Substack Comment Section Collapser

WHAT IT DOES

Substack Comment Section Collapser adds a collapsible toggle button to comment sections on Substack posts, allowing you to expand or collapse the entire comment section with a single click. The toggle button shows the current comment count and visually indicates whether comments are expanded or collapsed. The collapse state is remembered per article, so comments stay collapsed when you return to the post. A keyboard shortcut (C) lets you toggle comments without using the mouse, making it easy to quickly hide or show comment sections while reading.

WHERE IT RUNS

This extension works exclusively on Substack at substack.com. It functions on post pages, article pages, and any page with comment sections. The tool works across all Substack publications and adapts to dynamically loaded comments.

HOW TO USE

Install the extension and navigate to any Substack post with comments. A toggle button appears near the comment section header (or at the top of the comments area) showing "💬 Comments (X)" with an arrow. Click the button to collapse or expand the comment section. Press the C key on your keyboard to toggle comments without clicking. Use the overlay panel to customize the experience: enable "Auto-collapse comments" to automatically collapse comments on every new page, toggle the visibility of the toggle button, enable or disable per-article state remembering, and enable or disable the keyboard shortcut. Click "Reset Saved States" to clear all remembered collapse states for all articles.

TECHNICAL SECTION — COMMENT SECTION DETECTION AND COLLAPSE ENGINE

The extension uses a multi-strategy detection engine to find comment sections on Substack pages. It queries common comment selectors including .comments, .comment-section, .post-comments, and .threads. It also searches for headings containing "Comments" and uses the parent element as the section container. The collapse mechanism uses CSS transitions with max-height, opacity, and overflow properties to create a smooth animation. The state is stored using GM_setValue with a key based on the article ID (extracted from the URL path), and the stored state is checked on page load to restore the previous collapse state. The toggle button displays the comment count by counting comment elements within the section, updating dynamically when comments are loaded or changed.

THE PANEL — DRAG / PER-SITE POSITION / SNAP / COLLAPSE / RESIZE / ESCAPE

The overlay panel is fully interactive and designed for seamless multitasking. Drag it anywhere on the screen using the handle at the top of the panel; the position is saved per site so it stays where you left it across sessions. The panel includes a snap-to-edge feature that gently anchors the overlay to the nearest screen edge when released. Click the collapse button to minimize the panel to a compact pill showing the current comment status; expand it again with a single click. Resize the panel vertically by dragging the bottom-right corner to view more controls. Press the Escape key at any time to instantly close the overlay; it reappears on the next page navigation or refresh.

PLEASE NOTE

This extension requires the free BotGentz companion extension to function, as it provides the underlying content script injection and cross-origin communication framework. No personal data, browsing history, or comment data is stored, transmitted, or shared. Collapse states are stored locally in your browser using GM_setValue and are never sent to any external server. The extension does not access or store login credentials, financial data, or personally identifiable information. The tool modifies the display of comment sections on the page and does not access Substack's API or any private data. Substack may update its page structure; the extension includes multiple detection strategies to maintain compatibility, but major redesigns may temporarily affect comment detection. The keyboard shortcut may conflict with other extensions or page shortcuts; it can be disabled in the settings.