# Substack Scraper - Posts, Likes, Comments & Full Text (`datanest-labs/substack-scraper`) Actor

Scrape posts from any Substack newsletter (incl. custom domains): title, date, authors, likes, comments, restacks, word count, paid/free flag, podcast links and optional full text of free posts. Search within a newsletter.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/datanest-labs/substack-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Ergin Bekar](https://apify.com/datanest-labs) (community)
- **Categories:** News, Social media
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$1.00 / 1,000 post saveds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Substack Scraper: newsletter posts, engagement and full text

Export posts from **any Substack newsletter**, including those on custom domains such as lennysnewsletter.com or platformer.news.

For every post:

- Title, subtitle, URL, date, section, tags
- **Authors** (name, handle, profile link)
- **Engagement**: likes, comments, restacks
- Word count, paid vs. free, newsletter / podcast / thread type, podcast audio URL and duration
- Cover image and description
- Optional **full text** (plain text and HTML) of free posts, or the public preview of paid ones

### Use cases

- **Content & competitor research**: see which topics and formats drive the most likes and comments in your niche.
- **Sponsorship & partnership scouting**: evaluate newsletters by posting frequency and engagement before buying ads.
- **AI & RAG**: build a knowledge base from your favorite newsletters (free posts).
- **Archiving & analytics**: track a newsletter's history and growth signals over time.

### Input

```json
{
  "publications": ["lenny", "https://www.platformer.news"],
  "sort": "new",
  "maxPostsPerPublication": 100,
  "includeContent": true,
  "freeOnly": true
}
```

### Output

```json
{
  "publication": "www.lennysnewsletter.com",
  "id": 219482066,
  "title": "How to tell if a startup has a moat",
  "subtitle": "A framework for assessing...",
  "url": "https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-tell-if-a-startup-has-a-moat",
  "type": "newsletter",
  "audience": "only_paid",
  "isPaid": true,
  "postDate": "2026-10-13T12:45:41.160Z",
  "authors": [{ "name": "Dan Hockenmaier", "handle": "danhock", "url": "https://substack.com/@danhock" }],
  "likes": 375,
  "comments": 2,
  "restacks": 22,
  "wordCount": 4153,
  "coverImage": "https://substackcdn.com/...",
  "contentText": "...",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-30T10:00:00.000Z"
}
```

### Notes

- Paid posts: only metadata and the public preview are available. The Actor never bypasses paywalls.
- Pricing: **pay per post** saved.

# Actor input Schema

## `publications` (type: `array`):

Subdomain (e.g. lenny), \*.substack.com URL or custom domain (e.g. https://www.lennysnewsletter.com).

## `sort` (type: `string`):

Newest posts or the most popular ones.

## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):

Only posts matching this keyword.

## `maxPostsPerPublication` (type: `integer`):

0 = entire archive.

## `postedWithinDays` (type: `integer`):

Only posts from the last N days. 0 = no limit.

## `freeOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Skip paywalled posts.

## `includeContent` (type: `boolean`):

Fetch the full post body (text + HTML). Paid posts only include the public preview.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "publications": [
    "https://www.lennysnewsletter.com",
    "https://www.astralcodexten.com"
  ],
  "sort": "new",
  "searchQuery": "",
  "maxPostsPerPublication": 20,
  "postedWithinDays": 0,
  "freeOnly": false,
  "includeContent": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

All posts saved to the default dataset.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "publications": [
        "https://www.lennysnewsletter.com",
        "https://www.astralcodexten.com"
    ],
    "maxPostsPerPublication": 20
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("datanest-labs/substack-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "publications": [
        "https://www.lennysnewsletter.com",
        "https://www.astralcodexten.com",
    ],
    "maxPostsPerPublication": 20,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("datanest-labs/substack-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "publications": [
    "https://www.lennysnewsletter.com",
    "https://www.astralcodexten.com"
  ],
  "maxPostsPerPublication": 20
}' |
apify call datanest-labs/substack-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,datanest-labs/substack-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/Pe4hWaTk1k1prNTMa/builds/vUjT50TGk4YWni6WQ/openapi.json