No install? Use cloud.anythingmcp.com directly.
Sign in, install the Substack in one click, paste the credentials, mint an MCP API key — done. No Docker, no git clone, no local server to run.
TL;DR
Read Substack publication content, posts, comments, podcast episodes via public RSS/JSON feeds. 5 tools, no auth required.
💡 No install? Use cloud.anythingmcp.com directly. Sign in, click Connectors → Substack, paste your credentials, mint an MCP API key — done. No Docker, no
git clone, no local server.
Substack + Cursor
Read Substack publication content, posts, comments, podcast episodes via public RSS/JSON feeds. 5 tools, no auth required.
Prerequisites
See the full setup instructions baked into the connector (visible in the in-app store when you select the connector). The required environment variables for this connector are:
SUBSTACK_PUBLICATION_URL
Step 1 — Get credentials
Setup: NO API KEY. Set SUBSTACK_PUBLICATION_URL = the publication's base URL (e.g. https://lennysnewsletter.substack.com). For tools that target a specific publication, the URL is taken from this env var.
Authentication: NONE. All reads use public endpoints (the same JSON Substack's own site fetches).
Content endpoints available:
/api/v1/posts?limit=N&offset=M— paginated posts list (each post: id, title, slug, post_date, audience, type)/api/v1/posts/by-id/{id}— single post detail/api/v1/comments/{post_id}— top comments on a post/api/v1/podcast/feed— podcast episodes (audio newsletters only)/feed— standard RSS feed
…(continued in the in-app connector instructions)
Step 2 — Install the adapter
git clone https://github.com/HelpCode-ai/anythingmcp.git
cd anythingmcp && docker compose up -d
Step 3 — Add the connector in Cursor
Cursor reads MCP servers from ~/.cursor/mcp.json. Add this entry:
{
"mcpServers": {
"anythingmcp": {
"url": "https://cloud.anythingmcp.com/mcp",
"headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_MCP_API_KEY" }
}
}
}
- Get your MCP API key from AnythingMCP → Profile → MCP API Keys → New Key.
- Save the file and restart Cursor.
- Open Cursor → Settings → MCP to verify
Substackis listed and "Connected". - Start chatting — all
Substacktools are now invokable.
Available tools
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
substack_list_posts | List recent posts from the publication |
substack_search_posts | Search posts in the publication |
substack_get_post_by_id | Fetch a single post by its numeric ID |
substack_get_comments | Get top comments on a post |
substack_get_rss_feed | Fetch the publication's standard RSS feed (Atom format) |
FAQ
Does Cursor support custom MCP servers on the free tier? Yes — MCP is available on Hobby, Pro and Business plans.
Next steps
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