# Substack Scraper (`uncleken/substack-scraper`) Actor
Substack Scraper is a tool designed to extract and archive public content from Substack publications without requiring authentication or API keys.
- **URL**: https://apify.com/uncleken/substack-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Uncle Ken](https://apify.com/uncleken) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Social media, News
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 0 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet
## Pricing
$19.00/month + usage
To use this Actor, you pay a monthly rental fee to the developer. The rent is subtracted from your prepaid usage every month after the free trial period. You also pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher Apify subscription plan you have.
Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#rental-actors
## What's an Apify Actor?
Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.
Actors are written with capital "A".
## 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.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.
- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).
For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.
For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).
# README
## Substack scraper
This actor scrape the latest post data under url `/archive`.
### Output document
The extracted document will be stored in a dataset named after the scraping channel.
```json
{
"channel": "doclachjames",
"url": "https://doclachjames.substack.com/p/research-review-heavy-strength-vs",
"author": {
"name": "Dr Lachlan James",
"url": "https://substack.com/@doclachjames",
"description": "Dr Lachlan James, Associate Professor of Sport Science at La Trobe University, has 60+ peer-reviewed papers. He leads ForceLab, providing strength science solutions via consultancy, staff development, and mentorship for high-performance sport.",
"image": {
"contentUrl": "https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_Um0!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30a91181-3ada-468d-b67d-55164e7527c3_933x933.jpeg",
"thumbnailUrl": "https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!_Um0!,w_128,h_128,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F30a91181-3ada-468d-b67d-55164e7527c3_933x933.jpeg"
}
},
"is_accessible_for_free": false,
"published_date": "2025-03-26T18:52:51.000Z",
"post": {
"audience": "only_paid",
"audience_before_archived": null,
"canonical_url": "https://doclachjames.substack.com/p/research-review-heavy-strength-vs",
"default_comment_sort": null,
"editor_v2": false,
"exempt_from_archive_paywall": false,
"free_unlock_required": false,
"id": 159934866,
"podcast_art_url": null,
"podcast_duration": 374.72653,
"podcast_preview_upload_id": null,
"podcast_upload_id": null,
"podcast_url": null,
"post_date": "2025-03-26T18:52:51.957Z",
"updated_at": "2025-03-26T18:52:52.038Z",
"publication_id": 4242848,
"search_engine_description": null,
"search_engine_title": null,
"section_id": null,
"should_send_free_preview": false,
"show_guest_bios": true,
"slug": "research-review-heavy-strength-vs",
"social_title": null,
"subtitle": "Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research",
"teaser_post_eligible": true,
"title": "Research Review: Heavy Strength vs Ballistic Power Training on Sprint Performance ",
"type": "podcast",
"video_upload_id": "356fdd80-120b-42c6-942f-fa65579f03cf",
"write_comment_permissions": "only_paid",
"meter_type": "none",
"live_stream_id": null,
"is_published": true,
"restacks": 0,
"reactions": {
"❤": 1
},
"top_exclusions": [],
"pins": [],
"section_pins": [],
"has_shareable_clips": true,
"previous_post_slug": "a-practical-framework-for-selecting",
"next_post_slug": "research-review-classification-of",
"cover_image": "https://substack-video.s3.amazonaws.com/video_upload/post/159934866/356fdd80-120b-42c6-942f-fa65579f03cf/transcoded-00001.png",
"cover_image_is_square": false,
"cover_image_is_explicit": false,
"podcast_episode_image_url": "https://substack.com/img/podcast/generic.png",
"podcast_episode_image_info": {
"url": "https://substack.com/img/podcast/generic.png",
"isDefaultArt": true,
"isDefault": true
},
"videoUpload": {
"id": "356fdd80-120b-42c6-942f-fa65579f03cf",
"name": "Luke Meta YouTube.mp4",
"created_at": "2025-03-26T18:45:42.669Z",
"uploaded_at": "2025-03-26T18:46:02.149Z",
"publication_id": 4242848,
"state": "transcoded",
"post_id": 159934866,
"user_id": 322202961,
"duration": 374.7,
"height": 1080,
"width": 1920,
"thumbnail_id": 1,
"preview_start": null,
"preview_duration": null,
"media_type": "video",
"primary_file_size": 40761506,
"is_mux": true,
"mux_asset_id": "UyQFSLoBRZw027nP4qKq57QaDykmZWp9RFlsilhktBdQ",
"mux_playback_id": "xaY9cWRV5Z6JM6opy7JqA01EEyBMQSaLVdVY8lkoY2YU",
"mux_preview_asset_id": null,
"mux_preview_playback_id": null,
"mux_rendition_quality": "high",
"mux_preview_rendition_quality": null,
"explicit": false,
"copyright_infringement": null,
"src_media_upload_id": null,
"live_stream_id": null,
"transcription": null
},
"podcastFields": {
"post_id": 159934866,
"podcast_episode_number": null,
"podcast_season_number": null,
"podcast_episode_type": null,
"should_syndicate_to_other_feed": null,
"syndicate_to_section_id": null,
"hide_from_feed": false,
"free_podcast_url": null,
"free_podcast_duration": null
},
"podcastUpload": {
"id": "e9884cec-2cd5-4533-b03a-e0c837fccc82",
"name": null,
"created_at": "2025-03-26T18:46:02.174Z",
"uploaded_at": "2025-03-26T18:46:02.149Z",
"publication_id": 4242848,
"state": "transcoded",
"post_id": 159934866,
"user_id": 322202961,
"duration": 374.72653,
"height": null,
"width": null,
"thumbnail_id": 1,
"preview_start": null,
"preview_duration": null,
"media_type": "audio",
"primary_file_size": 5996179,
"is_mux": null,
"mux_asset_id": null,
"mux_playback_id": null,
"mux_preview_asset_id": null,
"mux_preview_playback_id": null,
"mux_rendition_quality": null,
"mux_preview_rendition_quality": null,
"explicit": false,
"copyright_infringement": null,
"src_media_upload_id": "356fdd80-120b-42c6-942f-fa65579f03cf",
"live_stream_id": null,
"transcription": {
"media_upload_id": "e9884cec-2cd5-4533-b03a-e0c837fccc82",
"created_at": "2025-03-26T18:46:30.708Z",
"requested_by": 322202961,
"status": "transcribed",
"modal_call_id": "fc-01JQ9WE1F3YA996A8QGVGG0BZE",
"approved_at": "2025-03-26T18:46:55.447Z",
"transcript_url": "s3://substack-video/video_upload/post/159934866/e9884cec-2cd5-4533-b03a-e0c837fccc82/1743014793/transcription.json",
"attention_vocab": null,
"speaker_map": null,
"captions_map": {
"en": {
"url": "s3://substack-video/video_upload/post/159934866/e9884cec-2cd5-4533-b03a-e0c837fccc82/1743014793/en.vtt",
"language": "en",
"original": true
}
},
"cdn_url": "https://substackcdn.com/video_upload/post/159934866/e9884cec-2cd5-4533-b03a-e0c837fccc82/1743014793/transcription.json?Expires=1761874199&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIVDA3NPSMPSPESQQ&Signature=V5qhPCBTQTC-GLUVCyqDItmEqo5Dx~zGsEVjrzDhk~9owSl1yT5icI4xWRrciie0hwna2sEQnC03hGrUyfWIl33IXQqtuO95AkJAO6omEdwbZiPfVAo4uHUK7yT5qTm7JzptLPvTmwH9IotU4pxeNBiiGsDt7Hx9UqzrSQt3O0tTkwxMS89d3fbmBVT~ZwZ-HCq7WfN6G-sjEeg6BBovj6Scnp99fLXxWt8uTwTAR6w-5kWKRwzZ9oadAluDEGd2YqoRDaSZm5L~15zQ~GdjtcVW3lzanQid1u9ZlbUT9dR-wZUk8uvFFGsaN~47HmPM-paOPqdL~26OShmRcV6l7Q__",
"cdn_unaligned_url": "https://substackcdn.com/video_upload/post/159934866/e9884cec-2cd5-4533-b03a-e0c837fccc82/1743014793/unaligned_transcription.json?Expires=1761874199&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIVDA3NPSMPSPESQQ&Signature=aw7HgsbT5R4tts-tS~85GanfpQhf1WnLCt-Uzcr5uzqNd1bS6CIzFC8OpZi9x7LzV5s942Oi8N1bKGorroHri1FYP~BhR86dkhn1ZffsIY8LMHszgezM2MOht1~IoIba-gYtTDdu7492eNNhT-hM5rsWxEj41U2SbBiF7YwRPjTFSfPPaldscjGHe9aKB2nHWDrdxpPXegYwdPKN~BjlmooZ3gvoIQXGjT4E7vpaHbwugEi~EjlIq9ga6XqpZSCIIlX9dvvJYmnLQVD4~gPI--zaTOvOxoBJz12UQh66azGyv9j1AG5cRkiI1Tvj3~phW0hC1LylUlFush5giGeSoQ__",
"signed_captions": [
{
"language": "en",
"url": "https://substackcdn.com/video_upload/post/159934866/e9884cec-2cd5-4533-b03a-e0c837fccc82/1743014793/en.vtt?Expires=1761874199&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIVDA3NPSMPSPESQQ&Signature=dw0yxE9BWGtloMcOY5oXPWghsC1CQfmlQDtutEYtnGsVOXuvkKZafdmESS-ZHpg3PDKH07XX6So-~V1OlikCx8I69JA2R7LHlzM~IS2RebyB~THqcQ2nN9EI4iuHhM7RLImK5BB2Ol8X9UOPAvMkM31wFp25G7~g~Xbn1B1Y3DrftUnDt4xQnSsbBW56SO8JhxfUCsF9e2vtxG4QU5lmu3VFb9RzvsrztIsIRBg0bdj3CGPPyX2SFKRqz6iLIyB6vhjnBtkPxAtke3CYvmbm38eYTMLGGOM-YQ-31BvtcaOMx3dcjR8xrbCLFRWvtnvMzd1yA9v1glOglV7PddiIvg__",
"original": true
}
]
}
},
"podcastPreviewUpload": null,
"voiceover_upload_id": null,
"voiceoverUpload": null,
"has_voiceover": false,
"description": "Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research",
"body_html": "In this video I review a recent systematic review and meta-analysis published by one of my PhD students, Mr Luke Stutter.
Citation: Stutter, L. R., Huynh, M., Driller, M. W., Davids, C. J., & James, L. P. (2024). Pairwise Comparison of Heavy Dynamic Strength and Fast Dynamic Strength Interventions on Sprint Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Anal…
",
"truncated_body_text": "In this video I review a recent systematic review and meta-analysis published by one of my PhD students, Mr Luke Stutter.",
"wordcount": 66,
"postTags": [],
"postCountryBlocks": [],
"headlineTest": null,
"reaction": null,
"reaction_count": 1,
"comment_count": 0,
"child_comment_count": 0,
"is_geoblocked": false,
"hidden": true,
"hasCashtag": false,
"text_content": "In this video I review a recent systematic review and meta-analysis published by one of my PhD students, Mr Luke Stutter. Citation: Stutter, L. R., Huynh, M., Driller, M. W., Davids, C. J., & James, L. P. (2024). Pairwise Comparison of Heavy Dynamic Strength and Fast Dynamic Strength Interventions on Sprint Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Anal…"
},
"images": [
{
"url": "https://substack-video.s3.amazonaws.com/video_upload/post/159934866/356fdd80-120b-42c6-942f-fa65579f03cf/transcoded-00001.png"
}
]
}
```
# Actor input Schema
## `channels` (type: `array`):
Substack channels to scrape.
## `username` (type: `string`):
Account name that subscribed the channel
## `password` (type: `string`):
password of the account
## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):
Max items to scrape
## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):
Proxy Configuration.
## Actor input object example
```json
{
"channels": [
{
"name": "doclachjames",
"paidContent": true
}
],
"username": "myusername",
"password": "mypassword",
"maxItems": 50,
"proxyConfiguration": {
"useApifyProxy": true,
"apifyProxyGroups": [
"RESIDENTIAL"
]
}
}
```
# 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 '' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
token: '',
});
// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};
// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("uncleken/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 '' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("")
# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}
# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("uncleken/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 '{}' |
apify call uncleken/substack-scraper --silent --output-dataset
```
## MCP server setup
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"apify": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,uncleken/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 ` 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/XmT4vJfUpOBcHKpLx/builds/QzfBji0uoulU4YvZR/openapi.json