Ghost Nodes: The Complete Reference

Introduction

This is a self-documenting reference for ox-ghost, the Emacs org-mode export backend that converts .org files to Ghost's Lexical JSON format.

Every section shows:

1. The rendered resultas it appears in Ghost
2. An Org Sourcetoggle below (click to see the org-mode code)

At the end, you can download this very document and its Lexical JSON output.

Text Fundamentals

Paragraphs

The simplest element. Just write text with blank lines between paragraphs.

This is the first paragraph. It can span multiple lines in your org file - they'll be joined.

This is a second paragraph, separated by a blank line.

This is the first paragraph. It can span multiple
lines in your org file - they'll be joined.

This is a second paragraph, separated by a blank line.

Text Formatting

Org-mode formatting maps to Lexical's text format bitmask:

| Format        | Org Syntax      | Bitmask |
|---------------+-----------------+---------|
| Bold          | *bold*          |       1 |
| Italic        | /italic/        |       2 |

Format text with bold, italic, strikethrough, underline, and code.

Combine them: bold-italic, bold-underline, all three.

Format text with bold, italic, strikethrough, underline, and code.

Combine them: /bold-italic/, _bold-underline_, /+all three+/.

Links

External link: Ghost CMS

Plain URL auto-links: https://ii.coop

Email: Contact us

External link: Ghost CMS

Plain URL auto-links: https://ii.coop

Email: Contact us

Line Breaks

Force line breaks with double backslash.

Line one
Line two
Line three

Line one\\
Line two\\
Line three

Headings

Org headlines become Lexical headings. The post title is H1, so content starts at H2.

▼ H2 - Major Section (one star)
*▽ H3 - Subsection (two stars)
**⯆ H4 - Sub-subsection (three stars)
***▿ H5 - Rarely needed (four stars)
****▾ H6 - Avoid this deep (five stars)

Lists

Unordered Lists

• First item
• Second item with bold
• Third item with link

– First item
– Second item with bold
– Third item with link

Ordered Lists

1. First step
2. Second step
3. Third step

1. First step
2. Second step
3. Third step

Nested Lists

• Parent item
  • Child item
  • Another child
    • Grandchild
• Back to parent
• Numbered parent
  1. Numbered child
  2. Another child
• Back to parent

– Parent item
  – Child item
  – Another child
    – Grandchild
– Back to parent

1. Numbered parent
   1. Numbered child
   2. Another child
2. Back to parent

Checkbox Lists

• Unchecked task
• Completed task
• In progress

– □ Unchecked task
– □x Completed task
– □– In progress

Blockquotes

The best way to predict the future is to invent it. — Alan Kay

QUOTE
The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
— Alan Kay
QUOTE

Horizontal Rules

Content above.

Content below.

Content above.

-----

Content below.

Code Blocks

Code blocks support syntax highlighting via Prism.js.

def hello(name):
    return f"Hello, {name}!"

print(hello("Ghost"))

None

SRC python
def hello(name):
    return f"Hello, {name}!"

print(hello("Ghost"))
SRC

More Languages

// JavaScript
const greet = (name) => `Hello, ${name}!`;
console.log(greet("World"));

Hello, World!
undefined

#!/bin/bash
echo "Hello from $(hostname)"

Hello from nextral.sharing.io

;; Emacs Lisp
(defun greet (name)
  (message "Hello, %s!" name))

greet

Callout Blocks

Callouts highlight important information with color-coded backgrounds.

CALLOUT :emoji "💡" :color blue
Your message here. Supports formatting.
CALLOUT

All Seven Colors

Common Emoji Names

Toggle Blocks

Toggles hide content behind a clickable heading. They support rich HTML content!

print("Code inside a toggle!")

None

TOGGLE :heading "Click to expand"
Hidden content here. Supports formatting, lists, and code:

SRC python
print("Code inside a toggle!")
SRC
TOGGLE

Aside Blocks

Asides provide tangential information with distinct styling.

Tangential content here. Supports formatting and links.

ASIDE
Tangential content here. Supports formatting and links.
ASIDE

Button Blocks

Buttons create prominent call-to-action links.

BUTTON :url "https://example.com" :alignment center
Button Text
BUTTON

Header Cards

Full-width banners with text overlay.

HEADER :size small
Header Text
HEADER

Signup Forms

Capture email subscribers.

Regular layout:

Wide layout:

Split layout:

SIGNUP :layout regular :buttonText "Subscribe"
SIGNUP

Email-Only Content

Content that only appears in newsletter emails, not on the web post.

EMAIL
<p>Thanks for being a subscriber!</p>
<p>This only appears in the <strong>email version</strong>.</p>
EMAIL

Call to Action (CTA)

Prominent sections to drive reader action.

CTA :layout minimal :buttonText "Learn More" :url "https://example.com"
Compelling message here.
CTA

Bookmark Cards

Rich link previews with metadata.

Ghost: The Creator Economy Platform

The world's most popular modern publishing platform for creating a new media platform.

TryGhost/Ghost

Independent technology for modern publishing, memberships, subscriptions and newsletters.

BOOKMARK :url "URL" :title "Title" :description "Desc" :thumbnail "IMG" :icon "ICO"
Fallback text
BOOKMARK

Product Cards

Showcase products with optional buy buttons.

PRODUCT :url "https://shop.example.com/item" :buttonText "Buy Now"
Product Title
PRODUCT

Images

Regular width (default):

Wide width:

Full width:

ATTR_LEXICAL: :cardWidth wide
Alt text description

Video Blocks

VIDEO :src "URL" :width 1920 :height 1080 :duration 30 :mimeType "video/mp4"
Caption text
VIDEO

Audio Blocks

AUDIO :src "URL" :duration 120 :mimeType "audio/mpeg"
Track title
AUDIO

File Downloads

FILE :src "URL" :fileName "document.pdf"
Download description
FILE

Gallery Blocks

GALLERY
Alt 1
Alt 2
Alt 3
GALLERY

Embed Blocks

Embed external content (YouTube, Twitter, etc.).

EMBED :url "https://youtube.com/watch?v=..." :html "<iframe>...</iframe>"
Fallback title
EMBED

Asciinema Player

Embed terminal recordings with the asciinema player. Perfect for demos, tutorials, and documentation.

Star Wars Demo

The classic ASCII Star Wars animation via telnet:

Star Wars Episode IV (ASCII)

ASCIINEMA :src https://asciinema.org/a/8.cast :speed 1 :theme monokai :title "Star Wars Episode IV (ASCII)" :idle-time-limit 2
ASCIINEMA

Player Options

ASCIINEMA :src https://asciinema.org/a/8.cast :speed 1.5 :theme solarized-dark :poster "npt:0:10" :autoplay true :loop true :start-at 5 :idle-time-limit 2 :fit width :controls true :title "Full Options Example"
ASCIINEMA

Available Themes

With Custom Settings

ASCIINEMA :src https://asciinema.org/a/8.cast :speed 2 :theme dracula :autoplay true :loop true :start-at 5 :fit width
ASCIINEMA

Local Cast Files

When using local files, they're tracked for upload:

ASCIINEMA :src ./recordings/demo.cast :speed 1.5 :theme github-dark
ASCIINEMA

{
  "media_files": [
    {
      "local": "/full/path/to/recordings/demo.cast",
      "dest": "/content/media/casts/demo.cast"
    }
  ]
}

Tables

Tables export as HTML blocks (Lexical lacks native table support).

| Column A | Column B | Column C |
|----------+----------+----------|
| Value 1  | Value 2  | Value 3  |
| Value 4  | Value 5  | Value 6  |

REPL Blocks

REPL blocks combine code with output in styled presentations.

Simple (default)

2 + 2

4

Labeled

for i in range(3):
    print(f"Item {i}")

Output:

Item 0
Item 1
Item 2

Callout

echo "Build succeeded!"

REPL :style callout :emoji "✅" :color green
SRC python
print("hello")
SRC

RESULTS:
: hello
REPL

Toggle

[0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13]

Aside

Raw HTML

When Lexical nodes aren't enough, embed raw HTML.

EXPORT html
<div style="background: #667eea; padding: 2rem; color: white;">
  Custom HTML content
</div>
EXPORT

Raw Lexical JSON

Insert raw Lexical JSON directly (advanced).

This is useful for nodes ox-ghost doesn't yet support.

EXPORT lexical
{"type":"paragraph","version":1,"children":[...]}
EXPORT

The Export Pipeline

Step 1: Write Your Org File

Create your content using the patterns shown above.

Step 2: Export to Lexical JSON

cd /path/to/ox-ghost
./org-to-lexical.sh input.org output.json

Step 3: Validate the Output

node validate-lexical.js output.json
# With HTML preview:
node validate-lexical.js output.json --html preview.html

Step 4: Create Ghost Post

cd /srv/ii.coop
node ghost.js post create "Post Title" output.json --format lexical

Step 5: Upload Media (Optional)

For video/audio/files, upload first then update the org with URLs:

# Upload media file
node ghost.js upload /path/to/video.mp4

# Returns: https://coop.ghost.io/content/media/2026/01/video.mp4
# Add this URL to your :src attribute

Step 6: Enrich Media Metadata

Auto-populate width/height/duration from uploaded files:

;; In Emacs, with ghost-publish.el loaded:
M-x ghost-publish-enrich-buffer

This probes each media URL and adds the metadata attributes.

Membership Paywall

The PAYWALL block marks where free content ends and members-only content begins.

🎉 Secret Members-Only Content

Congratulations! You've unlocked the exclusive members-only section.

Here's what free readers are missing:

• The meaning of life: 42
• The best programming language: the one that pays your bills
• The secret to happiness: good coffee and clean code

PAYWALL
PAYWALL

Content after the paywall is members-only.

Download This Document

This post is self-documenting. Download the source files:

Summary: All Node Types