14 |
15 |
16 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/package.json:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 | {
2 | "name": "substack-proxy",
3 | "version": "0.0.0",
4 | "engines": {
5 | "node": ">=16.0"
6 | },
7 | "scripts": {
8 | "start": "node src/server.js",
9 | "watch": "nodemon --ignore public/ src/server.js",
10 | "deploy": "git push glitch main --force"
11 | },
12 | "devDependencies": {
13 | "nodemon": "^3.1.0"
14 | },
15 | "dependencies": {
16 | "crypto": "^1.0.1",
17 | "express": "^4.18.2",
18 | "express-handlebars": "^7.1.2",
19 | "jsdom": "^24.1.0",
20 | "node-fetch": "^3.3.2",
21 | "url-slug": "^4.0.1"
22 | },
23 | "type": "module"
24 | }
25 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/public/styles/base.css:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 | /*
2 | https://colorhunt.co/palette/fefaf6eadbc8dac0a3102c57
3 | */
4 | :root {
5 | --color-bg: #FAF9F6;
6 | --color-primary: #3c3c3c;
7 | --color-muted: #a7a7a7;
8 | }
9 |
10 | @font-face {
11 | font-family: HK Grotesk;
12 | font-weight: bold;
13 | src: url("../fonts/HKGrotesk-Bold.otf")
14 | format("opentype");
15 | }
16 |
17 | html {
18 | font-family: HK Grotesk;
19 | -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased;
20 | -moz-osx-font-smoothing: grayscale;
21 | color: var(--color-primary);
22 | background: var(--color-bg);
23 | font-size: 18px;
24 | }
25 |
26 | .content {
27 | margin:auto;
28 | max-width: 700px;
29 | padding: 30px;
30 | }
31 |
32 | @media only screen and (max-width : 900px) {
33 | .content {
34 | padding: 0px;
35 | }
36 | }
37 |
38 | .muted-text {
39 | color: var(--color-muted);
40 | }
41 |
42 | a {
43 | color: var(--color-muted);
44 | }
45 |
46 | .three-dots {
47 | text-align: center;
48 | margin-top: 50px;
49 | margin-bottom: 50px;
50 | }
51 |
52 | .three-dots span {
53 | width: 8px;
54 | height: 8px;
55 | border-radius: 50%;
56 | background: var(--color-muted);
57 | display: inline-block;
58 | margin: 0 15px;
59 | }
60 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/README.md:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 | # twitter substack proxy
2 |
3 | see writeup here: https://omarshehata.substack.com/p/fighting-twitters-censorship-of-substack
4 |
5 | Twitter artificially limits the reach of substack links. They do not display the preview card like other links to, and tweets get limited reach if they link specifically to substack. This is a workaround.
6 |
7 | deployed at:
8 |
9 | ## http://substack-proxy.glitch.me/
10 |
11 | project page on glitch: https://glitch.com/~substack-proxy
12 |
13 | **before / after**
14 |
15 | 
16 |
17 | Example page source (with `?noredirect` param so you can view source). It will appear blank, because it only has meta tags and a JS snippet to redirect to the substack article:
18 |
19 | https://substack-proxy.glitch.me/articles/omarshehata-substack-com-p-my-favorite-1980s-canadian-tv-show.html?noredirect
20 |
21 | ### Alternatives
22 |
23 | - https://substackfwd.xyz/?url=
24 |
25 | ### Setup
26 |
27 | Clone this repo. Install node/pnpm (https://pnpm.io/installation).
28 |
29 | 1. `pnpm install` to install node dependencies
30 | 1. Run `env.bat` to set environmant variables
31 | 1. `pnpm watch` to run the server with auto-reload
32 |
33 | `src/server.js` is the server code. `views/index.handlebars` is the main page.
34 |
35 | ### How it works
36 |
37 | This is an extremely low-tech thing, you can even do it yourself by hand!
38 |
39 | 1. [This is the template](views/article-card-template.handlebars) that it generates
40 | 2. You can copy this info from the substack HTML page (or fill it yourself with whatever you need it to say)
41 | 3. You can put this HTML page anywhere that is publicly accessible, then share that on twitter, and it will look like a substack article, and redirect to it.
42 |
43 | Even if they banned this glitch app, anyone can host this on their own website, or on any free static host like glitch/codepen/replit etc.
44 |
45 | If my app ever breaks or catches fire and burns, the URLs it generates are derived from the original URLs, so no data is lost (a quick google search will find the original article).
46 |
47 | I debated preserving the original URL as-is by base64-encoding it, but that sacrifices readability.
48 |
49 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/views/index.handlebars:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 |
2 |
3 | The host for substack-proxy (glitch.com) has shut down. The old URL will redirect until end of 2026. Read more.
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
twitter substack proxy
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 | Paste in your substack link:
15 |
16 |
17 |
18 |
19 |
20 |
26 |
27 |
28 |
29 |
30 | You can now share this link on Twitter:
31 |
32 |
33 |
34 |
35 |
36 |
37 |
38 |
39 |
40 |
41 |
63 |
64 |
65 |
66 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
/views/article-card-template.handlebars:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 |
2 | {{!-- include all the substack meta tags to mimic the display card --}}
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
28 |
29 | {{#if manualRedirect}}
30 |
80 |