DEV Community: Abanoub Ashraf

I Wanted This Substack MCP to Help Me Learn, Not Just Publish

Abanoub Ashraf — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 15:48:00 +0000

Part 9 of 9

The last piece I cared about was making this useful for learning, not just publishing.

That’s where these came in:

study_topic_on_substack
extract_coding_lessons

I wanted Substack to become more than a place to publish.
I wanted it to become a surface for research, study, and pulling lessons out of other writers’ work too.

That’s the current shape of substack-mcp-plus:
publishing, scheduling, analytics, research, strategy, and study workflows in one MCP.

Repo:
https://github.com/abanoub-ashraf/substack-mcp-plus

One Good Post Should Turn Into More Than One Post

Abanoub Ashraf — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 10:48:01 +0000

Part 8 of 9

I really dislike the “write one post, publish it once, move on” pattern.

If you already did the hard work of writing something useful, the tool should help you squeeze more leverage out of it.

That batch became:

repurpose_post
content_gap_analysis
series_planner

The goal here is simple: more mileage, better follow-up angles, and less starting from zero every time.

Repo:
https://github.com/abanoub-ashraf/substack-mcp-plus

Your Content Archive Should Generate Ideas Instead of Collecting Dust

Abanoub Ashraf — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 05:48:00 +0000

Part 7 of 9

One of my favorite directions in this repo was using your own archive as strategy input.

That led to:

analyze_my_posts
generate_post_ideas
title_and_hook_optimizer

Instead of letting old posts sit there gathering dust, the MCP can turn them into better future content.

That’s much more interesting to me than a tool that only helps you hit publish faster.

Repo:
https://github.com/abanoub-ashraf/substack-mcp-plus

I Turned Substack Into a Research Surface Inside an MCP Client

Abanoub Ashraf — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 00:48:00 +0000

Part 6 of 9

The project got a lot more interesting when it stopped being just a publishing tool.

That’s where the research layer came in:

research_substack
research_substack_post
research_substack_publication

Now the MCP can help discover writers, inspect posts, or break down a whole publication from an AI client.

That means it can help you publish, but also help you study a niche and understand what already works before you write a word.

Repo:
https://github.com/abanoub-ashraf/substack-mcp-plus

A Substack MCP Should Give You Visibility, Not Just Draft Creation

Abanoub Ashraf — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 19:48:01 +0000

Part 5 of 9

I didn’t want this to be a write-only Substack MCP.

If I’m using a tool to publish, I also want it to help me understand what’s happening inside the publication.

So I added:

get_post_analytics
get_sections
get_subscriber_count

That made the MCP feel much more complete.
It’s not just about pushing content out. It’s also about giving you visibility into the account and the publication state from the same workflow.

Repo:
https://github.com/abanoub-ashraf/substack-mcp-plus

The Boring Substack Operations Are the Real Test of a Good Tool

Abanoub Ashraf — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:48:00 +0000

Part 4 of 9

The fastest way to tell whether a tool is real or just demo bait is to try the unglamorous parts.

That’s why this batch focused on:

upload_image
duplicate_post
delete_draft

These are not flashy features.
They’re the things that decide whether the tool survives first contact with real usage.

If a tool only handles the shiny path, it’s not really a workflow tool.
It’s a presentation.

Repo:
https://github.com/abanoub-ashraf/substack-mcp-plus

If an MCP Stops at Draft Creation, It Didn't Really Solve the Workflow

Abanoub Ashraf — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 09:48:00 +0000

Part 3 of 9

A lot of MCP demos stop at “draft created successfully” and then quietly hand the real work back to the dashboard.

That always felt fake to me.

If the promise is “operate this product from an AI client,” then the workflow has to continue past draft creation.

So I added:

publish_post
schedule_post
list_scheduled_posts

Drafting is nice.
Actually shipping is the point.

Repo:
https://github.com/abanoub-ashraf/substack-mcp-plus

Using an MCP Client for the Substack Draft Loop Is Better Than I Expected

Abanoub Ashraf — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 04:48:00 +0000

Part 2 of 9

Once setup worked, the next thing that mattered was the actual writing loop.

I didn’t want an MCP that only looked good in demos. I wanted one where I could create a draft, update it, preview it, and iterate without bouncing around the Substack dashboard every minute.

That batch became:

create_formatted_post
update_post
preview_draft

That’s the point where this started feeling genuinely useful instead of just technically amusing.

Repo:
https://github.com/abanoub-ashraf/substack-mcp-plus

How I Built a Substack MCP With a Setup Flow That Doesn't Immediately Break

Abanoub Ashraf — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 23:48:00 +0000

Part 1 of 9

I built substack-mcp-plus because I got tired of brittle Substack tooling and broken setup flows.

The first thing I cared about was simple:
can I connect this thing, confirm it works, and get useful output immediately?

So the first batch focused on:

list_drafts
list_published
get_post_content

That gave me the fastest possible “is this MCP actually alive?” loop after install.

Setup is intentionally simple:

npm i -g substack-mcp-plus
substack-mcp-plus-setup

Repo:
https://github.com/abanoub-ashraf/substack-mcp-plus