Hacker News MCP Server
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| HN_USERNAME | No | Optional HN username for context | |
| HN_API_BASE_URL | No | Firebase API endpoint | https://hacker-news.firebaseio.com/v0 |
| HN_ALGOLIA_BASE_URL | No | Algolia search endpoint | https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1 |
Instructions
Guidance the server publishes about itself, which clients place ahead of the tool catalog so the model reads it before choosing anything.
This server publishes no instructions, or was last inspected before Glama recorded them.
Capabilities
Features and capabilities supported by this server
Protocol revision2025-11-25
| Capability | Details |
|---|---|
| tools | {} |
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| list_storiesA | Browse Hacker News feeds (top, new, best, ask, show, job) with pagination. Returns titles, URLs, scores, and metadata. |
| get_itemA | Get any Hacker News item by ID (story, comment, job, poll). Returns full details including text content. |
| get_commentsA | Get threaded comments for a Hacker News story. Returns comments with indentation showing reply depth. Skips dead and deleted comments. |
| searchB | Search Hacker News using Algolia. Search stories, comments, or all items by relevance or date. |
| get_userA | Get a Hacker News user profile by username. Returns karma, account age, about text, and submission count. |
| get_user_submissionsB | Get recent submissions from a Hacker News user. Can filter by stories or comments. |
Prompts
Interactive templates invoked by user choice
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No prompts | |
Resources
Contextual data attached and managed by the client
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No resources | |
TDQS
Scored across 6 tools
Each tool has a distinct purpose: feeds, item retrieval, comment threads, search, user profiles, and user submissions. No overlapping functionality that would cause confusion.
Most tools follow a clear verb_noun pattern (list_stories, get_item, get_comments, get_user, get_user_submissions). The lone 'search' is a valid verb but lacks a noun, making it a slight deviation from the pattern.
Six tools is well-scoped for a Hacker News reader, covering browsing, retrieval, search, and user-related queries without over-expanding the surface.
The read-only surface is solid, covering stories, items, comments, search, and user data. Minor gaps exist around fetching a comment thread directly from a comment ID and write operations, but these are reasonable omissions for a typical HN MCP.