HackerNews MCP Server

Instructions

Implementation Reference

• src/index.ts:533-547 (handler)

  The handler function for the 'get-top-stories' tool. It constructs a query for stories with at least the specified minimum points using the HackerNews Algolia API's search_by_date endpoint, fetches the data, and returns both text and structured content.

  async ({ minPoints = 100, page, hitsPerPage }) => {
    const params = new URLSearchParams();
    params.append('tags', 'story');
    params.append('numericFilters', `points>=${minPoints}`);
    if (page !== undefined) params.append('page', page.toString());
    if (hitsPerPage !== undefined) params.append('hitsPerPage', hitsPerPage.toString());
    
    const endpoint = `/search_by_date?${params.toString()}`;
    const result = await fetchHN(endpoint);
    
    return {
      content: [{ type: 'text', text: JSON.stringify(result, null, 2) }],
      structuredContent: result
    };
  }

• src/index.ts:517-532 (schema)

  The input and output schema definitions for the 'get-top-stories' tool, using Zod for validation. Input includes optional minPoints (default 100), page, and hitsPerPage. Output matches the HN API search response structure.

  {
    title: 'Get Top Stories by Points',
    description: 'Get stories with a minimum number of points, sorted by date',
    inputSchema: {
      minPoints: z.number().optional().default(100).describe('Minimum number of points (default: 100)'),
      page: z.number().optional().describe('Page number for pagination (default: 0)'),
      hitsPerPage: z.number().optional().describe('Number of results per page (default: 20)')
    },
    outputSchema: {
      hits: z.array(z.any()),
      nbHits: z.number(),
      nbPages: z.number(),
      page: z.number(),
      hitsPerPage: z.number()
    }
  },

• src/index.ts:515-548 (registration)

  The registration of the 'get-top-stories' tool on the MCP server, including name, metadata/schema, and handler function.

  server.registerTool(
    'get-top-stories',
    {
      title: 'Get Top Stories by Points',
      description: 'Get stories with a minimum number of points, sorted by date',
      inputSchema: {
        minPoints: z.number().optional().default(100).describe('Minimum number of points (default: 100)'),
        page: z.number().optional().describe('Page number for pagination (default: 0)'),
        hitsPerPage: z.number().optional().describe('Number of results per page (default: 20)')
      },
      outputSchema: {
        hits: z.array(z.any()),
        nbHits: z.number(),
        nbPages: z.number(),
        page: z.number(),
        hitsPerPage: z.number()
      }
    },
    async ({ minPoints = 100, page, hitsPerPage }) => {
      const params = new URLSearchParams();
      params.append('tags', 'story');
      params.append('numericFilters', `points>=${minPoints}`);
      if (page !== undefined) params.append('page', page.toString());
      if (hitsPerPage !== undefined) params.append('hitsPerPage', hitsPerPage.toString());
      
      const endpoint = `/search_by_date?${params.toString()}`;
      const result = await fetchHN(endpoint);
      
      return {
        content: [{ type: 'text', text: JSON.stringify(result, null, 2) }],
        structuredContent: result
      };
    }
  );

• src/index.ts:11-17 (helper)

  Shared helper function used by all HackerNews tools, including 'get-top-stories', to make API calls to the HN Algolia API and handle errors.

  async function fetchHN(endpoint: string): Promise<any> {
    const response = await fetch(`${HN_API_BASE}${endpoint}`);
    if (!response.ok) {
      throw new Error(`HN API error: ${response.status} ${response.statusText}`);
    }
    return await response.json();
  }