Substack Ops

substack-ops

Standalone Substack CLI + 26-tool MCP server for Cursor MCP, Claude MCP, OpenCode MCP, and any stdio MCP host. Your IDE drafts the replies. Zero AI API keys.

Site → substack-ops.chavan.in · Source → 06ketan/substack-ops · Glama → mcp/servers/06ketan/substack-ops

Posts, notes, comments, replies, reactions, restacks, recommendations, search, profiles, feeds, automations, MCP server, Textual TUI. One Python install, one binary, MIT licensed.

TL;DR — MCP-native (no API key, one command)

uvx substack-ops mcp install cursor          # or claude-desktop, claude-code, opencode, print
# Restart your host. Then in chat:
#   "list unanswered comments on post 193866852"
#   "draft a warm reply to comment 12345"
#   "post that draft"

Your host's LLM (Cursor's, Claude's) does the drafting via the propose_reply / confirm_reply tools. No ANTHROPIC_API_KEY / OPENAI_API_KEY needed.

Wrong install?

This project is substack-ops on PyPI — install with uv / uvx, not unrelated npx packages that appear when searching “Substack MCP”. Canonical listing: Glama — 06ketan/substack-ops.

Works with (MCP)

These rows help discovery (search keywords); confirm each host’s current MCP docs before upgrading.

Open source–oriented hosts

Host	Documentation	Typical wire-up
OpenCode	OpenCode MCP servers	uvx substack-ops mcp install opencode
Continue	Continue	uvx substack-ops mcp install print — paste the snippet into Continue’s MCP settings
Zed	Zed	Configure stdio MCP per Zed’s docs
Cline	Cline	MCP setup per extension / marketplace docs
Goose	Goose	MCP extensions per Goose docs

Large commercial stacks

Host	Documentation	Typical wire-up
Cursor	Cursor MCP	uvx substack-ops mcp install cursor
Claude (Desktop / Code)	Claude Desktop, Claude Code	mcp install claude-desktop / claude-code
GitHub Copilot	Copilot	MCP in VS Code / Copilot where supported — use print + host docs
ChatGPT	OpenAI	Developer / connector flows — often REST (Slideshot API) for tools without MCP
Google Gemini	Gemini	Gemini CLI / IDE features per Google docs — stdio where supported

OpenCode (copy-paste)

Auto-install:

uvx substack-ops mcp install opencode

Manual (~/.config/opencode/opencode.json):

{
  "mcp": {
    "substack-ops": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["uvx", "substack-ops", "mcp", "serve"],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Optional version pin: use ["uvx", "substack-ops==0.3.5", "mcp", "serve"] (replace with current PyPI release).

Setup (dev / from source)

git clone https://github.com/06ketan/substack-ops && cd substack-ops
uv sync
uv sync --extra mcp     # mcp SDK for the MCP server (recommended)
uv sync --extra tui     # textual for the TUI
uv sync --extra chrome  # pycryptodome + keyring for Chrome cookie auto-grab

Auth defaults to ~/.cursor/mcp.json's mcpServers.substack-api.env. Override with env or .env. Or use one of the auth flows in auth login / auth setup.

uv run substack-ops auth verify
uv run substack-ops quickstart   # 20-step tour

Command surface

Grouped by intent. Every write defaults to --dry-run; flip with --no-dry-run (and --yes-i-mean-it for the irreversible ones). All writes land in .cache/audit.jsonl and are dedup-checked against .cache/actions.db.

Auth (4)

Command	What it does
auth verify	Confirm the cookie works; print authed user/pub.
auth test	Same as verify, exit non-zero on failure (CI-friendly).
auth login --browser chrome|brave	Auto-grab cookie from local Chromium browser via macOS Keychain.
auth login --email me@x.com	Email magic-link → paste-the-link interactive flow.
auth setup	Interactive paste of connect.sid cookie.

Read — Posts (8)

Command	What it does
posts list [--pub] [--limit] [--sort new|top]	List posts from a publication (yours by default).
posts show <id|slug> [--pub]	Post metadata (title, dates, reactions, comment count).
posts get --slug <slug> [--pub]	Same as show but slug-only.
posts content <id> [--md] [--pub]	HTML body (auth-aware for paywalled). --md converts to Markdown.
posts stats <id>	Engagement counts — reactions, comments.
posts search <query> [--pub] [--limit]	Substack-side full-text search.
posts paywalled <id> [--pub]	Boolean: is this post paywalled?
posts react <id> [--off] [--pub]	Add (or remove with --off) a reaction. Defaults to ❤.
posts restack <id> [--off]	Restack a post (Substack does not support unrestack).

Read — Notes (5)

Command	What it does
notes list [--limit]	Your published Notes.
notes show <id>	One note + its reply tree.
notes publish <body> [--no-dry-run]	Publish a top-level Note.
notes react <id> [--off]	React on any Note.
notes restack <id> [--off]	Restack a Note.

Read + Write — Comments (5)

Command	What it does
comments tree <post_id> [--pub]	Full nested comment tree as table.
comments export <post_id> --out file.json [--pub]	Same tree as JSON.
comments add <post_id> <body> [--pub] [--no-dry-run]	New top-level comment.
comments react <id> --kind post|note [--off]	React on a comment.
comments delete <id> --kind post|note [--no-dry-run]	Destructive — your own comments only.

Reply engine (6)

Command	What it does
reply template <post_id> --template thanks	Rule-based replies (no LLM).
reply review <post_id>	LLM drafts each, you [a]ccept / [e]dit / [s]kip / [q]uit.
reply bulk <post_id> --out drafts.json	Draft every comment to a file. Edit, set action: "approved".
reply note-bulk <note_id> --out drafts.json	Same for replies under a Note.
reply bulk-send drafts.json [--no-dry-run]	Posts only approved rows. Dedup-checked.
reply auto <post_id> --no-dry-run --yes-i-mean-it	Draft + post immediately. 30s rate limit.

Read — Discovery (8)

Command	What it does
feed list --tab for-you|subscribed|category-{slug}	Reader feed (the Substack app feed).
profile me / profile get <handle>	Profile.
users get <handle> / users subscriptions <handle>	Public user info + their subs.
podcasts list [--pub]	Audio posts.
recommendations list [--pub]	Pub's recommended publications.
authors list [--pub]	Pub's contributor list.
categories list / categories get --name <X>	Substack's category taxonomy.

Automations (3)

Command	What it does
auto presets	List built-in YAML rules.
auto run <name>	One-shot run a preset.
auto daemon <name> --interval 60	Loop forever; logs to audit.

Operations + safety (3)

Command	What it does
audit search [--kind] [--target] [--status] [--since 7d]	Query the JSONL audit log.
audit dedup-status	Counts in the dedup SQLite DB.
quickstart	20-step interactive tour.

MCP server (3)

Command	What it does
mcp install <cursor|claude-desktop|claude-code|opencode|print> [--dry-run]	Auto-merge config into your host.
mcp serve	stdio MCP server (26 tools).
mcp list-tools	Print the tool registry.

Other (1)

Command	What it does
tui	Textual TUI — 6 tabs (Notes, Posts, Comments, Feed, Auto, Profile).

Multi-publication

Every read command accepts --pub <subdomain|domain>. Defaults to your own publication.

substack-ops posts list --pub stratechery --limit 5
substack-ops posts search "ai" --pub stratechery
substack-ops recommendations list --pub stratechery

Reply modes

Mode	What it does	Safety
template	YAML keyword/regex rules under src/substack_ops/templates/*.yaml	dry-run default
review	LLM drafts each reply, you [a]ccept / [e]dit / [s]kip / [q]uit	dry-run default + manual gate per comment
bulk	LLM drafts every comment to drafts.json. Edit file, set action: "approved"	offline review, dedup-checked on send
bulk-send	Posts only items with action: "approved"	dry-run default; dedup DB prevents the M2 31-dup-replies regression
auto	LLM drafts and posts immediately	requires --no-dry-run --yes-i-mean-it, 30s rate limit

After every live note-reply the engine re-fetches the new comment and asserts ancestor_path is non-empty. If empty, the audit row's result_status is flipped to "orphaned" (the M2 bug where parent_comment_id was silently dropped — now caught).

Automations

Built-in presets (auto presets):

1. like-back — when someone reacts to your note, react to their latest note.
2. auto-reply — same trigger, but post a templated thank-you.
3. auto-restack — when a watchlist handle posts a new note, restack it.
4. follow-back — when someone follows you, follow them back.

Custom YAML rules under ~/.config/substack-ops/auto/*.yaml. Loop with auto daemon <name> --interval 60.

MCP server

substack-ops mcp install opencode          # auto-add to ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json
substack-ops mcp install cursor              # auto-add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json
substack-ops mcp install claude-desktop      # auto-add to claude_desktop_config.json
substack-ops mcp install claude-code         # uses `claude mcp add` under the hood
substack-ops mcp install print               # print the snippet only
substack-ops mcp install cursor --dry-run    # preview without writing
substack-ops mcp serve                       # stdio server
substack-ops mcp list-tools                  # 26 tools

Manual config snippet (if you prefer):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "substack-ops": {
      "command": "substack-ops",
      "args": ["mcp", "serve"]
    }
  }
}

If the mcp SDK is not installed, the server falls back to a minimal stdin/stdout JSON-line dispatcher that's still useful for scripting:

echo '{"tool":"list_posts","args":{"limit":3}}' | substack-ops mcp serve

MCP-native draft loop (no API key)

3 tools designed to let your host LLM draft for you:

Tool	What it does
get_unanswered_comments	Returns the worklist: comments where you have not yet replied (any depth).
propose_reply	Dry-run only. Returns a token + payload preview. No write.
confirm_reply	Posts a previously-proposed reply by token. Idempotent via dedup DB. Token TTL 5 min.

Differentiator tools (the safety + drafting stack that makes the unattended mode safe): bulk_draft_replies, send_approved_drafts, audit_search, dedup_status, get_unanswered_comments, propose_reply, confirm_reply.

LLM strategy

Two layers, both free:

1. MCP-native (default). Host LLM drafts via propose_reply / confirm_reply. No env vars, no API key. Use this for interactive replies.
2. Subprocess CLI (daemon path). For reply auto / auto daemon when no human is in the loop. Auto-detects claude (Claude Code), cursor-agent, or codex on PATH. Override with SUBSTACK_OPS_LLM_CMD.

There is no paid-API-key path. If you want one, vendor the old _anthropic / _openai methods from substack-ops v0.2.0 yourself.

Textual TUI

substack-ops tui

6 tabs: Notes / Posts / Comments / Feed / Auto / Profile. Sub-tabs: 1=mine, 2=following, 3=general. Keys: tab, 1-3, ↑/↓, enter, r, l, s, o, q/esc.

Auth methods

substack-ops auth verify                  # uses mcp.json or env
substack-ops auth login                   # auto-grab cookies from Chrome (macOS Keychain)
substack-ops auth login --browser brave
substack-ops auth login --email me@x.com  # email magic-link, paste-the-link mode
substack-ops auth setup                   # interactive paste cookies

Architecture

mcp.json | env | Chrome | OTP  →  auth.py / auth_chrome.py / auth_otp.py
                                            │
                                  .cache/cookies.json
                                            │
                                  SubstackClient (httpx)
                                            │
   ┌──────┬──────┬───────┬───────┬───────┬──────┬──────┬─────┬──────┐
   ▼      ▼      ▼       ▼       ▼       ▼      ▼      ▼     ▼      ▼
 posts  notes  comments  feed  profile  users  recs  cats  ...   reply_engine
                                                                       │
                                                       ┌───────────────┼────────────┐
                                                       ▼               ▼            ▼
                                                  template       ai_review     ai_bulk + ai_auto
                                                       └───────────────┬────────────┘
                                                                       ▼
                                                            base.post_reply / post_note_reply
                                                                       │
                                                              ┌────────┼────────┐
                                                              ▼        ▼        ▼
                                                            dedup    audit  ancestor_path
                                                            (SQLite) (jsonl)  guardrail
   auto/engine.py ────────────────┐
   mcp/server.py  ──── 23 tools ──┼─── all share SubstackClient
   tui/app.py     ──── 6 tabs   ──┘

Endpoints used

Action	Method + URL
Auth check	GET https://substack.com/api/v1/subscriptions
List posts	GET {pub}/api/v1/archive
Post by id	GET {pub}/api/v1/posts/by-id/{id}
Post by slug	GET {pub}/api/v1/posts/{slug}
Post content	same as above; body_html field
Post search	GET {pub}/api/v1/archive?search=
Comments	GET {pub}/api/v1/post/{id}/comments?all_comments=true
Reply to comment	POST {pub}/api/v1/post/{id}/comment body {body, parent_id}
Add top-level comment	same with parent_id: null
React to post	POST {pub}/api/v1/post/{id}/reaction body {reaction}
Restack post	POST https://substack.com/api/v1/restack body {post_id}
Restack note	POST https://substack.com/api/v1/restack body {comment_id}
Delete post-comment	DELETE {pub}/api/v1/comment/{id} (PUB host)
Delete note	DELETE https://substack.com/api/v1/comment/{id} (BARE host)
My notes	GET https://substack.com/api/v1/reader/feed/profile/{user_id}
Note thread	GET https://substack.com/api/v1/reader/comment/{note_id}
Note replies	GET https://substack.com/api/v1/reader/comment/{note_id}/replies
Publish note	POST https://substack.com/api/v1/comment/feed body {bodyJson}
Reply to note	same with {bodyJson, parent_id} (NOT parent_comment_id — known M2 bug)
React to comment	POST {host}/api/v1/comment/{id}/reaction (host = pub for post-comments, substack.com for notes)
Recommendations	GET {pub}/api/v1/recommendations/from/{publication_id}
Authors	GET {pub}/api/v1/publication/users/ranked?public=true
Categories	GET https://substack.com/api/v1/categories
User profile	GET https://substack.com/api/v1/user/{handle}/public_profile (auto-redirects on 404)
Reader feed	GET https://substack.com/api/v1/reader/feed/{recommended|subscribed|category/{slug}}

Related MCPs

• slideshot — HTML → slides (PNG / PDF / PPTX); npm slideshot-mcp.
• medium-ops — Medium stories + responses + MCP (PyPI medium-ops).

Tests

uv run pytest -q     # 43 tests, ~0.6s, no live network

Coverage today: auth, client (read+write+engagement+delete), reply engine, dedup DB, audit log search, MCP tool registry & dispatcher, automation engine preset loader, the M2 parent_id regression test, the M2 host-mismatch regression test.

GSD workflow

.planning/ scaffold for Get Shit Done under ~/.claude/skills/gsd-*. Roadmap at .planning/ROADMAP.md, per-phase plans at .planning/phases/M*/PHASE.md.

Known gaps

• Full email stats (opens/clicks/views) — needs dashboard CSRF flow. Fallback: Playwright MCP scrape.
• Reactions endpoint shape on POST/DELETE not yet probed live; current shape is a best-guess from upstream tool catalogs.
• Auto-engine new_follower / new_note_from triggers are stubbed (return note: "trigger not yet implemented").
• TUI sub-tabs (1/2/3) and reply/like/restack key bindings are scaffolded but not wired to the client yet.
• Chrome cookie auto-grab tested only for macOS Chrome; Brave path included; Linux/Windows not supported.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.

The vendored httpx-port helpers under src/substack_ops/_substack/ are derived from the MIT-licensed NHagar/substack_api package — kept here so this repo ships zero runtime dependencies on third-party Substack libraries. Attribution preserved in each file's module docstring.