ghost-blog

Ghost Blog Management

Interact with the user's Ghost blog using the Content API (read-only, public data) and Admin API (full read/write access).

Environment Variables

Variable	Purpose
GHOST_API_URL	Base URL of the Ghost instance (e.g. https://myblog.ghost.io)
GHOST_CONTENT_API_KEY	Content API key for read-only public access
GHOST_ADMIN_API_KEY	Admin API key in {id}:{secret} format for full access

These are created in Ghost Admin under Settings > Integrations > Custom Integration.

The ghost_api.py Module

All operations use the Ghost class from ghost_api.py (stdlib only, no dependencies). It handles JWT auth, JSON serialization, and HTTP requests. The module lives in the same directory as this skill file.

Every script follows this pattern (use the base directory shown when this skill is loaded as the PYTHONPATH):

PYTHONPATH=<base_directory_of_this_skill> python3 << 'PY'
from ghost_api import Ghost

g = Ghost()
# ... operations here ...
PY

API Methods

Method	Signature	Description
g.get(path, **params)	Returns dict	GET request, params become query string
g.post(path, data, **params)	Returns dict	POST with JSON body
g.put(path, data, **params)	Returns dict	PUT with JSON body
g.delete(path)	Returns None	DELETE request
g.upload(file_path, ref=None)	Returns URL string	Multipart image upload
g.unsplash_search(query, orientation="landscape", per_page=10)	Returns list of dicts	Search Unsplash photos
g.unsplash_caption(photo_id=None, user_name=None, user_username=None)	Returns HTML string	Build Unsplash attribution caption
g.set_unsplash_feature_image(post_id, photo_id)	Returns post dict	Set feature image from Unsplash photo ID

Path convention: paths start with content/ or admin/ (e.g. content/posts, admin/posts/abc123). Auth is handled automatically based on prefix.

Common Operations

List Posts

# Public posts
posts = g.get("content/posts", include="tags,authors", limit=15)

# All posts including drafts
posts = g.get("admin/posts", include="tags,authors", formats="html", limit=15)

for p in posts["posts"]:
    date = (p.get("published_at") or "(draft)")[:10]
    tags = ", ".join(t["name"] for t in p.get("tags", []))
    print(f"  {date}  {p['title']}  {tags}")
print(f"Total: {posts['meta']['pagination']['total']}")

Filter and Search Posts

Pass filter as a query param using NQL syntax:

# By tag
posts = g.get("content/posts", filter="tag:my-tag", include="tags")

# Drafts only (Admin API)
drafts = g.get("admin/posts", filter="status:draft", formats="html")

# Last 7 days
recent = g.get("admin/posts", filter="published_at:>now-7d", formats="html")

# Combined: published + specific tag (+ is AND, comma is OR)
posts = g.get("admin/posts", filter="status:published+tag:news", formats="html")

NQL operators: : (equals), - (not), > >= < <= (comparison), ~ (contains), [a,b] (in), + (AND), , (OR), () (grouping). Wrap dates/special chars in single quotes.

Read a Single Post

# By ID
post = g.get("admin/posts/POST_ID", formats="html", include="tags,authors")["posts"][0]

# By slug (Content API)
post = g.get("content/posts/slug/my-post-slug", include="tags,authors")["posts"][0]

Create a Post

Use g.create_post() which automatically adds source=html when HTML content is present (Ghost v5+ requires this to convert HTML to its internal Lexical format; without it, content will be empty):

post = g.create_post({
    "title": "My New Post",
    "html": "<p>Post content in HTML.</p>",
    "status": "draft",
    "tags": [{"name": "Tag Name"}],
    "custom_excerpt": "A short excerpt.",
})
print(f"Created: {post['title']} (ID: {post['id']})")

Status options: draft (default), published, scheduled (requires published_at).

Tags that don't exist are created automatically. To preserve raw HTML blocks, wrap in <!--kg-card-begin: html--> and <!--kg-card-end: html-->.

Update a Post

Use g.update_post() which fetches updated_at automatically and adds source=html when HTML content is present. Tags and authors are replaced entirely on update, so send the complete desired list.

post = g.update_post("POST_ID", {
    "title": "Updated Title",
    "html": "<p>Updated content.</p>",
})

If you already have updated_at from a previous GET, pass it to skip the extra request:

post = g.update_post("POST_ID", {
    "html": "<p>Updated content.</p>",
}, updated_at=existing_post["updated_at"])

Publish a Draft

post = g.get("admin/posts/POST_ID")["posts"][0]
g.put("admin/posts/POST_ID",
    {"posts": [{"status": "published", "updated_at": post["updated_at"]}]})

Schedule a Post

post = g.get("admin/posts/POST_ID")["posts"][0]
g.put("admin/posts/POST_ID",
    {"posts": [{
        "status": "scheduled",
        "published_at": "2026-03-15T11:00:00.000Z",
        "updated_at": post["updated_at"],
    }]})

Delete a Post

Always confirm with the user before deleting.

g.delete("admin/posts/POST_ID")

Upload an Image

url = g.upload("/path/to/image.jpg")
print(url)  # https://myblog.ghost.io/content/images/2026/02/image.jpg

Supported formats: JPEG, PNG, GIF, WEBP, SVG.

Insert an Image into Post Content

After uploading, use this HTML to embed the image:

<figure class="kg-card kg-image-card kg-card-hascaption">
  <img src="{uploaded_url}" class="kg-image" alt="description" loading="lazy">
  <figcaption>Optional caption</figcaption>
</figure>

For wide images, add kg-width-wide or kg-width-full to the figure class.

Set Feature Image (Hero Image)

Include in create/update payload:

{"posts": [{
    "feature_image": "https://example.com/image.jpg",
    "feature_image_alt": "Alt text",
    "feature_image_caption": "Caption",
    "updated_at": post["updated_at"],
}]}

Unsplash feature images: Use the built-in helpers to search Unsplash and set feature images with proper attribution in one call:

results = g.unsplash_search("abstract flowing lines", per_page=5)
for r in results:
    print(f"{r['id']}  {r['width']}x{r['height']}  by {r['user_name']}  plus={r['is_plus']}")

# Set feature image with auto-generated attribution caption
post = g.set_unsplash_feature_image("POST_ID", results[0]["id"])

To build a caption without setting the feature image (e.g. for manual use):

caption = g.unsplash_caption(photo_id="abc123")
# or skip the API call if you already have user info from search results:
caption = g.unsplash_caption(user_name="Author Name", user_username="author")

Embedding YouTube Videos (Native Lexical Cards)

Prefer native Lexical embed cards over raw HTML iframes. Native embeds render correctly in Ghost's editor and frontend without sizing issues.

To embed a YouTube video, fetch oembed data and write a Lexical embed node directly:

import json
import urllib.request

# Step 1: Fetch oembed metadata from YouTube
video_url = "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID"
oembed_api = f"https://www.youtube.com/oembed?url={video_url}&format=json"
with urllib.request.urlopen(oembed_api) as resp:
    oembed = json.loads(resp.read())

# Step 2: GET the post as Lexical
post = g.get("admin/posts/POST_ID", formats="lexical")["posts"][0]
lexical = json.loads(post["lexical"])

# Step 3: Build the native embed node
embed_node = {
    "type": "embed",
    "version": 1,
    "url": video_url,
    "embedType": "video",
    "html": oembed["html"],
    "metadata": oembed
}

# Step 4: Insert or replace a node in the children array
lexical["root"]["children"].insert(1, embed_node)  # or replace: lexical["root"]["children"][N] = embed_node

# Step 5: PUT with Lexical JSON (no source="html")
g.put("admin/posts/POST_ID",
    {"posts": [{
        "lexical": json.dumps(lexical),
        "updated_at": post["updated_at"],
    }]})

This works for any oembed provider (YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter, etc.). The key differences from HTML-based updates:

• Use formats="lexical" when reading (not formats="html")
• Send "lexical": json.dumps(...) in the PUT body (not "html": ...)
• Do NOT pass source="html" when updating via Lexical

Other Resources

Tags

g.get("admin/tags", limit="all")                                              # List
g.post("admin/tags", {"tags": [{"name": "New Tag", "description": "..."}]})   # Create
g.delete("admin/tags/TAG_ID")                                                  # Delete

Internal tags use a # prefix in the name.

Pages

Same as posts: replace posts with pages in all paths.

Members

g.get("admin/members", limit=15, include="labels")                            # List
g.get("admin/members", filter="status:paid")                                   # Filter
g.post("admin/members", {"members": [{"email": "[email protected]", "name": "Name"}]}) # Create
g.delete("admin/members/MEMBER_ID")                                            # Delete

Newsletters

g.get("admin/newsletters")                                                     # List
# Send post as email via newsletter
g.put("admin/posts/POST_ID",
    {"posts": [{"status": "published", "updated_at": post["updated_at"]}]},
    newsletter="newsletter-slug")

Tiers, Site Info, Users

g.get("admin/tiers", include="monthly_price,yearly_price,benefits")
g.get("content/settings")                     # Public settings
g.get("admin/site")                           # Admin site info
g.get("admin/users", include="roles,count.posts")

Response Format

All browse responses return:

{
  "posts": [ ... ],
  "meta": { "pagination": { "page": 1, "limit": 15, "pages": 3, "total": 42, "next": 2, "prev": null } }
}

Use meta.pagination to handle paging. Use limit=all sparingly; prefer pagination for large datasets.

Error Handling

The Ghost class raises exceptions with HTTP status and Ghost's error message on failure:

• 401 Unauthorized: JWT expired or invalid (auto-generated per request, so usually means bad key)
• 404 Not Found: Resource ID or slug doesn't exist
• 422 Validation Error: Missing updated_at, invalid field, etc.
• 429 Too Many Requests: Rate limited, wait and retry

Markdown Workflow

For editing posts as markdown instead of HTML, use ghost_md.py (requires uv):

# Pull a post as markdown
<base_directory_of_this_skill>/ghost_md.py pull POST_ID /tmp/post.md

# Edit the markdown file, then push it back
<base_directory_of_this_skill>/ghost_md.py push POST_ID /tmp/post.md

This is the preferred workflow for editing post content. Pull the post as markdown, edit the .md file using standard text editing tools, then push it back. Ghost receives HTML converted from the markdown.

For creating new posts or updating metadata (title, tags, status, feature image, etc.), use the ghost_api.py module directly.

Choosing the Right Content Format

Approach	When to use
HTML with source="html"	Default for creating/updating posts. Simple and works for most content.
Markdown workflow (ghost_md.py)	Preferred for editing existing post content.
Lexical JSON	Native embed cards (YouTube, Twitter, bookmarks) or surgical edits to specific nodes. Use formats="lexical" to read, send "lexical": json.dumps(...) to write, and do NOT pass source="html".
HTML cards	When Ghost's HTML-to-Lexical conversion causes formatting issues (e.g., converting bold paragraphs back to headings).

HTML Cards (Raw HTML Escape Hatch)

When source="html" causes Ghost to reinterpret your markup (changing heading levels, merging paragraphs, etc.), wrap content in HTML card markers to preserve it exactly:

<!--kg-card-begin: html-->
<div class="custom-section">
  <p><strong>Bold title that stays a paragraph</strong></p>
  <p>Supporting text that won't be merged or reformatted.</p>
</div>
<!--kg-card-end: html-->

Ghost stores this as a single opaque HTML card and won't convert it to Lexical nodes. Use inline <style> blocks inside the card for custom styling. Note that HTML card content is not editable in Ghost's visual editor (it shows as a code block).

Guidelines

1. Always use the PYTHONPATH=... python3 << 'PY' pattern for all Ghost API operations
2. Use ghost_md.py pull/push for editing post content as markdown
3. Use the Admin API for writes and drafts; Content API for simple public reads
4. Always GET before PUT to obtain updated_at for collision detection
5. Confirm destructive actions (delete, unpublish) with the user first
6. Use source="html" when creating/updating posts with HTML content
7. Use formats="html" when reading posts via Admin API (defaults to Lexical only)
8. Use include="tags,authors" when listing posts for full context
9. Always set custom_excerpt when creating a new post. Ghost uses it for cards, social previews, and SEO descriptions. After pushing content, ask the user for an excerpt if one wasn't provided, or draft one and confirm before setting it.
10. Always check custom_excerpt when updating a post's content or title. If the post content or title changes significantly (e.g. translation, rewrite, new topic), the excerpt likely needs updating too. After any major edit, verify the excerpt still matches the current content and update it if not.