Recover a Ghost blog by checking genuine exports and account options before relying on archived posts. Public captures can help reconstruct published writing and page layouts. They cannot supply private membership records, paid subscription information or content that was never publicly available.
The first decision is whether the original publication can be recovered from authorized native sources or whether an evidence-led public-content rebuild is needed. Keep those outcomes separate when assessing what remains.
Check account status before requesting an archive
Establish whether the publication uses Ghost(Pro) or a self-hosted installation and whether the owner still has authorized account access. Retain existing exports and media copies without changing the surviving site.
Ghost’s current backup help says Ghost(Pro) provides managed backups, but full site archives are supplied for specified purposes rather than as service-continuity backups. It also says those archives cannot be provided for already-cancelled Ghost(Pro) accounts. Do not interpret a generic backup statement as a promise to roll back any cancelled publication.
Ask support about the actual account and available options before making a cancellation or assuming that a support request will recover a particular date. For self-hosted sites, ask the authorized administrator what installation backups remain. Do not apply Ghost(Pro) assumptions to a different hosting arrangement.
Identify which export components genuinely survive
The Ghost export documentation separates content and settings, member data, analytics, themes, routes and redirects, and media. Its current export options also differ between Ghost(Pro) and self-hosted sites. Inventory the actual files rather than assuming a content export contains every component.
Record the export date, originating publication and supplied components. Check that retained images or other media can be associated with the relevant posts. Theme files and route configuration can provide useful original evidence, but a public screenshot is not their equivalent.
Keep private exports out of public working notes. Share them only with authorized people through an appropriate agreed channel. An article-recovery inventory usually needs public content identity and provenance, not a copy of subscriber information.
Reconstruct public posts without inventing publication history
For each supported article, record its historical URL, title, visible byline, displayed publication date and usable source. Distinguish a displayed article date from the date the archive captured the page.
Several captures may show revisions of the same post. Decide which version is appropriate and keep the source dates in the recovery record. Do not combine different revisions into a purported original article without editorial review.
Use index pages to discover missing titles and paths, but do not count an excerpt as a complete recovered post. If only part of an article survives, record that limitation and ask the owner whether further original material exists.
Use a publication-component decision register
This is a suggested assessment tool, not a successful Ghost recovery example. Assign each component one of these outcomes:
- Native source available: identify the genuine export or authorized backup and its date.
- Public evidence available: identify the captured post, image or layout and what it supports.
- New decision required: record the proposed replacement and the owner’s approval.
- Unavailable or private: record the gap without guessing its contents.
Apply this separately to articles, media, authorship, tag relationships, theme presentation, routes and membership features. One component can be recoverable while another is missing. A recovered article does not prove that its original mailing or member-access behavior survives.
Keep protected content and subscriptions outside public reconstruction
A public preview can show that a restricted article existed. It does not provide the remaining text or authorize bypassing access controls. Seek owner-provided original writing or authorized exports for unavailable content.
Likewise, a public subscription button does not recover member addresses, subscription status, billing relationships or credentials. Do not recreate these records from guesses, published comments or unrelated lists.
If a new membership implementation is requested, specify it as separate work with appropriate authorized sources and tests. Rebuilding public pages is not proof that subscribers retain their former access or that payment-related behavior is correct.
Review routes, media and editing before handover
Compare delivered article paths with the agreed inventory. Test direct public access, links from tag or listing pages, image references and representative small-screen layouts. Check that editing an accepted article updates its intended destination.
Record rebuilt routes separately from any approved URL changes. Do not assume all missing paths should redirect to the homepage or that a recreated tag list reproduces every historical relationship.
Any newsletter, member-access or subscription test must be separately authorized and conducted in an appropriate arrangement. Do not send messages to real subscribers merely to demonstrate that a button exists.
The archive restoration guide explains the wider source review. A Ghost publication assessment should finish with a clear list of recovered original components, reconstructed public content and remaining gaps, not an unsupported claim of complete recovery.
Ghost recovery questions
Is a public archive a membership backup?
No. Public posts and previews do not supply the publication’s private member or subscription records.
Can Ghost(Pro) supply a full archive after cancellation?
The current official help says full site archives cannot be provided for accounts that have already been cancelled. Check actual account options before assuming recovery is available.
Does an archived date establish the post’s publication date?
No. Capture time establishes when that representation was archived. Use supported publication evidence for the article’s original date.
