ox-ghost: Org-mode to Ghost Lexical JSON Exporter

README.org ==> ox-ghost ==> https://ox-ghost.ii.coop

Overview

The org file becomes your source of truth while staying in sync with Ghost.

ox-ghost is an Emacs org-mode export backend that converts org files to Ghost’s Lexical JSON format, enabling direct publishing to Ghost CMS.

Installation

Doom Emacs (packages.el)

(package! ox-ghost
  :recipe (:host github :repo "ii/ox-ghost"
           :files ("ox-ghost.el" "ox-ghost-publish.el")))

Then in config.el:

(use-package! ox-ghost
  :after org
  :config
  ;; Optional: Set path to ghost.js for publishing
  (setq ghost-publish-script "/path/to/ox-ghost/ghost.js"))

Straight.el / use-package

(use-package ox-ghost
  :straight (:host github :repo "ii/ox-ghost"
             :files ("ox-ghost.el" "ox-ghost-publish.el"))
  :after org)

Manual Installation

(add-to-list 'load-path "/path/to/ox-ghost")
(require 'ox-ghost)
(require 'ox-ghost-publish) ; Optional: for publishing workflow

Node.js Validator (optional)

For local validation with Ghost’s renderer:

cd /path/to/ox-ghost
npm install

Usage

Interactive

• M-x org-lexical-export-as-json - Export to buffer
• M-x org-lexical-export-to-file - Export to .json file

Shell Script

# Export org file to JSON
./org-to-lexical.sh input.org output.json

Batch Mode (direct emacs)

emacs --batch -Q \
  --eval "(require 'org)" \
  --eval "(require 'ox-html)" \
  -l ox-ghost.el \
  --visit input.org \
  --eval "(princ (org-export-as 'lexical))"

Validation

Validate exported JSON using Ghost’s actual renderer:

# Validate JSON
node validate-lexical.js output.json

# Validate and generate HTML preview
node validate-lexical.js output.json --html preview.html

# Validate directly from org file (exports first)
node validate-lexical.js input.org --html preview.html

# Quiet mode for scripting (outputs JSON stats)
node validate-lexical.js output.json --quiet

Supported Node Types

Standard Org Elements → Lexical Nodes

Org Element	Lexical Node	Notes
* Heading	heading	Level 1 → h2, Level 2 → h3 etc
Paragraph	paragraph	With inline formatting
*bold*	text (format=1)	Bitmask format
/italic/	text (format=2)
_underline_	text (format=8)
+strikethrough+	text (format=4)
=code=	text (format=16)	Inline code
[[url][desc]]	link	With nested text children
[[file:img.jpg]]	image	Detected by extension
- item	list/listitem	bullet or number listType
-----	horizontalrule
#+BEGIN_QUOTE	quote
#+BEGIN_SRC	codeblock	With language
#+BEGIN_EXAMPLE	codeblock	language=”text”
#+BEGIN_EXPORT	html/raw	HTML or raw Lexical JSON

Special Blocks → Ghost Cards

Callout

#+BEGIN_CALLOUT :emoji 🎉 :color green
Your callout text here.
#+END_CALLOUT

Properties:

• :emoji - Emoji icon (default: 💡)
• :color - Background color: blue, green, yellow, red, pink, purple, grey (default: blue)

Toggle

#+BEGIN_TOGGLE :heading "Click to expand"
Hidden content revealed on click.
#+END_TOGGLE

Properties:

• :heading - Toggle header text (required)

Button

#+BEGIN_BUTTON :url https://example.com :alignment center
Button Text
#+END_BUTTON

Properties:

• :url - Button link URL (required)
• :alignment - left, center, right (default: center)

Aside

#+BEGIN_ASIDE
Secondary content in an aside.
#+END_ASIDE

Gallery

#+BEGIN_GALLERY :images "img1.jpg, img2.jpg, img3.jpg"
#+END_GALLERY

Properties:

• :images - Comma-separated list of image URLs

Video

#+BEGIN_VIDEO :src https://example.com/video.mp4
#+END_VIDEO

Properties:

• :src - Video URL (required)

Audio

#+BEGIN_AUDIO :src https://example.com/audio.mp3
Episode Title
#+END_AUDIO

Properties:

• :src - Audio URL (required)

Embed

#+BEGIN_EMBED :url https://twitter.com/example/status/123
Tweet preview text
#+END_EMBED

Properties:

• :url - Embed URL (required)

Bookmark

#+BEGIN_BOOKMARK :url https://example.com
Bookmark Title
#+END_BOOKMARK

Properties:

• :url - Bookmark URL (required)

File Download

#+BEGIN_FILE :src https://example.com/doc.pdf :fileName "Document.pdf"
File description
#+END_FILE

Properties:

• :src - File URL (required)
• :fileName - Display filename

Product

#+BEGIN_PRODUCT :url https://shop.example.com :buttonText "Buy Now"
Product Name
#+END_PRODUCT

Properties:

• :url - Product URL
• :buttonText - CTA button text

Signup Form

#+BEGIN_SIGNUP :layout regular :buttonText "Subscribe Now"
#+END_SIGNUP

Properties:

• :layout - regular, wide, split (default: regular)
• :buttonText - Button text (default: Subscribe)

Call to Action

#+BEGIN_CTA :layout minimal :buttonText "Learn More" :url https://example.com
Your CTA text here.
#+END_CTA

Properties:

• :layout - minimal, immersive, split (default: minimal)
• :buttonText - Button text (default: Learn more)
• :url - Button link URL

Header Card

#+BEGIN_HEADER :size small
Header Text
#+END_HEADER

Properties:

• :size - small, medium, large (default: small)

Transistor Podcast

#+BEGIN_TRANSISTOR :url https://share.transistor.fm/e/episode-id
#+END_TRANSISTOR

Properties:

• :url - Transistor episode URL

Email-only Content

#+BEGIN_EMAIL
Content only visible in email newsletters.
#+END_EMAIL

REPL Block (Code + Output)

Wrap source code with its output using configurable styles:

Simple (default)

#+BEGIN_REPL
#+BEGIN_SRC python
print("Hello!")
#+END_SRC

#+RESULTS:
: Hello!
#+END_REPL

Outputs consecutive codeblocks (source + output).

Labeled

#+BEGIN_REPL :style labeled :label "Result"
#+BEGIN_SRC python
x = 2 + 2
print(x)
#+END_SRC

#+RESULTS:
: 4
#+END_REPL

Adds a label paragraph before the output.

Callout

#+BEGIN_REPL :style callout :emoji 💻 :color green
#+BEGIN_SRC shell
uname -a
#+END_SRC

#+RESULTS:
: Linux host 6.1.0 x86_64
#+END_REPL

Wraps output in a colored callout box.

Toggle

#+BEGIN_REPL :style toggle :heading "Python Example"
#+BEGIN_SRC python
for i in range(3):
    print(i)
#+END_SRC

#+RESULTS:
: 0
: 1
: 2
#+END_REPL

Puts code in a collapsible toggle, output follows after.

Aside

#+BEGIN_REPL :style aside
#+BEGIN_SRC elisp
(message "Hello!")
#+END_SRC

#+RESULTS:
: Hello!
#+END_REPL

Wraps everything in an aside block.

Properties:

• :style - simple, labeled, callout, toggle, aside (default: simple)
• :label - Label text for labeled style (default: “Output”)
• :emoji - Emoji for callout style (default: 📤)
• :color - Color for callout style (default: grey)
• :heading - Heading for toggle style (default: “Code (language)”)

Image Attributes

Use #+ATTR_LEXICAL to set image properties:

#+ATTR_LEXICAL: :cardWidth wide
[[file:photo.jpg][Alt text for the image]]

Properties:

• :cardWidth - regular, wide, full (default: regular)

Raw Lexical JSON

Insert raw Lexical JSON directly:

#+BEGIN_EXPORT lexical
{"type":"paragraph","version":1,"children":[...]}
#+END_EXPORT

Format Bitmask Reference

Text formatting uses a bitmask:

Format	Value	Example
Normal	0	Plain text
Bold	1	bold
Italic	2	italic
Strikethrough	4	strikethrough
Underline	8	underline
Code	16	code
Bold+Italic	3	/bold italic/

Node Type Summary

Ghost Koenig editor supports these node types (from TryGhost/Koenig):

Category	Node Types
Text	heading, paragraph, quote, aside, ExtendedText
Lists	list, listitem
Code	codeblock
Media	image, gallery, video, audio, file
Embeds	embed, bookmark, transistor
Interactive	button, toggle, callout, call-to-action, signup
Commerce	product, paywall
Layout	horizontalrule, header
Special	html, markdown, email, email-cta

Files

File	Purpose
ox-ghost.el	Emacs org-mode export backend
org-to-lexical.sh	Shell wrapper for batch export
validate-lexical.js	Validation with Ghost’s renderer
package.json	npm dependencies for validator
STYLE-GUIDE.org	Authoring best practices
test-*.org	Test files

Version History

See HISTORY.org for the full changelog.

Current version: 0.8.0 (2026-01-31)

Ghost Publishing Workflow

For a complete publishing workflow with media generation and enrichment, see ox-ghost-publish.el.

Quick Start

(require 'ox-ghost-publish)

Phases

Phase	Command	Purpose
Generate	ghost-tts, ghost-image, ghost-video	Create media, upload to Ghost
Enrich	M-x ghost-enrich-buffer	Add metadata to media blocks
Preview	M-x ghost-preview	View HTML locally
Publish	M-x ghost-publish	Send to Ghost as draft

Round-Trip Metadata Sync

After publishing, ox-ghost automatically syncs Ghost metadata back to your org file:

#+GHOST_ID: 697dc6b53c8ddf0001728f9f
#+GHOST_UUID: e34c9f93-6f87-4cad-ae5c-c4e338d1df14
#+GHOST_SLUG: my-post-slug
#+GHOST_URL: https://www.ii.coop/my-post-slug/
#+GHOST_STATUS: draft
#+GHOST_CREATED_AT: 2026-01-31T09:09:09.000Z
#+GHOST_UPDATED_AT: 2026-01-31T09:09:09.000Z

This enables a true round-trip workflow:

Command	Behavior
M-x ghost-publish	Create post, sync id/uuid/url back to org
M-x ghost-update	Auto-detects post from #+GHOST_ID:, updates
M-x ghost-pull-metadata	Refresh org headers from Ghost
M-x ghost-status	Show diff between local org and Ghost

The org file becomes your source of truth while staying in sync with Ghost.

Resources

• Ghost Editor Documentation
• Ghost Koenig Editor Source
• Lexical Framework

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The org file becomes your source of truth while staying in sync with Ghost.