I’m a Ghost(Pro) user (v5.65.0) having trouble using the API to remove complimentary subscriptions from members. I’m working in a Google Script environment.
Background
I am importing a large (and changing) list of subscribers from an external source. I’m doing this by giving them comp memberships in Ghost. On update, if they are no longer subscribed externally, I want to set their status as free members in hopes that they’ll re-subscribe.
I’m creating the members and their comp subscriptions just fine with the API. I’m also able to delete expired members fine with the API.
Issue
But I can’t remove the comp subscription.
I’ve been trying to PUT an existing member by setting "comped" : false and also doing that along with "status" : "free", but there is no change; when I GET the member to verify, they are still comped, and their status is still that of someone with paid access.
I’ve also tried setting the member.subscriptions to [] to remove the subscription, and setting member.subscriptions[0].status = "canceled". These do not work either.
I can delete the members and re-create them as free members, but then I’d lose the information on their email opens and link clicks, which I’d rather maintain.
Code
function testRemoveCompSubscription() {
let authorization = getGhostAuthorization();
let id = MEMBER_ID;
let member = getGhostMember(id, authorization);
// I've tried various combinations of the following four lines,
// to no avail.
member.status = "free";
member.comped = false;
member.subscriptions[0].status = "canceled";
// member.subscriptions = [];
delete member.note; // I get a 422 if I don't include this.
updateGhostMember(member, authorization);
}
function updateGhostMember(member, authorization = false) {
if (!authorization) {
authorization = getGhostAuthorization();
}
let options = {
'method': 'PUT',
'headers': {
'Authorization': authorization,
},
'muteHttpExceptions': true,
'contentType': 'application/json',
'payload': JSON.stringify({
"members": [
member
]
}),
}
var response = UrlFetchApp.fetch(`https://${admin_domain}/ghost/api/admin/members/${member.id}`, options);
console.log(response.getResponseCode());
if (response.getResponseCode() != 200) {
console.log(response.getContentText());
}
var jsResponse = JSON.parse(response.getContentText()).members[0];
console.log('Member: \n ' + JSON.stringify(jsResponse,null,2));
}
Current results
When I do this with a member with a complimentary subscription, I get back the following for the member. See three comments for changes that are not being made. I have tested changing the member’s name, which does work, so I don’t think there’s something generally wrong with my API use.
Member:
{
"id": ——,
"uuid": ——,
"email": ——,
"name": ——,
"note": null,
"geolocation": null,
"subscribed": true,
"created_at": "2023-09-21T22:41:17.000Z",
"updated_at": "2023-09-27T14:46:17.000Z",
"labels": [],
"subscriptions": [
{
"id": "",
"tier": {
"id": ——,
"name": ——,
"slug": "default-product",
"active": true,
"welcome_page_url": null,
"visibility": "public",
"trial_days": 7,
"description": null,
"type": "paid",
"currency": "USD",
"monthly_price": 1500,
"yearly_price": 15000,
"created_at": "2023-07-17T21:50:31.000Z",
"updated_at": "2023-09-21T22:43:06.000Z",
"monthly_price_id": null,
"yearly_price_id": null,
"expiry_at": null
},
"customer": {
"id": "",
"name": ——,
"email": ——,
},
"plan": {
"id": "",
"nickname": "Complimentary",
"interval": "year",
"currency": "USD",
"amount": 0
},
"status": "active", // status not changed to "canceled"
"start_date": "2023-09-21T22:41:23.000Z",
"default_payment_card_last4": "****",
"cancel_at_period_end": false,
"cancellation_reason": null,
"current_period_end": null,
"price": {
"id": "",
"price_id": "",
"nickname": "Complimentary",
"amount": 0,
"interval": "year",
"type": "recurring",
"currency": "USD",
"tier": {
"id": "",
"tier_id": ——.
}
},
"offer": null
}
],
"avatar_image": ——,
"comped": true, // comped remains true
"email_count": 0,
"email_opened_count": 0,
"email_open_rate": null,
"status": "comped", // status not updated to "free"
"last_seen_at": "2023-09-27T14:25:14.000Z",
"attribution": {
"id": null,
"type": null,
"url": null,
"title": null,
"referrer_source": "Created manually",
"referrer_medium": "Ghost Admin",
"referrer_url": null
},
"tiers": [
{
"id": ——,
"name": ——,
"slug": "default-product",
"active": true,
"welcome_page_url": null,
"visibility": "public",
"trial_days": 7,
"description": null,
"type": "paid",
"currency": "USD",
"monthly_price": 1500,
"yearly_price": 15000,
"created_at": "2023-07-17T21:50:31.000Z",
"updated_at": "2023-09-21T22:43:06.000Z",
"monthly_price_id": null,
"yearly_price_id": null,
"expiry_at": null
}
],
"email_suppression": {
"suppressed": false,
"info": null
},
"newsletters": [
{
"id": ——,
"name": "Daily Briefing",
"description": null,
"status": "active"
},
{
"id": ——,
"name": "Weekly Roundup",
"description": null,
"status": "active"
}
]
}
Any advice?