# Substack Notes Scraper 🔍 (`easyapi/substack-notes-scraper`) Actor

Extract notes and comments from Substack's search results with images, user info, and engagement metrics. Perfect for content analysis, user research, and tracking discussions around specific topics on Substack.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/easyapi/substack-notes-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [EasyApi](https://apify.com/easyapi) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, Integrations, Other
- **Stats:** 83 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 3 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.99 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.

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 Notes Scraper 🔍

Extract valuable content and engagement data from Substack Notes search results. This actor helps you gather insights about discussions, trends, and user engagement around specific topics on Substack's social platform.

### 🎯 Use Cases

- Monitor discussions around specific keywords or topics
- Track user engagement and content performance
- Analyze visual content trends through attached images
- Research user behavior and community interactions
- Gather social proof and testimonials
- Track competitor activities and engagement

### ✨ Features

- 🔎 Search-based data extraction
- 👤 Detailed user information (name, handle, bio)
- 📊 Engagement metrics (reactions, restacks, comments)
- 🖼️ Image attachments with dimensions
- ⏱️ Timestamp data for temporal analysis
- 🔄 Automatic pagination handling
- 🚀 Stealth mode to avoid detection

### 🔢 Output

The actor provides detailed JSON output including:

- User profile information
- Note content and metadata
- Engagement metrics
- Image attachments
- Timestamps
- Search context

### 💡 Input Parameters

- `keywords` (Array): List of keywords to search for
- `maxItems` (Number): Maximum number of items to scrape
- `proxyConfiguration` (Object): Proxy settings (optional)

### 📌 Limitations

- Respects Substack's rate limits and terms of service
- Search results are limited to public notes
- Image downloads require additional processing

### 💪 Tips for Best Results

1. Use specific keywords for targeted results
2. Adjust `maxItems` based on your needs
3. Consider using proxies for large-scale scraping
4. Allow sufficient run time for complete data collection

#### Input Example

A full explanation of an input example in JSON.

```json
{
    "keywords": [
        "sale"
    ],
    "maxItems": 50
}
```

#### Output sample

The results will be wrapped into a dataset which you can always find in the **Storage** tab. Here's an excerpt from the data you'd get if you apply the input parameters above:

And here is the same data but in JSON. You can choose in which format to download your data: JSON, JSONL, Excel spreadsheet, HTML table, CSV, or XML.

```json
[
    {
        "keyword": "sale",
        "entityKey": "c-91995525",
        "type": "comment",
        "user": {
            "id": 310653644,
            "name": "Chris Sale",
            "handle": "chrissalephoto",
            "photoUrl": "https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b5673547-b3db-4089-9e43-f32170dba61b_96x96.jpeg",
            "bio": "Landscape photographer based in Cumbria. Sharing stories from the Eden Valley and the North Pennines. "
        },
        "comment": {
            "id": 91995525,
            "body": "Bothy | Melmerby Fell, North Pennines AONB | February 2025",
            "date": "2025-02-08T14:19:40.888Z",
            "reactionCount": 60,
            "reactions": {
                "❤": 60
            },
            "restacks": 1,
            "childrenCount": 5
        },
        "attachments": [
            {
                "id": "5a9aef05-696f-4bb5-a9bf-45807bcaf2da",
                "type": "image",
                "imageUrl": "https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/8bc060ec-f0c6-43a4-b4b8-6ca80b54cec9_2160x2700.jpeg",
                "imageWidth": 2160,
                "imageHeight": 2700
            }
        ],
        "scrapedAt": "2025-02-10T05:59:15.575Z"
    },
    ...
]
```

### Related Actors

- 📚 [Substack People Scraper](https://apify.com/easyapi/substack-people-scraper) - Extract comprehensive Substack author and publication data using keywords
- 📚 [Substack Posts Scraper](https://apify.com/easyapi/substack-posts-scraper) - Scrape Substack posts and articles with comprehensive post data
- 📚 [Substack Publications Scraper](https://apify.com/easyapi/substack-publications-scraper) - Get detailed publication information from Substack based on keywords
- 📊 [Substack Leaderboard Scraper](https://apify.com/easyapi/substack-leaderboard-scraper) - Extract detailed publication data from Substack leaderboards
- 📝 [Article Content Extractor](https://apify.com/easyapi/article-content-extractor) - Extract clean article content and metadata from any web page
- 🔍 [Text Sentiment Analysis](https://apify.com/easyapi/text-sentiment-analysis) - Analyze the sentiment of text content with detailed sentiment breakdown
- 📧 [Discover & Verify Professional Emails](https://apify.com/easyapi/discover-verify-professional-emails) - Find and verify professional email addresses instantly
- 🔍 [Keyword Discovery Tool](https://apify.com/easyapi/keyword-discovery-tool) - Discover new keyword ideas and valuable search insights
- 🔍 [Reddit Posts Search Scraper](https://apify.com/easyapi/reddit-posts-search-scraper) - Extract Reddit posts with rich metadata from search results
- 💬 [Reddit Comments Search Scraper](https://apify.com/easyapi/reddit-comments-search-scraper) - Search and extract Reddit comments with advanced filtering options
- 📱 [Medium Posts Search Scraper](https://apify.com/easyapi/medium-posts-search-scraper) - Extract comprehensive article data from Medium's search results
- 📱 [Medium User Posts Scraper](https://apify.com/easyapi/medium-user-posts-scraper) - Extract detailed post data from Medium user profiles
- 📱 [Tumblr Posts Scraper](https://apify.com/easyapi/tumblr-posts-scraper) - Scrape Tumblr blog posts with media content and engagement metrics
- 🔍 [Tumblr Tags Scraper](https://apify.com/easyapi/tumblr-tags-scraper) - Extract comprehensive Tumblr tag data and trending posts
- 🌟 [Tumblr Community Search Scraper](https://apify.com/easyapi/tumblr-community-search-scraper) - Extract valuable insights from Tumblr communities

# Actor input Schema

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

List of keywords to search for in Substack Notes

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of items to scrape (default: 50)

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Proxy settings for the scraper

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "keywords": [
    "sale"
  ],
  "maxItems": 50,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true
  }
}
```

# 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 = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("easyapi/substack-notes-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 = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("easyapi/substack-notes-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 '{}' |
apify call easyapi/substack-notes-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,easyapi/substack-notes-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/xnqmD0qoSZLZPDghC/builds/vERYu9FsF9aTa7oZf/openapi.json