# Hacker News Scraper (`dami_studio/hacker-news-scraper`) Actor Scrape Hacker News via the public Algolia HN Search API. Search stories, Show HN, Ask HN or comments by keyword, sort by relevance or date, filter by minimum points. Clean JSON output with title, URL, author, points, comments and HN item link. No key. - **URL**: https://apify.com/dami\_studio/hacker-news-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Dami's Studio](https://apify.com/dami_studio) (community) - **Categories:** News, Developer tools, Integrations - **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $1.00 / 1,000 item returneds This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. 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. Actors are written with capital "A". ## 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. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## Hacker News Scraper Scrape [Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com/) via the **public Algolia HN Search API** — no API key, no login, no anti-bot. Search stories, Show HN, Ask HN, comments, or the current front page; sort by relevance or date; filter by minimum points. ### What it does - Queries `https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/search` (relevance) or `search_by_date` (newest first). - Paginates automatically until it has collected `maxItems`. - Returns clean, normalized JSON for each item (HTML stripped from story/comment text). - Deduplicates by Hacker News `objectID`. ### Input | Field | Type | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---| | `query` | string | `"openai"` | Keywords to search for. Empty = newest/front-page items for the chosen tag. | | `tags` | select | `story` | `story`, `show_hn`, `ask_hn`, `comment`, or `front_page`. | | `sortBy` | select | `relevance` | `relevance` or `date` (newest first). | | `minPoints` | integer | — | Only items with at least this many points. | | `maxItems` | integer | `50` | Max items to return (1–1000). | | `proxyConfiguration` | proxy | off | Optional; the public API has no anti-bot, so no proxy is needed. Only enable it if you hit IP rate limits at very high volume. | > **`front_page` note:** the `front_page` tag always returns the ~30 items currently on the HN front page (no keyword search). For topic searches use `story`/`show_hn`/`ask_hn`/`comment` instead. ### Output Each successful item: ```json { "ok": true, "objectId": "44159823", "type": "story", "title": "OpenAI ...", "url": "https://example.com/article", "author": "someuser", "points": 412, "numComments": 188, "createdAt": "2026-06-01T12:34:56.000Z", "text": "", "hnUrl": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44159823" } ```` For comments, `type` is `comment`, `title`/`url` reflect the parent story, and `text` is the (HTML-stripped) comment body. Some fields can be `null` depending on the item: `url` (Ask HN/text posts and self-posts have no external link), `points` and `numComments` (often absent on comments), and `text` (empty string for link stories). `title`, `author`, `objectId` and `hnUrl` are present for well-formed items but defensively default to `null` if the API omits them. On failure or no results, a single diagnostic row is emitted with `ok:false` and an `errorCode` (e.g. `NO_RESULTS`, `RATE_LIMITED`, `NETWORK`) — and nothing is charged. ### Pricing Pay-per-result: one charge per returned item (`item` event). Diagnostic/empty rows are never charged. # Actor input Schema ## `query` (type: `string`): Keywords to search Hacker News for (e.g. "openai", "rust async"). Leave empty to get the newest/front-page items for the chosen tag. ## `tags` (type: `string`): Which kind of Hacker News items to return: stories, Show HN, Ask HN, comments, or current front page. ## `sortBy` (type: `string`): Order results by Algolia relevance (best match) or by date (newest first). ## `minPoints` (type: `integer`): Only return items with at least this many points (upvotes). Leave empty for no minimum. Applies mainly to stories. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of items to return. The actor paginates the API until it has this many (or runs out). ## `notionConnector` (type: `string`): Optional. Write each item as a page into your Notion when the run finishes. Authorize a Notion connector once in Settings → API & Integrations → MCP connectors, then pick it here. Leave empty to skip (default) — results are always saved to the dataset regardless. ## `notionParentId` (type: `string`): Optional. The Notion data source ID of the database to write into (only used if a Notion connector is set). Leave empty to create the pages privately in your workspace instead. ## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`): Optional proxy for the Algolia HN API requests. The API is public with no anti-bot, so a proxy is NOT required and is off by default. Only enable Apify Proxy if you hit IP-based rate limits at very high volume. ## Actor input object example ```json { "query": "openai", "tags": "story", "sortBy": "relevance", "maxItems": 50, "proxyConfiguration": { "useApifyProxy": false } } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): Scraped rows are stored in the default dataset (one row per result). Blocked/empty/error runs return a single uncharged diagnostic row instead. # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "query": "openai" }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("dami_studio/hacker-news-scraper").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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "query": "openai" } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("dami_studio/hacker-news-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "query": "openai" }' | apify call dami_studio/hacker-news-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=dami_studio/hacker-news-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Hacker News Scraper", "description": "Scrape Hacker News via the public Algolia HN Search API. Search stories, Show HN, Ask HN or comments by keyword, sort by relevance or date, filter by minimum points. Clean JSON output with title, URL, author, points, comments and HN item link. No key.", "version": "0.1", "x-build-id": "iBHpXU9F3fSwghDPj" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/dami_studio~hacker-news-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-dami_studio-hacker-news-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/dami_studio~hacker-news-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-dami_studio-hacker-news-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/dami_studio~hacker-news-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-dami_studio-hacker-news-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "query": { "title": "Search query", "type": "string", "description": "Keywords to search Hacker News for (e.g. \"openai\", \"rust async\"). Leave empty to get the newest/front-page items for the chosen tag." }, "tags": { "title": "Item type", "enum": [ "story", "show_hn", "ask_hn", "comment", "front_page" ], "type": "string", "description": "Which kind of Hacker News items to return: stories, Show HN, Ask HN, comments, or current front page.", "default": "story" }, "sortBy": { "title": "Sort by", "enum": [ "relevance", "date" ], "type": "string", "description": "Order results by Algolia relevance (best match) or by date (newest first).", "default": "relevance" }, "minPoints": { "title": "Minimum points", "minimum": 0, "type": "integer", "description": "Only return items with at least this many points (upvotes). Leave empty for no minimum. Applies mainly to stories." }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max items", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 1000, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of items to return. The actor paginates the API until it has this many (or runs out).", "default": 50 }, "notionConnector": { "title": "Notion connector (optional)", "type": "string", "description": "Optional. Write each item as a page into your Notion when the run finishes. Authorize a Notion connector once in Settings → API & Integrations → MCP connectors, then pick it here. Leave empty to skip (default) — results are always saved to the dataset regardless." }, "notionParentId": { "title": "Notion target data source ID", "type": "string", "description": "Optional. The Notion data source ID of the database to write into (only used if a Notion connector is set). Leave empty to create the pages privately in your workspace instead." }, "proxyConfiguration": { "title": "Proxy", "type": "object", "description": "Optional proxy for the Algolia HN API requests. The API is public with no anti-bot, so a proxy is NOT required and is off by default. Only enable Apify Proxy if you hit IP-based rate limits at very high volume.", "default": { "useApifyProxy": false } } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```