How to Move Kirby Blog to Substack

Moving from Kirby to Substack means turning a blog archive into an owned email newsletter — with a public Substack home page and posts that arrive in readers’ inboxes.

Why leave Kirby for Substack?

Kirby’s flat-file CMS already stores content as files — easy to move, then email via Substack.

Substack gives you hosting for posts, email delivery, paid subscriptions, and a simpler writing workflow. The missing piece for many authors is automation: Substack has no official public posting API. That is where API Substack fits.

How API Substack helps the move

API Substack is the unofficial posting API for Substack authors. After you create a Substack publication, you connect it to API Substack and republish your archive as drafts/posts — then keep shipping new issues without living in the browser editor.

• Register on API Substack and generate an API key
• Connect your Substack publication (publication URL + `substack.sid` session cookie)
• Create drafts, publish now, or schedule posts from API, CLI, or MCP
• Turn the migration queue into a repeatable newsletter workflow

In practice: export from Kirby → create Substack → connect the publication to API Substack → republish cleaned posts → keep writing as a Substack newsletter.

Step 1 — Export from Kirby

1. Copy `content/` page folders (text files + images).
2. Convert Kirbytext to Markdown/HTML.
3. Export subscribers from your ESP/forms.
4. Order pages by date for republish.

Step 2 — Create your Substack publication

1. Create a publication at Substack and choose your name/URL
2. Write About / Welcome posts so new subscribers understand the move
3. Import your subscriber CSV in Substack (where you legally have consent)
4. Optionally connect a custom domain in Substack settings

Step 3 — Connect the publication to API Substack

1. Register on API Substack and start your key
2. Set your publication URL (example: `https://yourname.substack.com`)
3. Copy the browser cookie `substack.sid` while signed into Substack (DevTools → Application → Cookies)
4. Store the API key + cookie in your CLI, HTTP client, or Substack API MCP

Step 4 — Republish Kirby posts to Substack

1. Clean each post (title, subtitle, body, images, tags)
2. Create a draft on Substack via API Substack (`create_post` / draft flows)
3. Review the draft in Substack if the piece is sensitive or heavily formatted
4. Publish or schedule — work oldest→newest or ship a “best of” first
5. Announce the move to remaining Kirby readers with the Substack URL

For non-technical authors, install the MCP into Claude, Cursor, or Codex and ask the agent to draft/publish. For developers, use the Python client / CLI or raw HTTP. See How to post to Substack via API.

Corner cases

• Kirbytags must be expanded.
• Panel users/roles do not transfer.
• Flat files make API Substack batching straightforward.

• `substack.sid` expires — refresh it when you get 401/403
• API Substack does not replace Substack’s own subscriber CSV import — connect the publication, then republish content
• Image upload and Notes are not the focus of the posting API — optimize for newsletter posts
• This is unofficial and not affiliated with Substack — keep browser login as backup

After the move

Once the Kirby archive is on Substack, keep using API Substack as your publish rail: draft tomorrow’s issue, schedule the week, or let an AI agent post through MCP. Your blog becomes a Substack newsletter you actually control.