Nitter Returns: The Project Survives X Corp's Shutdown Demand

Nitter is a free and open-source alternative front-end for Twitter, focused on privacy and performance. It lets you read feeds without JavaScript or ads by routing every request through its own back-end, so the client never talks to Twitter directly and the platform can't track a user's IP address or browser fingerprint. The project is distributed under the AGPLv3 license and was inspired by Invidious, a comparable front-end for YouTube.

From a Shutdown Demand to “Nitter Lives”

On August 24, 2026, X Corp. sent out cease-and-desist letters demanding the unconditional shutdown of Nitter instances and the deletion of the project's repository. For a while, that very notice adorned the README on GitHub. But a new commit with the telling name “Nitter lives” adds an important update: after consulting with lawyers, the team has decided to keep the project going, and promises to share the details soon.

At the same time, public instances are back up, including XCancel — one of the service's access points.

What Changed in the Description

The README update went beyond a single upbeat line. The developers reworked the features and roadmap section: tweet embeds have now been moved into a separate guide in the wiki, and the Developer API item has disappeared from the plans. RSS feeds are still supported, but with a caveat — they're often disabled on specific instances due to abuse.

The donations block was noticeably overhauled as well. Alongside the cryptocurrency wallets (BTC, ETH, Monero, Solana, Zcash), the list now sports tidy badges for GitHub Sponsors, Patreon, Liberapay, and Ko-fi — the last of which was also added to the repository's funding file. For legal inquiries and DMCA matters, a separate contact is provided: legal@poast.org.

Nitter's fate has been in question more than once: the service runs on Twitter's unofficial API, and any change in the platform's policy has a direct impact on whether it works. Against a backdrop of outright legal pressure, the team's decision not to wind the project down looks like a challenge — just how durable it will prove, the promised details will show. For now, the repository, which has gathered over 14 thousand stars, stays put, and the instances are once again accepting requests.

Source: Hacker News