# X post preview

Type your post and see how it actually reads on X - in light mode and dark mode, with links, mentions and hashtags highlighted the way X highlights them. Everything renders in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

## what this preview checks

It is a deterministic render, not a mock screenshot. Given the same text it always produces the same output, and it only shows things that are actually decided by your text:

- **Wrapping and line breaks.** Where your sentences land, and whether the last line orphans a single word.
- **Entity highlighting.** Links, @mentions, and #hashtags in X's blue, so you can see how much of the post is coloured rather than read.
- **Character state.** Counted X's way, where every link costs 23 regardless of length.
- **Both themes.** A big share of X is read on black. Dense paragraphs are noticeably harder to read there.

The avatar is a generated monogram from your handle, not a fetched image - the tool never talks to X or to any server. That also means it cannot show quote posts, media, or link cards.

## reading it like the reader will

The single most common problem a preview catches is a post that is technically fine but visually a wall. On a phone, three lines with air between them beat six lines packed together, every time. If yours is a wall, break it - or split it properly with the thread splitter (/tools/thread-splitter).

The other thing to look at is the first line. It is the only part that has to work, because it decides whether the rest gets read. Run it through the hook analyzer (/tools/hook-analyzer), and check the exact length with the character counter (/tools/x-character-counter).

## previewing is not the same as knowing what works

A preview tells you how a post looks. It cannot tell you whether it will travel. Argus reads your own X analytics in your browser and shows which of your posts actually converted reach into follows - and drafts replies in your voice for the live posts worth being early on. It never sends anything; you always press the button.