Ghost CMS

---

name: ghost-cms-skill

description: Comprehensive Ghost CMS integration for creating, publishing, scheduling, and managing blog content, newsletters, members, and analytics. Use when working with Ghost blogs for content creation (drafts, publishing, scheduling), member/subscriber management (tiers, newsletters), comment moderation, or analytics (popular posts, subscriber growth). Supports all Ghost Admin API operations.

author: Chris Giddings

homepage: https://github.com/chrisagiddings/moltbot-ghost-skill

repository: https://github.com/chrisagiddings/moltbot-ghost-skill

metadata: {"openclaw":{"disable-model-invocation":true,"capabilities":["content-management","member-management","subscription-management","comment-management","user-management","media-management","destructive-operations","public-publishing"],"requires":{"env":["GHOST_ADMIN_KEY","GHOST_API_URL"],"bins":["node","npm"]},"primaryEnv":"GHOST_ADMIN_KEY","install":{"type":"npm","directory":"scripts","command":"npm install","dependencies":["form-data@^4.0.5","jsonwebtoken@^9.0.3"]},"credentials":{"types":[{"type":"file","locations":["~/.config/ghost/api_key","~/.config/ghost/api_url"],"description":"Ghost Admin API credentials"},{"type":"env","variables":[{"name":"GHOST_ADMIN_KEY","description":"Ghost Admin API key (JWT)","required":true},{"name":"GHOST_API_URL","description":"Ghost site URL (Ghost Pro OR self-hosted, include :PORT if needed)","required":true}]}]}}}

---

# Ghost CMS

Manage Ghost blog content, members, analytics, and newsletters through the Ghost Admin API.

⚠️ Security Warning

**Ghost Admin API keys provide FULL access to your Ghost site:**

**Published content is IMMEDIATELY PUBLIC** - be extra careful with publish operations.

**Security Best Practices:**

**Admin API Key Scope:**

Ghost Admin API keys have **no scoping options** - they provide full access to everything. There are no read-only keys.

**Operation Types:**

**Read-Only Operations** (✅ Safe):

**Destructive Operations** (⚠️ Modify or delete data, may be public):

For detailed operation documentation, see [api-reference.md](references/api-reference.md).

Quick Setup

1. **Get your Ghost Admin API credentials:**

- Ghost dashboard → Settings → Integrations

- Create a new "Custom Integration"

- Copy the **Admin API Key** and **API URL**

2. **Store credentials securely:**

**Option A: Environment Variables (Recommended)**

```bash

# Add to your shell profile (~/.zshrc, ~/.bashrc)

export GHOST_ADMIN_KEY="YOUR_ADMIN_API_KEY"

export GHOST_API_URL="YOUR_GHOST_URL"

```

**API URL Examples (works with ALL hosting types):**

```bash

# Ghost(Pro) hosted

export GHOST_API_URL="https://yourblog.ghost.io"

# Self-hosted with reverse proxy (production)

export GHOST_API_URL="https://blog.yourdomain.com"

# Self-hosted development (Ghost default port 2368)

export GHOST_API_URL="http://localhost:2368"

# Self-hosted with custom port

export GHOST_API_URL="https://ghost.example.com:8080"

```

**Important:**

- Always include protocol (`http://` or `https://`)

- Include `:PORT` if Ghost runs on non-standard port

- Do NOT include trailing slash

- Do NOT include `/ghost/api/admin` (added automatically)

**Option B: Config Files**

```bash

mkdir -p ~/.config/ghost

echo "YOUR_ADMIN_API_KEY" > ~/.config/ghost/api_key

echo "YOUR_GHOST_URL" > ~/.config/ghost/api_url

# Secure the files (owner read-only)

chmod 600 ~/.config/ghost/api_key

chmod 600 ~/.config/ghost/api_url

```

**Option C: 1Password CLI (Most Secure)**

```bash

# Store key in 1Password

op item create --category=API_CREDENTIAL \

--title="Ghost Admin API" \

admin_key[password]="YOUR_ADMIN_API_KEY" \

api_url[text]="YOUR_GHOST_URL"

# Use in commands

export GHOST_ADMIN_KEY=$(op read "op://Private/Ghost Admin API/admin_key")

export GHOST_API_URL=$(op read "op://Private/Ghost Admin API/api_url")

```

**Security Notes:**

- Keys provide **full site access** - protect them like passwords

- Rotate keys every 90 days (create new integration, revoke old)

- Never commit to git or share keys publicly

- Consider separate keys for production vs. staging

- **HTTPS recommended:** Use HTTPS for production (HTTP acceptable for localhost only)

3. **Install dependencies:**

```bash

cd ghost-cms-skill/scripts

npm install

```

**Dependencies installed:**

- `form-data` (^4.0.5) - Multipart file uploads (theme ZIP files)

- `jsonwebtoken` (^9.0.3) - JWT token generation for Ghost Admin API authentication

**Optional dependencies** (install manually if needed):

- `gscan` (^5.2.4) - Official Ghost theme validator (from TryGhost)

- Only needed for theme validation feature

- Install with: `cd scripts && npm install gscan`

**All dependencies from public npm registry. No custom downloads.**

4. **Test connection:**

See [setup.md](references/setup.md) for detailed authentication and troubleshooting.

Tools & Utilities

Snippet Extractor

**Purpose:** Migrate existing Ghost snippets to local library for programmatic use.

**Why needed:** Ghost Admin API blocks snippet access (403 Forbidden) for integration tokens. This tool works around that limitation.

**Usage:**

# Extract snippets from a specially-formatted draft post
node scripts/snippet-extractor.js my-snippets-post

# Validate format before extracting
node scripts/snippet-extractor.js my-snippets-post --validate

# Preview without saving
node scripts/snippet-extractor.js my-snippets-post --dry-run

# Custom marker prefix
node scripts/snippet-extractor.js my-snippets-post --marker "This is:"

# Full help
node scripts/snippet-extractor.js --help

**Workflow:**

1. Create draft post in Ghost

2. For each snippet: add paragraph marker (e.g., "SNIPPET: name" or "This is: name")

3. Insert the snippet content below each marker

4. Run extractor → all snippets saved to `snippets/library/`

**Features:**

**Example:**

# User has 12 snippets in Ghost
# Creates "My Snippets" draft with markers
# Runs: node scripts/snippet-extractor.js my-snippets --marker "This is:"
# Result: All 12 snippets in library/ ready for use

See `snippets/README.md` for complete documentation.

Theme Manager

**Purpose:** Upload, activate, switch, and manage Ghost themes programmatically.

**Why needed:** Automate theme deployments, switch themes, manage theme versions.

**Usage:**

cd scripts

# List all installed themes
node theme-manager.js list

# Upload theme ZIP
node theme-manager.js upload /path/to/theme.zip

# Upload and activate immediately
node theme-manager.js upload /path/to/theme.zip --activate

# Activate existing theme
node theme-manager.js activate theme-name

# Download theme backup
node theme-manager.js download theme-name backup.zip

# Delete theme (cannot delete active theme)
node theme-manager.js delete old-theme

# Show current active theme
node theme-manager.js active

**Features:**

**⚠️ Important:**

**Workflow:**

# Safe theme switching with rollback
node theme-manager.js active              # Note current theme
node theme-manager.js activate new-theme  # Switch to new theme
# Test site in browser
node theme-manager.js activate old-theme  # Rollback if needed

See `references/themes.md` for complete theme management documentation and best practices.

Theme Validator

**Purpose:** Validate Ghost themes before uploading using official gscan validator.

**⚠️ Optional Feature:** Requires `gscan` package. Install with:

cd scripts
npm install gscan

**Why needed:** Catch errors early - missing files, invalid syntax, deprecated helpers, version incompatibility.

**Usage:**

cd scripts

# Validate theme directory
node theme-validator.js ~/themes/my-theme/

# Validate ZIP file  
node theme-validator.js theme.zip

# Target specific Ghost version
node theme-validator.js theme.zip --version v6

# JSON output for CI/CD
node theme-validator.js theme.zip --json

# Show only errors (hide warnings)
node theme-validator.js theme.zip --errors-only

**Features:**

**Validation levels:**

**Safe deployment workflow:**

# 1. Validate before upload
node theme-validator.js my-theme.zip

# 2. Fix any errors

# 3. Re-validate
node theme-validator.js my-theme.zip

# 4. Upload when clean
node theme-manager.js upload my-theme.zip

**CI/CD integration:**

node theme-validator.js theme.zip --json
if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
  node theme-manager.js upload theme.zip --activate
fi

**Exit codes:** 0 = valid, 1 = errors found, 2 = invalid arguments

See `references/themes.md` for complete validation documentation and common error fixes.

---

Core Operations

This skill covers all major Ghost operations. Navigate to the relevant reference for detailed guidance:

Content Management

**When to use:** Creating drafts, publishing posts, scheduling content, managing pages

See **[content.md](references/content.md)** for:

See **[lexical-cards.md](references/lexical-cards.md)** for:

**⚠️ Ghost Snippets Limitation:**

Ghost's native snippet feature (reusable content blocks saved in the editor) **cannot be accessed via the Admin API** with integration tokens (403 Forbidden). This means:

**Solution: Automated Snippet Extraction**

The skill includes a **snippet extractor tool** that migrates Ghost snippets to local files:

1. **Create extraction post** in Ghost with all snippets (one-time setup)

2. **Run extractor:** `node scripts/snippet-extractor.js post-slug`

3. **Done!** All snippets saved to `snippets/library/` for programmatic use

**Commands:**

# Extract snippets (auto-detects credentials from ~/.config/ghost/)
node scripts/snippet-extractor.js my-snippets-post

# Validate format before extracting
node scripts/snippet-extractor.js my-snippets-post --validate

# Preview without saving
node scripts/snippet-extractor.js my-snippets-post --dry-run

# Custom marker format
node scripts/snippet-extractor.js my-snippets-post --marker "This is:"

# Full help
node scripts/snippet-extractor.js --help

**Benefits:**

See `snippets/README.md` for complete documentation on extraction workflow and local snippet usage.

Analytics & Insights

**When to use:** Checking subscriber counts, popular content, traffic trends

See **[analytics.md](references/analytics.md)** for:

Comments & Engagement

**When to use:** Responding to comments, moderating discussions

See **[comments.md](references/comments.md)** for:

Members & Subscribers

**When to use:** Managing subscriber tiers, member access, premium content

See **[members.md](references/members.md)** for:

Newsletters

**When to use:** Managing newsletter settings, email campaigns

See **[newsletters.md](references/newsletters.md)** for:

API Reference

For advanced operations or endpoint details, see **[api-reference.md](references/api-reference.md)**.

Common Workflows

**Draft → Notion → Ghost:**

1. Draft content collaboratively in Notion

2. Finalize content

3. Use this skill to copy to Ghost as draft

4. Review in Ghost admin

5. Schedule or publish

**Weekly content series:**

1. "Navi, write and publish a unique weekly post about [topic from our discussions this week]"

2. Skill creates post, sets author to "Navi", publishes automatically

**Comment management:**

1. "Are there any pending comments?"

2. Review list of comments with post titles

3. "Respond to comment #123 with [response]"

**Analytics check:**

1. "What tags have been most popular in the past 6 months?"

2. "How many new subscribers this month?"

3. "When was my last subscriber-exclusive post?"