What a Twitter Card is
A Twitter Card is the title, description, image, and destination X can show when someone shares a link. Those details come from metadata inside the page rather than from the visible article text alone.
A missing or stale tag can turn a rich preview into a plain link or show the wrong image. The validator reads the public metadata so you can catch that before sharing the URL.
Check the card before you post the link
The Twitter Card Validator shows the preview X is likely to build from your page metadata. Paste a URL and select Preview card. It reads the Twitter Card tags and Open Graph fallbacks, then shows the image, domain, title, and description, a note if the image cannot be used, a found or missing checklist for each tag, and recommended tags you can copy.
Most people landing here are trying to answer one practical question: what will X scrape from this page when I share it? The preview, tag checklist, and image note are built around that check.
How X chooses a link preview
X looks for Twitter-specific tags such as twitter:card, twitter:title, twitter:description, and twitter:image. When a Twitter value is absent, it can use Open Graph fields such as og:title, og:description, and og:image as fallbacks.
Set Twitter-specific tags when the X preview should differ from the shared Open Graph card. Otherwise, a clean Open Graph set plus twitter:card is a sensible starting point.
Card formats found in existing metadata
Older Twitter Card documentation defined summary, summary_large_image, app, and player values. This validator reads the declared twitter:card value and uses it in the recommended tags. The preview itself always uses one large-image link layout, so it does not show how a compact summary card would differ.
X no longer exposes a current public organic Card specification in its developer documentation, so treat the older values as compatibility metadata rather than a promise that every format will render exactly as it once did.
Twitter Card tags and their Open Graph fallbacks
| Twitter tag | Purpose | Common fallback |
|---|---|---|
twitter:card | Requested card layout | None |
twitter:title | Preview title | og:title |
twitter:description | Preview description | og:description |
twitter:image | Preview image | og:image |
twitter:site | Site account attribution | None |
twitter:creator | Creator attribution | None |
Use absolute public image URLs. A 1200 by 628 image remains a practical starting point for a large link preview, but X controls the final crop and may use cached metadata.
Check title, description, image, and card type
The preview is an approximation based on current public metadata. Use the checklist to catch missing title, description, image, Twitter, and Open Graph tags. The image note flags an image URL that returns an error, cannot be reached, is not an image, or is not a JPG, PNG, WebP, or GIF. If the page has no usable title, description, or image, the preview says so.
What happened to the official Twitter Card Validator
The old validator at cards-dev.twitter.com now leads to an X login flow. X does not currently publish a public replacement for testing an organic website Card.
This validator reads the tags without an X login. The final check still happens on X because its crawler, cache, and rendering rules can produce a different result.
Why a fixed page can still show an old card
Link previews are cached. You can update the metadata, test the page, and still see the old image for a while. This tool reads the page's current metadata each time you check it, so you can confirm the new tags are live, but X may still keep its own cached preview.
Crawler blocks can prevent a preview
The page and image must be publicly fetchable. Authentication, bot protection, robots rules, or a blocked image host can leave X without enough metadata to build a card. Test the final public URL rather than a private preview or local development address.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
It fetches a URL, reads the Twitter Card and Open Graph tags, and shows the title, description, and image X is likely to use, a found or missing checklist for each tag, and recommended tags to copy.
No. Paste a public URL and the tool checks the page metadata without asking for an X account.
Yes. Server-backed tools share five free uses each day. You can check a public URL without signing up or connecting an X account.
The old cards-dev.twitter.com validator now leads to an X login flow. X does not currently publish a public replacement for organic website Card testing.
It reads the declared twitter:card value, such as summary, summary_large_image, app, or player, and keeps it in the recommended tags. The preview uses one large-image link layout for every page and does not emulate app or player cards.
X may be using cached metadata, the image may be too small, or the page may be missing twitter:image or og:image.
Check the twitter:card value as well as the image. A compact summary layout, an image X cannot fetch, or cached metadata can all produce a smaller or missing image.
Yes. X can use Open Graph title, description, and image values when the corresponding Twitter-specific tags are absent.
Not always. Clean Open Graph title, description, and image tags can act as fallbacks. Add Twitter-specific values when the X preview needs a different title, description, image, or requested layout.
A 1200 by 628 image is a practical starting point for a large link preview, while a compact summary preview commonly uses a square image. X controls the final crop and can change how a card renders.
X applies its own fetching, caching, cropping, and rendering. This validator approximates the card from current public metadata.
X may have cached an older response, failed to fetch the page or image, or chosen not to render the available metadata. The validator shows what it can read now, not a guarantee of X output.
If the page or image cannot be fetched publicly, the validator and X may be unable to build a complete preview.
What does a Twitter Card Validator check?
It fetches a URL, reads the Twitter Card and Open Graph tags, and shows the title, description, and image X is likely to use, a found or missing checklist for each tag, and recommended tags to copy.
Do I need to log in to X to use this validator?
No. Paste a public URL and the tool checks the page metadata without asking for an X account.
Is this Twitter Card Validator free?
Yes. Server-backed tools share five free uses each day. You can check a public URL without signing up or connecting an X account.
What happened to the official Twitter Card Validator?
The old cards-dev.twitter.com validator now leads to an X login flow. X does not currently publish a public replacement for organic website Card testing.
What Twitter Card types can this tool inspect?
It reads the declared twitter:card value, such as summary, summary_large_image, app, or player, and keeps it in the recommended tags. The preview uses one large-image link layout for every page and does not emulate app or player cards.
Why does my Twitter card show the wrong image?
X may be using cached metadata, the image may be too small, or the page may be missing twitter:image or og:image.
Why does my twitter:image still produce a small preview?
Check the twitter:card value as well as the image. A compact summary layout, an image X cannot fetch, or cached metadata can all produce a smaller or missing image.
Can Open Graph tags act as fallbacks?
Yes. X can use Open Graph title, description, and image values when the corresponding Twitter-specific tags are absent.
Do I need both Open Graph and Twitter meta tags?
Not always. Clean Open Graph title, description, and image tags can act as fallbacks. Add Twitter-specific values when the X preview needs a different title, description, image, or requested layout.
What image size should I use for a Twitter Card?
A 1200 by 628 image is a practical starting point for a large link preview, while a compact summary preview commonly uses a square image. X controls the final crop and can change how a card renders.
Why does X differ from this preview?
X applies its own fetching, caching, cropping, and rendering. This validator approximates the card from current public metadata.
Why does this validator show a card when X shows a plain link?
X may have cached an older response, failed to fetch the page or image, or chosen not to render the available metadata. The validator shows what it can read now, not a guarantee of X output.
What happens when a site blocks crawlers?
If the page or image cannot be fetched publicly, the validator and X may be unable to build a complete preview.