Authenticate.twitter: Twitter API authentication

In vosonSML: Collecting Social Media Data and Generating Networks for Analysis

Twitter API authentication

Description

Twitter authentication uses OAuth and typically requires four developer API keys generated when you create a twitter app via the twitter developer web site. These keys and the authentication object produced are referenced as developer keys and developer access in this package. Software using developer access to the API can operate with full access to the API including within the user-context but with the understanding that it is an app. The rtweet package refers to this as bot authentication.

There is another method available commonly used by third-party apps in which an app can be authorized by a user to use the twitter API on their behalf. The implementation of this method in vosonSML does not require a developer account but does still require the user to have access to an apps two consumer API keys (generated by the app developer). The authentication object with token produced from this method allows the user to access the API within their own user-context and rate-limits.

If an individual has applied for and been granted Twitter API access they will also have a bearer token associated with their app. This token allows read-only access to the API but higher rate-limits so it is the most suited method for this package and data collection.

The twitter OAuth process is described here: https://developer.twitter.com/en/docs/authentication/overview.

Usage

## S3 method for class 'twitter'
Authenticate(
  socialmedia,
  appName,
  apiKey,
  apiSecret,
  accessToken,
  accessTokenSecret,
  bearerToken = NULL,
  verbose = FALSE,
  ...
)

Arguments

socialmedia	Character string. Identifier for social media API to authenticate, set to "twitter".
appName	Character string. Registered twitter app name associated with the API keys.
apiKey	Character string. API consumer key to authenticate (also called API key).
apiSecret	Character string. API consumer secret to authenticate (also called API secret).
accessToken	Character string. API access token to authenticate.
accessTokenSecret	Character string. API access token secret to authenticate.
bearerToken	Character string. Twitter app bearer token. Default is NULL.
verbose	Logical. Output additional information. Default is FALSE.
...	Additional parameters passed to function. Not used in this method.

Value

A credential object containing an access token $auth and social media type descriptor $socialmedia set to "twitter". Object has the class names "credential" and "twitter".

Note

vosonSML uses the rtweet package for twitter data collection and also gratefully acknowledges the techniques and code written by its authors reproduced in this package for creating twitter API access tokens.

Examples

## Not run: 
# twitter API access using an app bearer token
app_auth <- Authenticate(
  "twitter",
  bearerToken = "xxxxxxxxxxxx"
)

# twitter authentication using developer app API keys
dev_auth <- Authenticate(
  "twitter",
  appName = "My App",
  apiKey = "xxxxxxxxxxxx",
  apiSecret = "xxxxxxxxxxxx",
  accessToken = "xxxxxxxxxxxx",
  accessTokenSecret = "xxxxxxxxxxxx"
)

# twitter user authentication via authorization of an app
# requires the apps consumer API keys apiKey and apiSecret parameters are
# equivalent to the apps consumer key and secret will open a web browser
# to twitter prompting the user to log in and authorize the app
user_auth <- Authenticate(
  "twitter",
  appName = "An App",
  apiKey = "xxxxxxxxxxxx",
  apiSecret = "xxxxxxxxxxxx"
)

## End(Not run)

vosonSML documentation built on Aug. 16, 2022, 5:14 p.m.