Substack API Scraper: Posts, Authors & Newsletters

🧭 Public Substack data for research and archives

This Actor is for researchers, newsletter teams, analysts, and developers who need public Substack data. It returns structured post, publication, and comment rows with links, authors, dates, access status, engagement, discovery context, and quality notes. Use it to build a research table, check a publication, or collect a public post thread without manual copying.

• Read a publication archive with Substack API Posts.
• Retrieve public posts from their links with Substack Newsletter Scraper.
• Read a publication profile with Substack Publication Scraper.
• Search posts inside a publication with Substack API Search.
• Find publications by a topic with Substack Topic Discovery.
• Find ranked publications in a category with Substack Category Discovery.
• Find public publication data with Substack API Publications.
• Read Substack API Documentation before planning a public data workflow.
• Check Substack API Key guidance when choosing an access method.
• Try a general public-data run with Substack API.

🧾 See the Substack data you can use

Post rows hold public post identity, editorial fields, access status, author details, publication context, engagement, media, audio, and content when requested. Publication rows hold public identity, branding, setup details, and the category, topic, or recommendation value that led to the row. Comment rows hold public comment text, author details, time, engagement, depth, parent information, and post context.

The Actor reads public Substack surfaces. It does not need a Substack login or API key. Restricted posts keep public metadata and previews, while subscriber-only body content is not promised.

▶️ Choose a Substack task

How a run works

1. Choose one target in the input form.
2. Add the matching publication, post URL, category, topic, or post query.
3. Add filters when you need a narrower set of posts.
4. Turn on public article content only when you need HTML and readable text.
5. Start the run, then open the dataset or the source-availability report.

Use one shared target and filter setup for each run. A list of same-kind publication targets is supported. Handles, Substack subdomain URLs, and supported custom-domain URLs can be used for publication targets.

⚙️ Input

Input fields

Field	Type	What it does
target	string	Required. Choose publicationArchive, post, publicationDetails, categoryDiscovery, topicDiscovery, publicationRecommendations, publicationSearch, or postComments.
category	string	Required for categoryDiscovery. Enter the category used by Substack's public discovery view.
ranking	string	Required for categoryDiscovery. Enter the ranking view used with the category.
topic	string	Required for topicDiscovery. Enter free text for the public publication search.
publicationTargets	array of strings	Add public publication handles, Substack subdomain URLs, or supported custom-domain URLs. Used by archive, details, recommendations, and publication search targets. For recommendations, each publication is the source.
postUrls	array of objects	Add canonical public post URLs for post retrieval or comment threads.
postUrls[].url	string	The full canonical public post URL.
postQuery	string	Optional for publicationArchive and required for publicationSearch. Use text from a post title or subtitle. Other targets ignore it.
dateFrom	string	Optional lower date bound for post targets. Use a UTC date in YYYY-MM-DD form.
dateTo	string	Optional upper date bound for post targets. Use a UTC date in YYYY-MM-DD form.
audience	string	Optional post filter. Choose all, free, or paid. Discovery and publication-details targets ignore it.
languages	array of strings	Optional language filter for discovered publications and post results. Add language names or codes. Other targets ignore it.
postTypes	array of strings	Optional post type filter. Choose newsletter, podcast, thread, or video. Non-post targets ignore it.
authors	array of strings	Optional post filter. Add author names or public handles. Non-post targets ignore it.
tags	array of strings	Optional post filter. Add publication tag names. Non-post targets ignore it.
minReactions	integer	Optional minimum reaction count for post results. Non-post targets ignore it.
minComments	integer	Optional minimum comment count for post results. Non-post targets ignore it.
minWords	integer	Optional minimum word count for post results. Non-post targets ignore it.
sortBy	string	Optional post order. Choose newest, oldest, popularity, engagement, or length. Targets that do not return posts ignore it.
includeArticleContent	boolean	When true, fetch complete public article HTML and readable text when available. It applies to archive, post, and publication-search targets. Restricted posts still return public previews only.
maxItems	integer	Optional positive limit on saved rows. It can stop archive, discovery, search, and comment work early. Leave it empty to return all available results until the source is exhausted.

Default input

This is the complete public input from a successful current-beta default run:

{
  "target": "publicationArchive",
  "publicationTargets": [
    "arxivblog"
  ],
  "includeArticleContent": false
}

🧾 Output

Output links

Field	Type	What it does
results	URL	Opens the default dataset with successful post, publication, and comment rows.
sourceAvailability	URL	Opens the run report for unavailable sources and fetch failures.

Every dataset row has a resultType value. The value is post, publication, or comment. The tables below cover each shape.

Post rows

Field	Type	What it does
resultType	string	Identifies this as a post row.
post	object	Groups post identity, content, publication, and engagement data.
post.id	string	Public post ID for joining or checking the source row, when available.
post.url	string	Canonical public post URL.
post.title	string	Public post title.
post.description	string	Public subtitle or description, when available.
post.publishedAt	string	Post publication time.
post.postType	string	Source post type, such as newsletter, podcast, thread, or video.
post.accessStatus	string	Says whether the post is public, paid, or otherwise restricted.
post.authors	array of objects	Public post byline details.
post.authors[]	object	One public post author.
post.authors[].name	string	Public author name.
post.authors[].handle	string	Public author handle, when available.
post.authors[].id	string	Public author ID, when available.
post.authors[].url	string	Public author profile URL, when available.
post.publication	object	Publication context for the post.
post.publication.id	string	Public publication ID, when available.
post.publication.name	string	Public publication name.
post.publication.handle	string	Public publication handle, when available.
post.publication.url	string	Public publication URL.
post.publication.domain	string	Publication domain, when available.
post.publication.description	string	Public publication description, when available.
post.publication.authors	array of objects	Available public publication authors.
post.publication.authors[]	object	One public publication author.
post.publication.authors[].name	string	Public publication author name.
post.publication.authors[].handle	string	Public publication author handle, when available.
post.publication.authors[].id	string	Public publication author ID, when available.
post.publication.authors[].url	string	Public publication author profile URL, when available.
post.publication.category	string	Publication category, when available.
post.publication.language	string	Publication language or language code, when available.
post.publication.branding	object	Public publication branding, when available.
post.publication.branding.logoUrl	string	Public publication logo URL, when available.
post.publication.branding.coverImageUrl	string	Public publication cover image URL, when available.
post.publication.branding.accentColor	string	Publication accent color, when available.
post.publication.setup	object	Public publication setup details, when available.
post.publication.setup.subscriptionStatus	string	Public subscription status, when available.
post.publication.setup.hasFoundingPlan	boolean	Whether a public founding plan is available, when shown.
post.publication.setup.hasCommunity	boolean	Whether a public community is available, when shown.
post.publication.setup.createdAt	string	Publication creation time, when available.
post.engagement	object	Public post engagement counts and score, when available.
post.engagement.reactionCount	integer	Number of post reactions, when available.
post.engagement.commentCount	integer	Number of post comments, when available.
post.engagement.restackCount	integer	Number of post restacks, when available.
post.engagement.score	number	Aggregate source engagement measure, when available.
post.reactionBreakdown	array of objects	Count for each reaction type exposed by the source.
post.reactionBreakdown[]	object	One reaction type and count.
post.reactionBreakdown[].type	string	Reaction type.
post.reactionBreakdown[].count	integer	Count for that reaction type.
post.wordCount	integer	Post word count, when available.
post.language	string	Post language or language code, when available.
post.media	object	Public cover and in-article image references, when available.
post.media.coverImage	object	Cover image reference, when available.
post.media.coverImage.url	string	Public cover image URL.
post.media.coverImage.altText	string	Cover image alt text, when available.
post.media.coverImage.caption	string	Cover image caption, when available.
post.media.images	array of objects	In-article image references, when available.
post.media.images[]	object	One in-article image reference.
post.media.images[].url	string	Public in-article image URL.
post.media.images[].altText	string	Image alt text, when available.
post.media.images[].caption	string	Image caption, when available.
post.audio	object	Audio details for an audio post, when available.
post.audio.url	string	Public audio file URL.
post.audio.durationSeconds	number	Audio duration in seconds, when available.
post.content	object	Full public article or public preview, when available.
post.content.html	string	Article HTML, when available.
post.content.text	string	Readable article text, when available.
post.content.isComplete	boolean	Says whether the content is the full public body instead of a preview.
quality	object	Confidence and source-data warnings for the row.
quality.confidence	string	Confidence level for the row fields.
quality.warnings	array of strings	Notes about missing or uncertain source data.
quality.warnings[]	string	One warning about missing or uncertain source data.

Current-beta post row

{
  "resultType": "post",
  "post": {
    "url": "https://arxivblog.substack.com/p/next-generation-ai-attack-vectors",
    "title": "Next generation AI attack vectors will be ideas, say Anthropic researchers",
    "publishedAt": "2026-08-21T17:08:27.058Z",
    "postType": "newsletter",
    "accessStatus": "public",
    "id": "212161880",
    "description": "Computer scientists have bred self-propagating \"mind viruses\" that spread from one AI agent to the next through ordinary conversation — no hacking required",
    "authors": [
      {
        "name": "Physics arXiv Blog",
        "handle": "physicsarxivblog",
        "id": "75337004"
      }
    ],
    "publication": {
      "name": "Emerging Technology from the arXiv",
      "url": "https://arxivblog.substack.com/",
      "id": "5026881",
      "handle": "arxivblog",
      "domain": "arxivblog.substack.com",
      "description": "Technology. Science. Insight.",
      "authors": [
        {
          "name": "Physics arXiv Blog",
          "handle": "physicsarxivblog",
          "id": "75337004"
        }
      ],
      "language": "en",
      "branding": {
        "logoUrl": "https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-WgM!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3743002d-f5ed-4304-9f23-701618b0b1d2_1280x1280.png",
        "accentColor": "#FF6719"
      },
      "setup": {
        "subscriptionStatus": "paid",
        "hasFoundingPlan": true,
        "hasCommunity": true,
        "createdAt": "2025-05-15T12:12:29.439Z"
      }
    },
    "engagement": {
      "reactionCount": 30,
      "commentCount": 0,
      "restackCount": 13,
      "score": 43
    },
    "reactionBreakdown": [
      {
        "type": "❤",
        "count": 30
      }
    ],
    "wordCount": 1113,
    "language": "en",
    "media": {
      "coverImage": {
        "url": "https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!jAvp!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F47f0a7f9-f2cd-4927-9bb6-539ad99de42d_550x665.png"
      }
    },
    "audio": {
      "url": "https://substack-video.s3.amazonaws.com/video_upload/post/212161880/tts/5cbb9c7b-74ce-4fe0-9b74-bd84b8e5cfde/en-GB-AdaMultilingualNeural.mp3"
    }
  },
  "quality": {
    "confidence": "high",
    "warnings": []
  }
}

Publication rows

Field	Type	What it does
resultType	string	Identifies this as a publication row.
publication	object	Groups public publication identity, context, branding, and setup data.
publication.id	string	Public publication ID, when available.
publication.name	string	Public publication name.
publication.handle	string	Public publication handle, when available.
publication.url	string	Public publication URL.
publication.domain	string	Publication domain, when available.
publication.description	string	Public publication description, when available.
publication.authors	array of objects	Available public publication authors.
publication.authors[]	object	One public publication author.
publication.authors[].name	string	Public author name.
publication.authors[].handle	string	Public author handle, when available.
publication.authors[].id	string	Public author ID, when available.
publication.authors[].url	string	Public author profile URL, when available.
publication.category	string	Publication category, when available.
publication.language	string	Publication language or language code, when available.
publication.branding	object	Public publication branding, when available.
publication.branding.logoUrl	string	Public publication logo URL, when available.
publication.branding.coverImageUrl	string	Public publication cover image URL, when available.
publication.branding.accentColor	string	Publication accent color, when available.
publication.setup	object	Public publication setup details, when available.
publication.setup.subscriptionStatus	string	Public subscription status, when available.
publication.setup.hasFoundingPlan	boolean	Whether a public founding plan is available, when shown.
publication.setup.hasCommunity	boolean	Whether a public community is available, when shown.
publication.setup.createdAt	string	Publication creation time, when available.
discovery	object	The category, topic, or publication value that produced the row, when available.
discovery.method	string	Discovery method, such as category, topic, or recommendation.
discovery.value	string	Submitted category, topic, handle, or URL that produced the row.
discovery.ranking	string	Category ranking view used for discovery, when applicable.
quality	object	Confidence and source-data warnings for the row.
quality.confidence	string	Confidence level for the row fields.
quality.warnings	array of strings	Notes about missing or uncertain source data.
quality.warnings[]	string	One warning about missing or uncertain source data.

Current-beta publication row

{
  "resultType": "publication",
  "publication": {
    "name": "Emerging Technology from the arXiv",
    "url": "https://arxivblog.substack.com/",
    "id": "5026881",
    "handle": "arxivblog",
    "domain": "arxivblog.substack.com",
    "description": "Technology. Science. Insight.",
    "authors": [
      {
        "name": "Physics arXiv Blog",
        "handle": "physicsarxivblog",
        "id": "75337004"
      }
    ],
    "language": "en",
    "branding": {
      "logoUrl": "https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-WgM!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F3743002d-f5ed-4304-9f23-701618b0b1d2_1280x1280.png",
      "accentColor": "#FF6719"
    },
    "setup": {
      "subscriptionStatus": "paid",
      "hasFoundingPlan": true,
      "hasCommunity": true,
      "createdAt": "2025-05-15T12:12:29.439Z"
    }
  },
  "quality": {
    "confidence": "high",
    "warnings": []
  }
}

Comment rows

Field	Type	What it does
resultType	string	Identifies this as a comment row.
comment	object	Groups comment text, author, time, engagement, and thread relationship data.
comment.id	string	Public comment ID, when available.
comment.body	string	Public comment body.
comment.createdAt	string	Time when the comment was posted.
comment.author	object	Public comment author details, when available.
comment.author.name	string	Public author name, when available.
comment.author.handle	string	Public author handle, when available.
comment.author.id	string	Public author ID, when available.
comment.author.url	string	Public author profile URL, when available.
comment.engagement	object	Public comment engagement counts and score, when available.
comment.engagement.reactionCount	integer	Number of comment reactions, when available.
comment.engagement.replyCount	integer	Number of direct replies, when available.
comment.engagement.score	number	Aggregate source comment engagement measure, when available.
comment.depth	integer	Comment depth in the thread. A root comment is 0.
comment.parentId	string	Public parent comment ID, when this is a reply.
comment.post	object	Public post that contains the comment.
comment.post.id	string	Public post ID, when available.
comment.post.title	string	Public post title, when available.
comment.post.url	string	Canonical public post URL.
comment.post.publication	object	Publication context for the commented post, when available.
comment.post.publication.id	string	Public publication ID, when available.
comment.post.publication.name	string	Public publication name.
comment.post.publication.handle	string	Public publication handle, when available.
comment.post.publication.url	string	Public publication URL.
comment.post.publication.domain	string	Publication domain, when available.
comment.post.publication.description	string	Public publication description, when available.
comment.post.publication.authors	array of objects	Available public publication authors.
comment.post.publication.authors[]	object	One public publication author.
comment.post.publication.authors[].name	string	Public author name.
comment.post.publication.authors[].handle	string	Public author handle, when available.
comment.post.publication.authors[].id	string	Public author ID, when available.
comment.post.publication.authors[].url	string	Public author profile URL, when available.
comment.post.publication.category	string	Publication category, when available.
comment.post.publication.language	string	Publication language or language code, when available.
comment.post.publication.branding	object	Public publication branding, when available.
comment.post.publication.branding.logoUrl	string	Public publication logo URL, when available.
comment.post.publication.branding.coverImageUrl	string	Public publication cover image URL, when available.
comment.post.publication.branding.accentColor	string	Publication accent color, when available.
comment.post.publication.setup	object	Public publication setup details, when available.
comment.post.publication.setup.subscriptionStatus	string	Public subscription status, when available.
comment.post.publication.setup.hasFoundingPlan	boolean	Whether a public founding plan is available, when shown.
comment.post.publication.setup.hasCommunity	boolean	Whether a public community is available, when shown.
comment.post.publication.setup.createdAt	string	Publication creation time, when available.
quality	object	Confidence and source-data warnings for the row.
quality.confidence	string	Confidence level for the row fields.
quality.warnings	array of strings	Notes about missing or uncertain source data.
quality.warnings[]	string	One warning about missing or uncertain source data.

Current-beta comment row

{
  "resultType": "comment",
  "comment": {
    "body": "Yep! Spec decoding doesn't reduce the work, it just converts memory-bound idle time into tokens i.e. compute you'd already paid for.",
    "createdAt": "2026-08-26T19:35:43.743Z",
    "depth": 0,
    "post": {
      "url": "https://blog.bytebytego.com/p/how-to-make-llms-3x-faster",
      "id": "212180385",
      "title": "How to Make LLMs 3X Faster",
      "publication": {
        "name": "ByteByteGo Newsletter",
        "url": "https://blog.bytebytego.com/",
        "id": "817132",
        "handle": "bytebytego",
        "domain": "blog.bytebytego.com",
        "description": "Explain complex systems with simple terms, from the authors of the best-selling system design book series. Join over 1,000,000 friendly readers.",
        "authors": [
          {
            "name": "Alex Xu",
            "handle": "bytebytego",
            "id": "22329494"
          },
          {
            "name": "Sahn Lam",
            "handle": "sahnlam",
            "id": "55391021"
          },
          {
            "name": "ByteByteGo",
            "handle": "bytebytego399569",
            "id": "106455990"
          }
        ],
        "language": "en",
        "branding": {
          "logoUrl": "https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1eXV!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8a5609ae-1239-4400-9491-6010a15c4d60_504x504.png",
          "coverImageUrl": "https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/a4e1c1bd-03ee-4126-b3e4-19553b2d2fc6_1279x821.png",
          "accentColor": "#9D6FFF"
        },
        "setup": {
          "subscriptionStatus": "paid",
          "hasFoundingPlan": true,
          "hasCommunity": true,
          "createdAt": "2022-03-27T03:36:45.845Z"
        }
      }
    },
    "id": "323271360",
    "author": {
      "name": "Mitchell Kosowski",
      "handle": "mitchellkosowski",
      "id": "803879"
    },
    "engagement": {
      "reactionCount": 0,
      "replyCount": 0,
      "score": 1
    }
  },
  "quality": {
    "confidence": "high",
    "warnings": []
  }
}

💳 Pricing

How billing works

Pricing is pay per event. An event is charged when the matching public row is saved. The exact rate depends on the event and the Apify plan tier.

Event	Charge
substack-post-retrieved	One saved public post. The rates are $0.0018 on FREE, $0.0009 on BRONZE, $0.0007 on SILVER, $0.0005 on GOLD, $0.00035 on PLATINUM, and $0.00025 on DIAMOND.
substack-publication-retrieved	One saved public publication at $0.0018.
substack-comment-retrieved	One saved public comment at $0.0018.

Use filters and maxItems to limit the rows a run can save. Leaving maxItems empty returns all available results until the source is exhausted. This pricing explanation does not assume a charge for an empty or no-result run.

🔌 Integrations

Dataset access

Start the Actor in Apify Console or through the standard Actor API. Open the dataset after the run to review rows or export them in the formats provided by Apify.

Video guide

❓ FAQ

What happens with a paid or restricted post?

The Actor returns public identity, access status, metadata, and a public preview when the source provides one. It does not promise subscriber-only body content.

How do I search posts inside a publication?

Choose publicationSearch, add a publication target, and enter postQuery. The query uses text found in post titles or subtitles. You can also add the post filters that apply to the target.

How do I discover publications by topic or category?

Choose topicDiscovery and enter a topic, or choose categoryDiscovery and enter a category with its ranking view. You can also choose publicationRecommendations to read public recommendations from a publication target.

Can I retrieve one post by URL?

Yes. Choose post, add its canonical public URL to postUrls, and set any post filters you need.

Can I return all available rows?

Yes. Leave maxItems empty. The Actor continues until all available results are returned or the source is exhausted.

Can I read public comments?

Yes. Choose postComments and add one or more canonical public post URLs. Comment rows can include body, author, time, engagement, depth, and parent comment ID when the source provides them.

What if a source is unavailable?

Open the sourceAvailability report from the output. It provides a place to review unavailable sources and fetch failures separately from successful rows.

Can I use more than one publication target?

Yes. Add a list of same-kind public publication targets for archive, details, recommendations, or publication search work. The same filters apply to the whole run.

Do I need a Substack login or API key?

No. The Actor reads public Substack data without a login or API key. Public availability and source changes can still affect what a run returns.

How can I reduce the work in a run?

Use postQuery, date, language, audience, post type, author, tag, engagement, and word-count filters when they fit your target. Set maxItems when you need a smaller result set, and leave article content off unless you need the public body.

📝 Changelog

0.0: Initial release

🆘 Support

For issues, questions, or feature requests, file a ticket and I'll fix or implement it in less than 24h 🫡

🔗 Related Actors

• Substack Notes Scraper collects public Notes for topic and author research alongside newsletter data.
• Substack Recommendations maps public recommendation links between publications.
• Substack API & Scraper — Posts, Authors & Newsletters provides another post, author, and newsletter archive workflow.
• Substack Scraper - Newsletters, Posts & Authors collects newsletter posts and author data for comparison work.
• Substack Scraper — Posts, Comments & Newsletters covers post, comment, and newsletter research workflows.

Made with ❤️ by Maxime Dupré