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substack-ops

PyPI version PyPI downloads Python 3.12+ License: MIT MCP compatible MCP Registry Anthropic DXT Glama MCP server MCP Badge CI

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.

Related MCP server: substack-mcp

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}}

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.

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