Stop Twitter from destroying your links with this OS X command!

By Rene Ritchie
published

If you use Tweetbot on the Mac, and Safari is your default web browser, clicking on a Twitter link—which the company insists on shortening to t.co—can result in errors, hangs, and general misery. Luckily, there's a workaround that can help make the process seamless again.

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Here's the step-by-step instructions

  1. Launch Terminal. (CMD+Space for Spotlight, start typing until you see it pop up in the results.)
  2. Copy and paste this into Terminal: defaults write com.tapbots.TweetbotMac OpenURLsDirectly YES.
  3. Hit Enter.

If you give it a try, let me know how it works for you!

Rene Ritchie
Rene Ritchie
Contributor

Rene Ritchie is one of the most respected Apple analysts in the business, reaching a combined audience of over 40 million readers a month. His YouTube channel, Vector, has over 90 thousand subscribers and 14 million views and his podcasts, including Debug, have been downloaded over 20 million times. He also regularly co-hosts MacBreak Weekly for the TWiT network and co-hosted CES Live! and Talk Mobile. Based in Montreal, Rene is a former director of product marketing, web developer, and graphic designer. He's authored several books and appeared on numerous television and radio segments to discuss Apple and the technology industry. When not working, he likes to cook, grapple, and spend time with his friends and family.

8 Comments
  • Worked for me!
  • worked for me too!
  • Is there a way to do this for Twitterrific?
  • Replace "tapbots" and "Tweetbot" with "Twitterrific" in the URL schemes, perhaps?
  • Worked like a charm ! Thank You Dermot & Rene !
  • Does this work with the stock OS X Twitter app? Similar t.co hangs, new version and all.
  • Great! I blamed Tweetbot for the hanging....
    It's working again, which is great, but it's also opening new Safari windows for every link. Is it possible to change the Terminal line so that it opens in a new tab instead of a new window?
  • Yes, this (open in new tabs not a new window)! Any answer?