# Hacker News Scraper (`fatihai-tools/hacker-news-scraper`) Actor Extract posts, comments, and scores from Hacker News. Track trending tech topics, startup launches, and developer discussions. Ideal for tech trend analysis and startup ecosystem monitoring. - **URL**: https://apify.com/fatihai-tools/hacker-news-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [fatih dağüstü](https://apify.com/fatihai-tools) (community) - **Categories:** News - **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, NaN bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per usage This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage ## 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 stories, comments, and user profiles. Search by keyword, filter by points/date, extract full discussions, and monitor new stories. ### Features - **Search Stories** — Full-text search with relevance or date sorting - **Front Page** — Current front page stories - **Show HN / Ask HN** — Filter by post type - **New Stories** — Latest stories from HN - **Story Comments** — Full comment trees with depth tracking - **User Profiles** — Karma, about, and recent submissions ### Input | Field | Type | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | `scrapeType` | string | `search`, `front_page`, `new_stories`, `show_hn`, `ask_hn`, `story_comments`, `user_profile` | | `searchQuery` | string | Search keyword (for `search` mode) | | `searchSort` | string | `relevance` or `date` | | `dateFrom` | string | Filter stories after this date (YYYY-MM-DD) | | `dateTo` | string | Filter stories before this date (YYYY-MM-DD) | | `storyIds` | array | Story IDs or URLs (for `story_comments` mode) | | `usernames` | array | HN usernames (for `user_profile` mode) | | `maxItems` | number | Maximum results (default: 100) | | `minPoints` | number | Minimum points filter (default: 0) | | `minComments` | number | Minimum comments filter (default: 0) | ### Output Examples #### Story ```json { "type": "story", "id": 12345678, "title": "Show HN: I built an AI tool", "url": "https://example.com", "hnUrl": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12345678", "author": "pg", "points": 256, "numComments": 89, "storyType": "show_hn", "createdAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00.000Z", "scrapedAt": "2024-01-16T12:00:00.000Z" } ```` #### Comment ```json { "type": "comment", "id": 87654321, "storyId": 12345678, "parentId": 12345678, "author": "dang", "text": "Great project!", "depth": 0, "childCount": 3, "createdAt": "2024-01-15T11:00:00.000Z", "scrapedAt": "2024-01-16T12:00:00.000Z" } ``` #### User Profile ```json { "type": "user_profile", "username": "pg", "karma": 156789, "about": "Founder of YC", "createdAt": "2007-02-19T00:00:00.000Z", "submittedCount": 1234, "scrapedAt": "2024-01-16T12:00:00.000Z" } ``` ### Use Cases - **Market Research** — Track trending topics and technologies - **Competitor Monitoring** — Watch for mentions of competitors - **Recruiting** — Find active developers in specific domains - **Content Ideas** — Discover what resonates with tech audiences - **Sentiment Analysis** — Analyze discussion sentiment on topics ### Data Sources This scraper uses two official APIs: - **Algolia HN API** — For search, filtering, and comment trees - **HN Firebase API** — For new stories and user profiles No browser required. Fast, lightweight, and reliable. ### Cost Uses Pay Per Event pricing. Each scraped item (story, comment, or profile) counts as one result. # Actor input Schema ## `type` (type: `string`): Type of stories to scrape ## `keyword` (type: `string`): Search HN stories by keyword ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Maximum stories to scrape ## Actor input object example ```json { "type": "top", "maxItems": 30 } ``` # 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 = {}; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("fatihai-tools/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 = {} # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("fatihai-tools/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 '{}' | apify call fatihai-tools/hacker-news-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fatihai-tools/hacker-news-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Hacker News Scraper", "description": "Extract posts, comments, and scores from Hacker News. Track trending tech topics, startup launches, and developer discussions. Ideal for tech trend analysis and startup ecosystem monitoring.", "version": "0.0", "x-build-id": "nTifpSZuzP92lbROD" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/fatihai-tools~hacker-news-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-fatihai-tools-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/fatihai-tools~hacker-news-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-fatihai-tools-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/fatihai-tools~hacker-news-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-fatihai-tools-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": { "type": { "title": "Story Type", "enum": [ "top", "new", "best", "ask", "show", "job" ], "type": "string", "description": "Type of stories to scrape", "default": "top" }, "keyword": { "title": "Search Keyword", "type": "string", "description": "Search HN stories by keyword" }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max Items", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 500, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum stories to scrape", "default": 30 } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```