# X character counter https://flaghand.com/x-character-counter counts a post the way X does and shows what is left of its 280: every link 23, emoji and Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters 2, rule for rule as x.com's composer counts, with the part past 280 marked. Free, no sign-up. It runs in your browser: nothing you type or add is uploaded or stored, and there is no API. ## How to use it 1. Type or paste the post: the count updates as you type. 2. Trim what is marked past 280, or see the post as X shows it in the X post preview (https://flaghand.com/x-post-preview). An agent can open it with the text in the link's hash, which never reaches a server: https://flaghand.com/x-character-counter#text=Hello%20world ## Questions. ### What is the character limit on X? 280 characters a post, counted the way X counts them. X Premium subscribers can post up to 25,000; the timeline shows the first part of a longer post, then Show more. ### How does X count characters? A link counts 23 whatever its length. An emoji counts 2, even one made of several, like a skin tone, a family or a flag. Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters count 2 each, as do most symbols. Letters, numbers, spaces, most punctuation and line breaks count 1. ### Why is my count different from other counters? Many counters count every letter of a link, and an emoji as 1. This one counts the way X’s own composer does, rule for rule, so it matches the number X shows. ### Do @mentions, photos or videos count? An @handle you type counts like any other text. Photos, videos and GIFs count nothing, and neither do the names X adds above a reply. ### Is my text uploaded? No. It is counted in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere or stored, and the page sets no cookies. ## Flaghand This is the count Flaghand's desk uses for every X draft, before its owner approves it. Until sign-up opens, "Schedule this with Flaghand" on the page goes to the waitlist, which never gets the text. Flaghand is X and LinkedIn posting for AI agents: your agent drafts through Flaghand's API, CLI or MCP server, you approve the exact preview with your passkey, and Flaghand posts exactly that. It is in early access: join the waitlist at https://flaghand.com/, or an agent can join for its person with POST https://flaghand.com/api/waitlist (https://flaghand.com/llms.txt shows how). For agents: https://flaghand.com/llms.txt (this site) and https://app.flaghand.com/llms.txt (the product's agent guide).