HackerNews MCP Server
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| DEBUG | No | Enable debug logging. Set to '1' to enable, '0' to disable. | 0 |
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 | {
"listChanged": true
} |
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| search_storiesA | Search Hacker News stories by relevance. Returns stories matching the query, sorted by relevance score, points, and comment count. |
| search_by_dateB | Search Hacker News content sorted by date (most recent first). Useful for finding latest stories, comments, or posts by specific authors. |
| search_commentsB | Search Hacker News comments by text content. Can filter by author or parent story. |
| get_front_pageA | Retrieve stories currently on the Hacker News front page. Returns up to 30 stories. |
| get_latest_storiesB | Retrieve the most recently submitted stories, sorted by date descending. |
| get_ask_hnB | Retrieve Ask HN posts (questions to the HN community), sorted by date descending. |
| get_show_hnB | Retrieve Show HN posts (projects shared with the HN community), sorted by date descending. |
| get_storyA | Retrieve a specific story by ID with full nested comment tree. Returns complete story details including all comments and replies. |
| get_userB | Retrieve a user profile by username. Returns karma, account creation date, and bio. |
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 9 tools
Most tools have distinct purposes, such as get_front_page for front-page stories and get_user for user profiles, but there is some overlap between get_latest_stories and search_by_date, as both retrieve recent content, which could cause confusion. The descriptions help clarify, but the boundaries are not perfectly clear.
All tool names follow a consistent snake_case pattern with a clear verb_noun structure, such as get_front_page and search_stories. This predictability makes it easy for agents to understand and use the tools without ambiguity in naming conventions.
With 9 tools, the server is well-scoped for interacting with Hacker News, covering key actions like retrieving stories, comments, users, and searching. Each tool serves a specific function, and the count is neither too sparse nor overwhelming for the domain.
The tool set provides comprehensive coverage for reading and searching Hacker News content, including stories, comments, and user profiles. A minor gap is the lack of write operations (e.g., posting or voting), but this is reasonable for a read-focused server, and agents can still perform most common tasks effectively.