Step01
Acquire a Pager
Purchase a pager from a reseller that supports an active network like Spok. When the pager arrives, confirm you have its unique phone number and email address, as you will need these to receive notifications.
AdvancedPersonal
How to Get Twitter/X Notifications on a Retro 90s Pager
A fun, creative project that shows how to connect modern APIs to vintage hardware. This workflow uses a chain of services, coded with AI, to deliver notifications from Twitter/X to a real pager.
Source episode · 11:10
How I AI: Maddie Reese on Building a Pager, Printer, and Personal API with AIwith Claire Vo
From 11:10 to 17:22, Maddie Barany explains the chain that turns an X notification into an email and delivers the shortened message to a 1990s pager. Clip range: 11:10 to 17:22.
Before you start
What you need
- Pager with active Spok-compatible service
- Pager email address and phone number
- Twitter/X developer API credentials
- Cloudflare Workers account
- Gmail account with forwarding enabled and Resend email service access
What you’ll make
A notification pipeline that forwards Twitter/X interactions to a physical pager through email.
Tools used
- CursorVisitCursor
AI-first code editor
Step by step
The workflow
Follow the sequence once, then adapt the prompts, checks, and handoffs to your own setup.
7 steps
Step02
Architect the Notification Flow
Use an AI coding assistant like Cursor to architect the notification flow. Describe the goal: routing notifications from a modern API like Twitter/X to a legacy pager. Let the AI ask clarifying questions to help map out the multi-step 'Rube Goldberg machine' of services needed to connect the two systems.
Example prompt
Role: You are an expert systems architect specializing in connecting modern APIs to legacy hardware. Task: Help me design a system to send notifications from the Twitter/X API to a 1990s pager. The pager can only receive messages via a specific, legacy email address. Process: Interview me. Ask clarifying questions about the constraints and available tools until we have a viable, step-by-step architecture.
Step03
Capture Twitter/X API Events
Set up a listener on your Twitter/X account using its API. Configure it to trigger an event whenever you receive an interaction, such as a reply or a like. This event will be the starting point for the notification workflow.
Step04
Process Events with a Serverless Function
Route the API event data from Twitter/X to a Cloudflare Worker. Inside the worker, write the code to process the event payload. Your goal is to extract the key information and format it into a concise text message, short enough to display on a pager screen.
Example prompt
I have a JSON object from a Twitter/X API event. I need to write a Cloudflare Worker in JavaScript to process it. The worker should extract the username of the person who replied and the text of their reply. Combine these into a single string, formatted for a pager. The final message must be under 80 characters. Example input: [paste example JSON payload] Example output: "@username: [first 60 characters of reply text]..."
Step05
Send the Initial Email via Resend
In your Cloudflare Worker, integrate an email service like Resend. Configure the worker to send the formatted notification message as the body of an email.
Step06
Bridge the Legacy Email Gap with Gmail
Direct the email from Resend to a modern Gmail account. This account serves as an intermediary, because the pager's legacy email service may not accept messages sent from newer custom domains like those used by Resend.
Step07
Forward the Email to the Pager
In the intermediary Gmail account, create a forwarding rule. Set the rule to automatically forward any incoming notification email to the pager's unique, legacy email address. This final step delivers the message to your physical pager.
What good looks like
- Twitter/X interactions trigger Cloudflare Worker execution
- Worker formats messages under the pager character limit
- Resend successfully delivers messages to the Gmail bridge account
- Gmail forwarding sends messages to the pager email address
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After the steps
Runbook notes
How to recover when the loop fails and where human judgment helps.
Recover
If it goes sideways
- Pager rejects emails from the sender domain
- Route mail through the approved Gmail forwarding account
- Formatted notification exceeds pager display limits
- Truncate reply text and validate final message length before sending
- Twitter/X webhook events stop arriving
- Refresh API subscriptions and verify webhook endpoint health
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