How do I get my Substack API token?

Log in to your Substack publication at **yourdomain.substack.com**. Navigate to **Settings** from the left sidebar. Look for the **Publication API** or **Developer** section. Generate an API token and copy it. Paste it into the configuration field below. Note: Substack's API is currently in limited availability — check Substack's developer page for the latest access information.

Can I draft and schedule newsletter posts?

Yes. Your AI agent can create draft posts with title, body content, subtitle, and metadata. You can then schedule them for a specific date and time — managing your entire editorial calendar conversationally.

Can I track how many subscribers I gained this month?

Yes. Ask your AI agent for subscriber growth metrics and get total subscribers, new subscribers this month, churn rate, and free vs. paid subscriber breakdown.

Does this work with paid Substack publications?

Yes. The integration supports both free and paid publications. You can manage paywalled content, check paid subscriber counts, and analyze revenue metrics through your AI agent.

Substack MCP Server for VS Code Copilot 6 tools — connect in under 2 minutes

Name: Substack
Availability: InStock
Author: Vinkius

code.visualstudio.com/docs/copilot/chat/mcp-servers

Built by Vinkius GDPR 6 Tools IDE

GitHub Copilot in VS Code is the most widely adopted AI coding assistant, embedded directly into the world's most popular code editor. With MCP support in Agent mode, Copilot can access external data and APIs to generate context-aware code grounded in real-time information.

Get MCP Server for AI Agents

ASK AI ABOUT THIS MCP SERVER

Open in ChatGPT Open in Claude Open in Perplexity

Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.

RecommendedModern Approach — Zero Configuration

Vinkius Desktop App

The modern way to manage MCP Servers — no config files, no terminal commands. Install Substack and 2,500+ MCP Servers from a single visual interface.

Download Free Open SourceNo signup required

Classic Setup·json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "substack": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Fully ManagedVinkius Servers

60%Token savings

High SecurityEnterprise-grade

IAMAccess control

EU AI ActCompliant

DLPData protection

V8 IsolateSandboxed

Ed25519Audit chain

<40msKill switch

Stream every event to Splunk, Datadog, or your own webhook in real-time

* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure

About Substack MCP Server

Connect Substack to your AI agent and manage your newsletter publication conversationally.

GitHub Copilot Agent mode brings Substack data directly into your VS Code workflow. With a project-scoped config, the entire team shares access to 6 tools. Copilot queries live data, generates typed code, and writes tests from actual API responses, all without leaving the editor.

What you can do

Post Management — List, create, and manage newsletter posts including drafts, published, and scheduled content.
Subscriber Insights — Query subscriber counts, growth trends, and audience demographics.
Publication Settings — Access and modify publication metadata, categories, and custom domains.
Content Analytics — Track open rates, click rates, and engagement metrics per post.

The Substack MCP Server exposes 6 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to VS Code Copilot in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.

How to Connect Substack to VS Code Copilot via MCP

Follow these steps to integrate the Substack MCP Server with VS Code Copilot.

Create MCP config

Create a .vscode/mcp.json file in your project root

Add the server config

Paste the JSON configuration above

Enable Agent mode

Open GitHub Copilot Chat and switch to Agent mode using the dropdown

Start using Substack

Ask Copilot: "Using Substack, help me...". 6 tools available

Why Use VS Code Copilot with the Substack MCP Server

GitHub Copilot for Visual Studio Code provides unique advantages when paired with Substack through the Model Context Protocol.

VS Code is used by over 70% of developers. adding MCP tools to Copilot means your team can leverage external data without leaving their primary editor

Project-scoped MCP configs (`.vscode/mcp.json`) let you commit server configurations to your repository, ensuring the entire team shares the same tool access

Copilot's Agent mode integrates MCP tools seamlessly with file editing, terminal commands, and workspace search in a single agentic loop

GitHub's enterprise compliance and audit features extend to MCP tool usage, providing visibility into how AI interacts with external services

Substack + VS Code Copilot Use Cases

Practical scenarios where VS Code Copilot combined with the Substack MCP Server delivers measurable value.

Live API integration: Copilot can query an MCP server, inspect the response schema, and generate typed API client code in the same step

DevSecOps workflows: security teams can give developers access to domain intelligence tools directly in their editor for real-time vulnerability assessment during code review

Data pipeline development: Copilot fetches sample data via MCP and generates transformation scripts, validators, and test fixtures from actual API responses

Documentation generation: Copilot queries available tools and auto-generates README sections, API reference docs, and usage examples

Substack MCP Tools for VS Code Copilot (6)

These 6 tools become available when you connect Substack to VS Code Copilot via MCP:

get_leaderboard

Get leaderboard

get_post

Get post

get_post_stats

Get post stats

get_publication_info

Get publication info

list_posts

List recent posts

list_subscribers

List subscribers

Example Prompts for Substack in VS Code Copilot

Ready-to-use prompts you can give your VS Code Copilot agent to start working with Substack immediately.

"How many subscribers does my Substack have?"

"Draft a new newsletter post titled 'The Future of AI in Sales'."

"What was the open rate on my last newsletter?"

Troubleshooting Substack MCP Server with VS Code Copilot

Common issues when connecting Substack to VS Code Copilot through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.

MCP tools not available

Ensure you are in Agent mode in Copilot Chat. MCP tools only appear in Agent mode.

Substack + VS Code Copilot FAQ

Common questions about integrating Substack MCP Server with VS Code Copilot.

Which VS Code version supports MCP?

MCP support requires VS Code 1.99 or later with the GitHub Copilot extension. Ensure both are updated to the latest version. Older versions of Copilot may not expose the Agent mode toggle.

How do I switch to Agent mode?

Open the Copilot Chat panel and look for two mode options: "Ask" and "Agent". Click "Agent" to enable autonomous tool calling. In Ask mode, Copilot provides conversational answers but cannot invoke MCP tools.

Can I restrict which MCP tools Copilot can access?

Yes. VS Code shows a tool consent dialog before any MCP tool is invoked for the first time. You can also configure tool access policies at the organization level through GitHub Copilot settings.

Does MCP work in VS Code Remote or Codespaces?

Yes. MCP servers configured via .vscode/mcp.json work in Remote SSH, WSL, and GitHub Codespaces environments. The MCP connection is established from the remote host, so ensure the server URL is accessible from that environment.