# Hacker News Scraper (`great_pistachio/hacker-news-scraper`) Actor

Scrape Hacker News with no login. Search stories and comments by keyword with filters (tags, minimum points/comments, date range) via the Algolia API, or pull the live top/new/best/ask/show/job story lists via Firebase. For tech monitoring, keyword tracking, and research.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/great\_pistachio/hacker-news-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Saturnin Pugnet](https://apify.com/great_pistachio) (community)
- **Categories:** News, Social media
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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) over its public APIs. **No login, no API key.** Search the full HN archive (Algolia) or pull the live front-page lists (Firebase).

### Modes

| Mode | What it does | Needs |
|------|--------------|-------|
| `search` | Search stories/comments by keyword with filters (tags, min points/comments, date range) | `query` and/or `tags` |
| `list` | Pull a live list: top, new, best, ask, show, or job stories | `listType` |

### Use cases

- **Keyword / brand monitoring** — track mentions of a product, company, or topic across HN.
- **Tech trend research** — pull high-point stories in a date range for a subject.
- **Front-page tracking** — snapshot the current top / new / best / Ask HN / Show HN lists.

### Input

```json
{ "mode": "search", "query": "rust", "tags": "story", "minPoints": 100, "sinceDays": 30 }
```

```json
{ "mode": "search", "query": "", "tags": "front_page", "maxResults": 30 }
```

```json
{ "mode": "list", "listType": "top", "maxResults": 50 }
```

| Field | Description |
|-------|-------------|
| `mode` | `search` or `list` |
| `query` | Keyword (search mode); empty = match all |
| `tags` | Algolia tags: `story`, `comment`, `show_hn`, `ask_hn`, `poll`, `front_page` (comma = AND, `(a,b)` = OR) |
| `sortBy` | `relevance` or `date` |
| `minPoints` / `minComments` | Minimum thresholds (search) |
| `sinceDays` | Only the last N days (search). 0 = all time |
| `listType` | `top`, `new`, `best`, `ask`, `show`, `job` (list mode) |
| `maxResults` | Overall cap. 0 = unlimited |

### Output

Each record: `recordType` (story/comment), `id`, `title`, `author`, `points`, `numComments`, `url`, `text`, `createdAt`, `storyId`, `parentId`, `tags`, `hnUrl`.

### Related Actors

- [SEC Filings Monitor](https://apify.com/great_pistachio/sec-filings-monitor)
- [Bluesky Scraper](https://apify.com/great_pistachio/bluesky-scraper)

# Actor input Schema

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

Search HN or pull a live story list.

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

Search mode: keyword. Leave empty to match all (combine with tags/filters, e.g. front\_page).

## `tags` (type: `string`):

Search mode: Algolia tags. E.g. 'story', 'comment', 'show\_hn', 'ask\_hn', 'poll', 'front\_page'. Comma = AND, '(story,poll)' = OR.

## `sortBy` (type: `string`):

Search mode: relevance (popularity) or date (newest first).

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

Search mode: only items with at least this many points. 0 = no minimum.

## `minComments` (type: `integer`):

Search mode: only items with at least this many comments. 0 = no minimum.

## `sinceDays` (type: `integer`):

Search mode: only items from the last N days. 0 = all time.

## `listType` (type: `string`):

List mode: which live list to pull.

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

Cap total results. 0 = unlimited.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "search",
  "query": "AI",
  "tags": "story",
  "sortBy": "relevance",
  "minPoints": 0,
  "minComments": 0,
  "sinceDays": 0,
  "listType": "top",
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `defaultDataset` (type: `string`):

Hacker News stories and comments - title, author, points, comment count, URL, and posted date

# 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 = {
    "query": "AI"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("great_pistachio/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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "query": "AI" }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("great_pistachio/hacker-news-scraper").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 '{
  "query": "AI"
}' |
apify call great_pistachio/hacker-news-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,great_pistachio/hacker-news-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

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/9afGbRFfetSUZSTnN/builds/3tbh0tZLWDF1AecC4/openapi.json