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Nitter instance tracker lists more working mirrors than before recent takedowns

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Nitter instance tracker lists more working mirrors than before recent takedowns

A Codeberg wiki page for the "shitter" repository, which tracks public instances of Nitter (a lightweight, privacy-focused front end for reading Twitter/X without a Twitter account or JavaScript), currently lists 12 working instances. Nine are reachable over the ordinary web, including addresses such as shitter.thepixora.com, nitter.kareem.one and nitter.click, while three more are reachable only as Tor .onion addresses, two of which the page marks as requiring a Tor browser to load. The page was last edited by its maintainer, mv12star, on 2026-09-05. It also carries separate sections for redirectors, instances that are active but rate limited, and instances that were formerly active or have already been taken down, though the current contents of those lists were not captured in the version reviewed here. A "Run a public instance" section points anyone wanting to host a new mirror to guidance on obtaining many session tokens and on handling DMCA and other legal complaints, underscoring the legal pressure that public Nitter operators face and that periodically forces instances offline. The Hacker News discussion of the page, which had drawn 677 points and 341 comments, was framed around the claim that the current number of working instances exceeds the number that were working before an earlier round of takedowns; the wiki page itself, however, does not include a historical count of instances from before those takedowns, so that specific comparison cannot be checked against the page's own text.

Key facts

  • A Codeberg wiki tracking Nitter instances lists 12 currently working mirrors: 9 reachable on the regular web and 3 reachable only via Tor .onion addresses.
  • Two of the three Tor-only instances are marked as requiring a Tor browser to access.
  • The tracker page is maintained by a single editor, mv12star, who last updated it on 2026-09-05.
  • The wiki also has sections for redirectors, rate-limited instances, and instances formerly active or already taken down, though their current contents were not captured.
  • Guidance on the page for running a new public instance covers obtaining many session tokens and navigating DMCA and other legal complaints, reflecting the legal pressure operators face.

Why it matters

Nitter is one of the better-known self-hosted front ends for reading Twitter/X content without an account, tracking or JavaScript, and it has been a repeated target of shutdowns. A community wiki showing a dozen working instances after a round of takedowns is being read on Hacker News as evidence that this kind of decentralized mirror network can absorb enforcement action rather than being wiped out by it.

Who it affects

Anyone who relies on Nitter to browse Twitter/X content anonymously or without an account, people who care about the resilience of self-hosted, censorship-resistant internet infrastructure, and the volunteers who run and maintain individual Nitter instances against legal and technical pressure.

How to use it

The wiki page lists direct links to the 9 currently working clearnet instances; if those are unreachable, three Tor .onion mirrors are also listed, two of which need a Tor browser to load. Someone wanting to run their own public instance is directed by the page to separate guides on obtaining many session tokens and on handling DMCA and other legal complaints.

How solid is it

The page is a live, community-maintained wiki with a single credited recent editor (mv12star, last edit 2026-09-05), so the instance count is a snapshot that can change at any time. The headline claim discussed on Hacker News, that there are now more working instances than before a previous round of takedowns, is not itself backed by a historical instance count on the page; only the current list of 12 is verifiable from the text captured here.

Risks and caveats

The tracker depends on one active maintainer, and its own sections for rate-limited and already-taken-down instances (contents not visible here) signal that churn among instances is ongoing. Running a public instance carries real legal exposure, as shown by the page's own DMCA guidance. Three of the twelve currently working instances are reachable only via Tor, and two of those three require a Tor browser specifically, which raises the bar for casual use. The page does not say who carried out the referenced takedowns or why.

“read this post about how to obtain many session tokens, and read this one about how to escape DMCA and other legal complaints.”

— "Run a public instance" section, Nitter instances wiki