Pp Substack
Run Substack notes, drafts, portfolio sync, and growth analytics from a CLI while your agent handles the weekly publishing loop.
Overview
pp-substack is an agent skill most often used in Grow (also Launch distribution) that runs Substack publishing, scheduling, portfolio sync, and growth analytics via the substack-pp-cli.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library --skill pp-substackWhat is this skill?
- CLI-driven loop: publish rich drafts, schedule notes, and sync a multi-publication portfolio
- Growth ops: find swap partners, analyze which notes drove subs, and check engagement reciprocity
- Authoring helpers: voice-match notes and timing guidance for when to post
- Search and reporting across publications: top posts and portfolio-wide post search
- Requires `substack-pp-cli` (Go); install via Printing Press library module when missing
Adoption & trust: 1 installs on skills.sh; 1.5k GitHub stars; 1/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits); trending (+100% hot-view momentum).
What problem does it solve?
You publish on Substack but growth work is scattered across dashboards, calendars, and spreadsheets, so you cannot quickly see what content earned subs or schedule a consistent notes cadence.
Who is it for?
Indie writers and founders treating Substack as a primary growth channel who want agent-assisted publishing and measurable note performance.
Skip if: Builders who do not use Substack, need fully GUI-only workflows, or cannot install or approve the Go CLI on their machine.
When should I use this skill?
Trigger phrases such as post a substack note, schedule a week of substack notes, find substack swap partners, which of my notes drove subs, create a substack draft, sync my substack portfolio, or run substack.
What do I get? / Deliverables
Your agent executes a repeatable CLI workflow—drafts, scheduled notes, portfolio sync, and engagement reports—so you ship content on rhythm and double down on posts that convert.
- Published or scheduled Substack drafts and Notes
- Portfolio sync and cross-publication search reports
- Growth analytics outputs (top posts, sub attribution, reciprocity)
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Substack authoring and subscriber growth compound after you have something to say—canonical shelf is Grow/content even when you also distribute at Launch. The skill centers on notes, drafts, voice-matching, and reciprocity metrics—core content operations—not app-store or paid ads setup.
Where it fits
Schedule a week of Substack Notes and voice-match drafts before they go live.
Establish a reliable weekly publishing cadence right after you start promoting the publication.
Pull which notes drove subs and check engagement reciprocity to decide the next topic.
How it compares
CLI-orchestrated Substack ops skill—not a generic SEO article writer or an in-browser Substack automation extension.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is pp-substack for?
Solo builders and newsletter operators using agentic coding tools who standardize on the Printing Press substack-pp-cli for authoring and growth tasks.
When should I use pp-substack?
In Grow/content when scheduling notes, voice-matching drafts, or reviewing which posts drove subscribers; at Launch/distribution when standing up a weekly publishing cadence; and in Grow/lifecycle when syncing a multi-publication portfolio.
Is pp-substack safe to install?
The skill allows Read and Bash to run a local CLI that may touch network APIs—review credentials handling and the Security Audits panel on this page before installing from the Printing Press library repo.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Pp Substack
<!-- GENERATED FILE — DO NOT EDIT. This file is a verbatim mirror of library/media-and-entertainment/substack/SKILL.md, regenerated post-merge by tools/generate-skills/. Hand-edits here are silently overwritten on the next regen. Edit the library/ source instead. See the repository agent guide, section "Generated artifacts: registry.json, cli-skills/". --> # Substack — Printing Press CLI ## Prerequisites: Install the CLI This skill drives the `substack-pp-cli` binary. **You must verify the CLI is installed before invoking any command from this skill.** If it is missing, install it first: 1. Install via the Printing Press installer. It defaults binaries to `$HOME/.local/bin` on macOS/Linux and `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\PrintingPress\bin` on Windows: ```bash npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install substack --cli-only ``` 2. Verify: `substack-pp-cli --version` 3. Ensure the reported install directory is on `$PATH` for the agent/runtime that will invoke this skill. If the `npx` install fails (no Node, offline, etc.), fall back to a direct Go install (requires Go 1.26.3 or newer): ```bash go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/media-and-entertainment/substack/cmd/substack-pp-cli@latest ``` If `--version` reports "command not found" after install, the runtime cannot see the binary directory on `$PATH`. Do not proceed with skill commands until verification succeeds. ## When to Use This CLI Reach for this CLI when an agent needs to operate a Substack publication end-to-end: posting Notes on a cadence, drafting and publishing long-form, engaging with niche writers, finding swap partners, and measuring which content actually drove subs. It is the right pick over WriteStack/StackSweller when you need agent-native plumbing (--json, --select, --dry-run, typed exit codes), offline-first analytics (every join runs locally over SQLite), or coverage of the writer surface those tools don't expose. Engage write actions (`engage like`, `engage restack`, `engage restack-with-comment`) print a curl-equivalent by default and only fire with `--send`; treat the print-curl output as a preflight, not a live action. ## Unique Capabilities These capabilities aren't available in any other tool for this API. ### Local state that compounds - **`growth attribution`** — Connect every Note you posted to the paid and free subscribers that actually arrived in the 24-hour window after, so you stop guessing which content drove growth. _Pick this over a generic stats call when an agent needs to decide which Note formats to repeat next week._ ```bash substack-pp-cli growth attribution --days 30 --json --select rank,note_id,note_excerpt,subs_acquired,paid_subs_acquired ``` - **`engage reciprocity`** — See net-give/net-take per writer you engage with — who reciprocates your restacks/comments, who quietly free-rides on yours. _Use when an agent is deciding whether to keep investing in a swap partner; surfaces relationships before they go st