explaingit

efforg/psi-tumblr-crawler

Analysis updated 2026-07-16 · repo last pushed 2015-08-13

5JavaScriptAudience · researcherComplexity · 2/5DormantSetup · moderate

TLDR

A simple tool that automatically downloads posts from a Tumblr blog and saves them as structured JSON files, with an option to push the archived data to a GitHub repository.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Downloads Tumblr posts
      Saves data as JSON
      Pushes to GitHub
    Tech stack
      JavaScript
      Shell script
      JSON files
    Use cases
      Archive blog content
      Research record-keeping
      Advocacy campaigns
    Audience
      Researchers
      Advocacy projects
      Campaign organizers
    Setup
      Config file
      Target blog URL
      Run main script

Code map

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Back up photo posts from a Tumblr campaign blog into organized JSON files for permanent record-keeping.

USE CASE 2

Archive a Tumblr blog's content and automatically push the saved data to a GitHub repository.

USE CASE 3

Collect and structure Tumblr posts about a social issue for later analysis or documentation.

What is it built with?

JavaScriptShell scriptJSON

How does it compare?

efforg/psi-tumblr-crawler00kaku/wp-rest-playgroundchalarangelo/mini-active-record
Stars555
LanguageJavaScriptJavaScriptJavaScript
Last pushed2015-08-13
MaintenanceDormant
Setup difficultymoderatehardeasy
Complexity2/53/51/5
Audienceresearcherdevelopervibe coder

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires knowing the target Tumblr blog and post types, plus optional GitHub repository configuration for the auto-push feature.

No license information is provided, so default copyright restrictions may apply.

In plain English

This tool automatically downloads posts from a Tumblr blog and saves them in a structured data format. It was built for the Electronic Frontier Foundation's "Project Secret Identity" campaign, which focused on surveillance and privacy issues, letting the team archive blog content for analysis or record-keeping. You set it up by telling it which Tumblr blog to target and what kind of posts to grab (like photos) in a small configuration file. When you run the main script, the tool visits the specified blog, collects the posts, and packages the information into JSON files, a common, easy-to-use format for storing data. As a bonus feature, you can also point the tool at a GitHub repository, and it will automatically push the collected data there, creating a saved archive. This would be useful for anyone running a research or advocacy project who needs to back up content from a Tumblr blog. For example, if a campaign is collecting photo posts about a social issue and wants to keep a permanent, organized record of those posts, this tool handles the downloading and saving automatically. The documentation is sparse, so details are limited, but it appears to be a straightforward, no-frills utility rather than a full-featured application. It is designed to do one specific job, scraping Tumblr and saving the results, and handles that workflow through a simple shell script rather than a complex interface.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Help me configure the psi-tumblr-crawler to download all photo posts from a specific Tumblr blog. What fields do I need to set in the config file?
Prompt 2
Walk me through running the psi-tumblr-crawler shell script to scrape a Tumblr blog and save the results as JSON files on my computer.
Prompt 3
Show me how to set up the optional GitHub push feature in psi-tumblr-crawler so my archived Tumblr data is automatically committed to a GitHub repository.
Prompt 4
I have the psi-tumblr-crawler set up but it is not collecting posts from the Tumblr blog I specified. Help me troubleshoot common issues with the config file and blog targeting.

Frequently asked questions

What is psi-tumblr-crawler?

A simple tool that automatically downloads posts from a Tumblr blog and saves them as structured JSON files, with an option to push the archived data to a GitHub repository.

What language is psi-tumblr-crawler written in?

Mainly JavaScript. The stack also includes JavaScript, Shell script, JSON.

Is psi-tumblr-crawler actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2015-08-13).

What license does psi-tumblr-crawler use?

No license information is provided, so default copyright restrictions may apply.

How hard is psi-tumblr-crawler to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is psi-tumblr-crawler for?

Mainly researcher.

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