What a card is
A Twitter or X card is the preview box under a shared link. It shows an image, a title and a short description. Without one, your link is a bare URL, and bare URLs get scrolled past.
This tool previews four types: summary, summary with large image, app and player. You can flip between light and dark mode, since people see your card both ways.
The tags
twitter:card sets the type. twitter:title, twitter:description and twitter:image fill it in. twitter:site names your account, and twitter:creator names the author. You don't need to register your domain.
If you skip the twitter tags, X falls back to Open Graph tags. So og:title and og:image can carry you. Many sites set both anyway, so each platform gets what it prefers.
Choosing a type
Summary with large image is the safe pick for articles. The image should be about 2 to 1, and bigger than 300 by 157 pixels. A plain summary shows a small square thumbnail, better for tools or docs. App and player cards are for specific cases, like a mobile app or an embedded video.
If your card doesn't show
Check that the image URL is public and over HTTPS. Check the file size, as large files can fail. Platforms cache cards, so an old version might stick around for a while after a fix.
Cards don't affect search rankings. They affect clicks from social. Copy-ready HTML is provided, and nothing leaves your browser.