# Substack Newsletter & Author Leads Scraper (`fastdata_lab/substack-posts-scraper`) Actor

Extract newsletter post archives, author bylines, social profiles, reaction counts, and podcast episodes from any Substack publication with zero browser overhead.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/fastdata_lab/substack-posts-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Nimit Aggarwal](https://apify.com/fastdata_lab) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 60.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 results

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 Newsletter & Author Leads Scraper

[![Run on Apify](https://apify.com/actor-badge?actor=fastdata_lab/substack-posts-scraper)](https://apify.com/fastdata_lab/substack-posts-scraper)

Extracts newsletter post archives, author bylines, engagement metrics, and podcast episodes from any Substack publication without running a headless browser.

[**Run directly on Apify Store**](https://apify.com/fastdata_lab/substack-posts-scraper) — zero setup required.

### What it does

This Actor queries Substack's public API endpoints (`/api/v1/posts`) for one or more target publications. It retrieves post archives, author profiles, word counts, reaction/comment numbers, and direct audio files for podcast episodes.

Because it connects directly via HTTP streams rather than spinning up a browser automation engine (Puppeteer or Playwright), runs finish in 2–5 seconds and consume minimal compute resources.

### Extracted data fields

For every post retrieved, the actor outputs:

- `id`: Unique numeric post identifier
- `title`: Post headline
- `subtitle`: Subtitle / deck
- `url`: Canonical post URL
- `slug`: URL slug
- `postDate`: ISO publication timestamp
- `audience`: Access level (`everyone` or `only_paid`)
- `isPaid`: Boolean flag (true if subscriber paywalled)
- `reactions`: Like / reaction count
- `comments`: Total comment count
- `restacks`: Total restacks / shares
- `wordCount`: Total word count
- `description`: Excerpt or meta description
- `coverImageUrl`: Banner or header image URL
- `type`: Content format (`newsletter`, `podcast`, etc.)
- `podcastUrl`: Direct audio file URL (if an episode)
- `podcastDuration`: Audio duration in seconds
- `publicationId`: Numeric publication ID
- `publicationUrl`: Base publication URL
- `authorName`: Primary author display name
- `authorHandle`: Substack profile handle
- `authorBio`: Author biography
- `authorPhotoUrl`: Author avatar image URL
- `authorPublicationUrl`: Author's primary personal publication URL
- `scrapedAt`: ISO extraction timestamp

### Input parameters

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `publications` | array | `["lenny", "pragmaticengineer"]` | List of Substack subdomains (`lenny`), full URLs (`https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com`), or custom domains (`sinocism.com`) |
| `maxPostsPerPublication` | integer | `30` | Maximum number of posts to retrieve per publication |
| `sort` | string | `"new"` | Sort order: `new` (newest first), `top` (most popular), or `search` |
| `audienceFilter` | string | `"all"` | Filter by access level: `all`, `free_only`, or `paid_only` |

### Example output

```json
{
  "id": 219482066,
  "title": "How to tell if a startup has a moat",
  "subtitle": "A framework for assessing whether the company you're considering joining is built to last",
  "url": "https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-tell-if-a-startup-has-a-moat",
  "slug": "how-to-tell-if-a-startup-has-a-moat",
  "postDate": "2026-10-13T12:45:41.160Z",
  "audience": "only_paid",
  "isPaid": true,
  "reactions": 360,
  "comments": 2,
  "restacks": 20,
  "wordCount": 4153,
  "description": "A framework for assessing whether the company you're considering joining is built to last",
  "coverImageUrl": "https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/.../fb5a8d5c-1e31-45f5-b9f8-93426e87a971_1456x970.png",
  "type": "newsletter",
  "podcastUrl": null,
  "podcastDuration": null,
  "publicationId": 10845,
  "publicationUrl": "https://lenny.substack.com",
  "authorName": "Dan Hockenmaier",
  "authorHandle": "danhock",
  "authorBio": "Strategy, growth, and marketplaces. Always trying to separate signal from noise.",
  "authorPhotoUrl": "https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/.../7e1bdeea-74f6-48f7-8d3f-d42dc03bbc08_1080x1080.png",
  "authorPublicationUrl": "https://www.danhock.co",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-24T13:05:13.937987+00:00"
}
```

### Limitations

- Only extracts posts published publicly on publication web feeds.
- Private subscriber-only body text behind paywalls is not extracted; paywalled posts contain post metadata, word counts, and excerpts.

# Actor input Schema

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

List of Substack publication subdomains, URLs, or custom domains (e.g. 'lenny', 'https://newsletter.pragmaticengineer.com', 'sinocism.com').

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

Maximum number of posts to extract per publication.

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

Sort order for posts.

## `audienceFilter` (type: `string`):

Filter posts by audience access level.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "publications": [
    "lenny",
    "pragmaticengineer"
  ],
  "maxPostsPerPublication": 30,
  "sort": "new",
  "audienceFilter": "all"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

No description

# 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": [
        "lenny",
        "pragmaticengineer"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("fastdata_lab/substack-posts-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": [
        "lenny",
        "pragmaticengineer",
    ] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("fastdata_lab/substack-posts-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": [
    "lenny",
    "pragmaticengineer"
  ]
}' |
apify call fastdata_lab/substack-posts-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,fastdata_lab/substack-posts-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/7dMyqkLLEPtx61zQL/builds/2g5bTvJhBYI16uCPC/openapi.json