list_publicationsLABSCO SUMMARY
Publication numbers you can ask about instead of export.
The interesting part is what it is built on: an API key against Substack's documented Publisher API, rather than the session cookies that other Substack servers scrape with and that break whenever the site changes. The trade is that this is a reading tool — despite the name, nothing here publishes.
What it is
A community-built server over Substack's official Publisher API. Every tool reads: posts, their stats, subscriber figures and the publications your key covers. It authenticates with an API key rather than browser cookies, which is what the vendor's own API expects.
What you get
- The publications your key is configured for
- Posts listed, and any single post pulled back in full
- Per-post analytics
- Subscriber counts for a publication
- A single subscriber looked up
Requirements
Node.js 18 or newer, and a Substack Publisher API key generated from your publication's dashboard. The Publisher API is not enabled on every publication yet, so the dashboard is where you find out whether yours can issue one.
Setup effort
Build from source — git clone https://github.com/dkships/substack-publisher-mcp.git
USE CASES
01
Seeing how a post actually did
List what went out, then pull the analytics for the one you are asking about, so the comparison is against the publication's own numbers rather than a memory of them.
02
Tracking where the list stands
Ask for the subscriber counts on a publication and get the current figures back, which is the number most newsletter decisions are anchored to.
03
Looking up one subscriber
Check a single subscriber's record when a support question or a billing question arrives naming one person.
04
Reading a post back without opening the dashboard
Fetch the post itself so an edit, a repurpose or a summary starts from the published text rather than a draft that may have moved on.
05
Working across more than one publication
Ask which publications the key covers first, then run the same post and subscriber questions against whichever one you meant.
6 tools
Listed in project docs. Your client may show a different list.
list_postsget_postget_post_statsget_subscriber_countsget_subscriberBEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
6 tools named in the project's documentation.
Requires
- Node.js 18+
- SUBSTACK_API_KEY in your environment
Where it runs
All 3 documented clients run the server on your machine.
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
You clone and build this one yourself.
Server setup
TERMINAL
git clone https://github.com/dkships/substack-publisher-mcp.git
cd substack-publisher-mcp
npm install && npm run buildMCP Clients
Claude Desktop, Cursor
JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"substack": {
"command": "node",
"args": [
"<YOUR_PATH_TO_SUBSTACK_PUBLISHER_MCP>/dist/index.js"
],
"env": {
"SUBSTACK_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SUBSTACK_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}Claude Code
CLAUDE CODE · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"substack": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "node",
"args": [
"<YOUR_PATH_TO_SUBSTACK_PUBLISHER_MCP>/dist/index.js"
],
"env": {
"SUBSTACK_API_KEY": "<YOUR_SUBSTACK_API_KEY>"
}
}
}
}
