To change the social preview image for one Ghost post, open that post’s settings in the editor and update its Meta data social-card fields. Use the Facebook/Open Graph field for Facebook and the X card field for X. Don’t change the site-wide settings unless you want to affect shares of the publication’s main address.
Set the social image for an individual Ghost post
- Open the post in Ghost Admin’s editor.
- Open the post settings menu.
- Find the Meta data section and set the social metadata for that post. Ghost describes this as custom metadata that search engines can access and that may populate links when content is shared. See Ghost’s post settings guide.
- Set the Facebook card data (Open Graph) to choose the image and details for Facebook sharing. If you want different wording or image data for X, set the X card separately. Ghost says that if X-specific data is left blank, it uses the custom metadata.
- Review the metadata and social previews available in the editor before publishing. Ghost documents metadata previews and a social preview in its SEO guide and publishing guide.
Ghost’s exact labels may change, but the key distinction is that individual-post controls are in that post’s settings. Ghost’s documentation also explains that blank metadata can fall back to available page content, while social platforms may still choose a different image or text.
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Choose the right settings for the destination
Facebook: Open Graph data
Use the Facebook card controls in the post settings to set the image and other Open Graph details for that post. If you update the image after publication, Facebook may continue showing cached data. Ghost states that Facebook caches a post’s Open Graph data when published and recommends using the Facebook Sharing Debugger to update a published post’s preview. Ghost does not promise a specific refresh time.
X: card metadata
Set X card metadata when you need X-specific image or text. If you leave X-specific data unset, Ghost says it uses the custom metadata instead. Check the post’s actual preview on X if the displayed result matters; platform rendering can differ from the editor preview.
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Post settings versus site-wide social settings
| Where you change it | What it affects | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| The individual post’s settings → Meta data | That post’s metadata and social-card presentation | You want a custom preview image for one article |
| Settings → General → Meta data | The site address when shared, including site-level Facebook and X card settings | You want to change the publication’s general social presentation |
For one post, use its own settings, not Settings → General → Meta data. Ghost documents the site-level controls in its site setup guide.
Prepare and upload the image
Ghost’s editor image cards accept JPEG, PNG, GIF, and WEBP files, and Ghost says uploaded images are optimized for the web. The editor also includes an image editor, including for feature images; see Ghost’s editor cards guide and intro to the editor.
Those file-format details do not establish a universal pixel size or aspect ratio for a post’s social card. If exact dimensions matter, check the current requirements of the destination platform rather than assuming a general Ghost requirement.
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- Facebook still shows the previous image: Facebook may have cached the published Open Graph data. After saving the new post metadata, use the Facebook Sharing Debugger as Ghost recommends, then inspect the share preview again.
- X shows unexpected text or imagery: Check whether X-specific card data is set. If it is blank, Ghost uses the custom metadata. Also inspect the result on X; the reviewed Ghost guidance does not establish a universal cache-refresh procedure for every platform.
- The publication’s main address changed instead of one post: You likely edited site-wide settings. Return to the individual post and change its Meta data there.
- The preview does not match the editor: Social platforms can choose alternative text or imagery. Check the destination platform’s preview, and verify that the post-level metadata is saved and contains the intended image.
Or skip the browser setup
For an automated screenshot of a page—such as checking how a published post renders—ScreenshotNeo takes a screenshot with one GET request. It is a website screenshot API and MCP server, not a Ghost social-card setting: you still configure the post image in Ghost as described above.
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cURL example, capturing the Ghost post URL:
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://your-ghost-site.com/your-post/ -o shot.webpSee the ScreenshotNeo documentation for request options. ScreenshotNeo removes cookie banners, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; bot checks, blank pages, and failed loads are never billed. Its MCP server lets AI agents take screenshots. The Free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card, and paid plans start at $5 for 3,000.
Sign up for ScreenshotNeo’s free plan.
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