publish to ghost

Publish to Ghost without copy-paste

Connect Ghost once, then send finished articles from the WritingTools editor. Keep your formatting, choose draft or live, and skip the back-and-forth between apps. Nothing is scheduled.

How to connect

  1. In Ghost Admin, open Settings → Integrations and add a custom integration.
  2. Copy the Admin API key (two parts with a colon in the middle).
  3. Use your blog's home address only, such as https://your-blog.ghost.io.
  4. Connect Ghost on the Integrations page. Premium is required.
  5. Publish from the editor as a draft or a public post.

Good to know

  • You can connect more than one Ghost site.
  • We create a quick test draft when connecting (then remove it) so a bad key fails early.
Open connectionsOpen the editorSee Premium

Other destinations: WordPress, Webflow, Wix, Blogger, Webhook, API.

Ghost Admin API, not the Content API

Ghost has two keys that look similar and do different jobs. The Content API key can read public posts. It cannot create one. WritingTools needs the Admin API key from a custom integration: an id, a colon, and a secret. The site URL is the origin only, such as https://your-blog.ghost.io, with no /ghost path and no post slug.

Connecting is a write test. WritingTools creates a draft and deletes it. If that round trip fails, the key or the URL is wrong, and the connection is not saved as ready. You will not discover the problem on the day you meant to publish.

Create the integration in Ghost Admin

  1. 1

    Open the integrations screen

    In Ghost Admin, go to Settings, then Integrations, and add a custom integration. Name it so you can tell it apart later, especially if you have more than one Ghost site.

  2. 2

    Copy the Admin API key

    Use the Admin API key, the one with a colon. The Content API key will not pass the draft test. Paste it into the Ghost card on Integrations along with the site root.

  3. 3

    Save on Premium, then send a draft

    Saving the connection is part of Premium. In the editor, Publish, pick the Ghost site, and choose Draft first. Open Ghost and confirm the post. Choose Published only when that draft is the post you want live. Nothing is scheduled.

More than one Ghost site

Each site is a separate connection with its own Admin API key. The editor lists them by the name you gave the connection. Revoke the integration inside Ghost if a key leaks, then edit the connection and paste the new key. Editing keeps the same destination instead of leaving an old key beside a new one.

Ghost’s theme, members, and newsletters stay in Ghost. WritingTools sends the article. It does not configure the theme, offers, or email. If the HTML looks different on the site than in the editor, that is the theme’s card and typography, and the draft in Ghost is the place to check it.

When the test draft fails

  • The URL includes a path. Use the origin only.
  • The key has no colon, or it is the Content API key.
  • The integration was deleted in Ghost Admin. Create it again and paste the new Admin API key.
  • The site is on a private network. The connection has to reach a public Ghost Admin API.

What you still do in Ghost

Tags, authors, feature images, and the newsletter send stay in Ghost Admin unless you set them on the draft after it arrives. The editor’s job is the title and the body, plus the choice of draft or published. Open the draft, assign the author your readers expect, add the tags your theme uses for related posts, and look at the card on the homepage. A post that looks right in the editor can still use the wrong excerpt in the theme, because the excerpt is Ghost’s field.

If you publish from more than one person, give each Ghost integration a name that matches the publication, not the person. The key is a credential for the site. Sharing one key across a team is normal. Revoking it in Ghost Admin cuts off every connection that used it, which is what you want when someone leaves.

Members-only posts and tiers are configured in Ghost, not in the Publish menu. If a post must be for paid members, create it as a draft, then set the access in Ghost before you make it public. Sending Published from the editor makes the post public in the ordinary sense. It does not pick a tier for you.

Other ways to publish, besides Ghost

Use the destination that already hosts the article. Each setup is different.

All connectionsEditorWordPressWebflow

Ghost publishing is part of Premium

You can read the steps on the free plan. Saving the connection and sending a draft or a live post from the editor uses the Premium plan on the pricing page. Exporting a file does not.

See Premium

Frequently Asked Questions

A short test draft confirms Ghost can receive articles. WritingTools deletes that draft after the check.