t recognise, and the other way round, so a post within a few characters of 280 may count differently in the app. The model is told not to invent results or numbers, and we replace any link it makes up with yours, but read every claim before you post. For a bio rather than a post, use the X bio generator.