# Hacker News Monitor & Scraper (`brick_joey_yto/hackernews-monitor`) Actor

Scrape and monitor Hacker News — search stories/comments/jobs, front page, full comment trees, author karma, and keyword mention alerts. Official Algolia API, no key. From $1/1,000 results.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/hackernews-monitor.md
- **Developed by:** [William Billings](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto) (community)
- **Categories:** Social media, Developer tools, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$1.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Hacker News Monitor & Scraper

**Search and monitor Hacker News** via the official Algolia HN API — no key, no login, no rate-limit pain. Stories, comments, Show HN launches, Ask HN, job posts, full comment trees, and author karma.

Hacker News is where tech launches break first. This actor is built for the people who watch it professionally: founders tracking competitor mentions, investors scouting Show HN launches, and engineers monitoring tech discussions.

### What it does

| Mode     | Output                                                                                                      |
| -------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `search` | Items matching keywords, filtered by type (story/comment/ask_hn/show_hn/job/poll), min points, date, author |
| `top`    | Current front page, or high-point stories above your threshold                                              |
| `item`   | A story plus its **entire flattened comment tree** — every reply, one row each                              |
| `watch`  | Keyword mention monitoring across stories AND comments, with `sinceTimestamp` resumption                    |
| `author` | User profiles — karma, activity, account age                                                                |

### Input examples

Show HN launches from the last week with 50+ points — the "launch radar":

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "itemType": "show_hn",
  "minPoints": 50,
  "sinceTimestamp": 1758500000
}
```

Brand mention monitoring (schedule hourly):

```json
{
  "mode": "watch",
  "queries": ["acme corp", "competitor.io"],
  "sinceTimestamp": 1758980000
}
```

Full comment thread for analysis:

```json
{ "mode": "item", "itemIds": [4058874] }
```

Author lookup:

```json
{ "mode": "author", "usernames": ["pg", "dang"] }
```

### Example output

```json
{
  "recordType": "search_result",
  "objectId": 4058874,
  "kind": "story",
  "title": "Show HN: Reladraw – A diagram language",
  "url": "https://reladraw.example",
  "hnUrl": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4058874",
  "author": "someuser",
  "points": 409,
  "numComments": 119,
  "createdAtI": 1758980400,
  "createdAt": "2026-09-27T14:00:00.000Z",
  "tags": ["show_hn"]
}
```

### Why this one

- **Mention monitoring is the wedge** — incumbents dump story lists; `watch` + `sinceTimestamp` + comments coverage means you catch every brand/competitor mention the moment it's posted.
- **Launch radar** — `show_hn` + `minPoints` is the fastest way to surface what's actually gaining traction.
- **Comment trees included** — `item` mode flattens full discussions, essential for sentiment and discussion analysis.
- **Official API** — no scraping, no keys, stable forever.

### Pricing

**$1 per 1,000 results** (`$0.001` per dataset row).

### FAQ

**Does Hacker News Monitor need a login or API key?** No — every row comes from public endpoints. Provide a proxy only if your network is heavily rate-limited.

**How do I monitor on a schedule?** Attach the actor to an Apify Schedule (daily/weekly) and use the watch/monitor mode if present — each run emits a fresh, diff-able dataset.

**What does each row contain?** See the output fields table above; every row carries a `scrapedAt` timestamp so datasets can be deduped across runs.

**Is it legal to scrape this data?** The actor only accesses publicly available data — the same pages/APIs a browser sees. Scraping public data for research, monitoring, and analysis is common practice, but platform Terms of Service and the rules in your jurisdiction still apply to how you use it. Consult legal counsel for your specific case.

### More from this developer

**Monitors & business intel:** [ATS Jobs Monitor](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/ats-jobs-monitor) · [Sports Scores & Odds Monitor](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/sports-scores-odds-monitor) · [Prediction Markets Monitor](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/prediction-markets-monitor) · [Crypto Token Monitor](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/crypto-token-monitor) · [Crypto Derivatives Monitor](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/crypto-derivatives-monitor) · [Google News Monitor](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/google-news-monitor) · [App Store Monitor](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/app-store-monitor) · [Walmart Product Monitor](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/walmart-product-monitor) · [Pump.fun Monitor](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/memecoin-launch-monitor) · [StockTwits Scraper](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/stocktwits-scraper) · [Yahoo Finance Scraper](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/yahoo-finance-scraper) · [Product Hunt Monitor](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/product-hunt-monitor) · [AI Visibility Tracker](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/ai-brand-monitor)

**Alt-social & OSINT:** [Gab Scraper](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/gab-search-scraper) · [BitChute Scraper](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/bitchute-search-scraper) · [Truth Social Scraper](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/truth-social-scraper) · [Telegram Scraper](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/telegram-scraper) · [Discord Scraper](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/discord-scraper) · [Rumble Video Scraper](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/rumble-video-scraper) · [Odysee Scraper](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/odysee-scraper) · [Kick Scraper](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/kick-scraper) · [4chan Scraper](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/4chan-scraper) · [Bitcointalk Scraper](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/bitcointalk-scraper) · [Xiaohongshu / RedNote Scraper](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/xiaohongshu-scraper)

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**Gov & regulatory:** [Federal Register Monitor](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/federal-register-monitor) · [Federal Court Monitor](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/federal-court-monitor) · [FDA Compliance Monitor](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/fda-compliance-monitor) · [Clinical Trials Monitor](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/clinical-trials-monitor) · [Lobbying Monitor](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto/lobbying-monitor)

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

search = keyword/type search with filters. top = front page or high-point stories. item = story + full comment tree. watch = keyword mention monitoring. author = user profiles.

## `query` (type: `string`):

search mode: keyword — e.g. 'openai', 'rust'. Optional — omit for all items of a type.

## `itemType` (type: `string`):

Filter by HN item type — show_hn catches product launches, ask_hn questions, job postings, etc.

## `feed` (type: `string`):

top mode: front_page = current homepage; top = high-point stories (use minPoints threshold).

## `itemIds` (type: `array`):

item mode: HN item IDs — returns item + full comment tree per ID.

## `queries` (type: `array`):

watch mode: keywords to monitor across all item types — brand/competitor/topic mentions.

## `usernames` (type: `array`):

author mode: HN usernames for karma/activity profiles — e.g. \['pg', 'dang'].

## `minPoints` (type: `integer`):

Only items with at least this many points.

## `sinceTimestamp` (type: `integer`):

Only items created after this unix timestamp — incremental monitoring cursor for watch/search.

## `author` (type: `string`):

search mode: only items by this username.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Global cap on rows returned.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Optional Apify proxy — the public API rarely needs it.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "itemType": "story",
  "feed": "front_page",
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Dataset containing HN items

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("brick_joey_yto/hackernews-monitor").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("brick_joey_yto/hackernews-monitor").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call brick_joey_yto/hackernews-monitor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,brick_joey_yto/hackernews-monitor"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/1uiUnZWb0rn0w4yoi/builds/vBfkh2Eb2veYsAyYw/openapi.json