# Mentions Monitor - Hacker News, GitHub & Reddit Alerts (`nicolas_izquierdo/mentions-monitor`) Actor

Track brand, competitor and keyword mentions across Hacker News, GitHub and Reddit. Diff mode returns only NEW mentions - schedule it and get Slack/email alerts the moment your product gets discussed. Per-query signals with top mention by engagement. Official APIs only.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/nicolas\_izquierdo/mentions-monitor.md
- **Developed by:** [Nicolas Izquierdo](https://apify.com/nicolas_izquierdo) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Developer tools, Social media
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.50 / 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 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

## Mentions Monitor — Hacker News, GitHub & Reddit Alerts

**Know the moment your product, brand or competitor gets mentioned where developers talk.**

A single HN comment can send you a thousand signups — or a takedown you'll want to answer within the hour. This Actor watches **Hacker News (stories + comments), GitHub (issues + PRs) and Reddit** for your keywords, and with diff mode returns only mentions that weren't there last time. Schedule it daily, wire a Slack/email/webhook integration, and never miss the conversation again.

SaaS mention-tracking tools charge $50-100+/month. This does the developer-channel slice of that job for cents, on your schedule, with raw data you own.

### Sources

| Source | What's searched | Setup |
|---|---|---|
| Hacker News | Stories and comments, via the official open Algolia API | None |
| GitHub | Issues and pull requests mentioning your keyword | None (optional free token raises rate limits) |
| Reddit | Posts, via Reddit's **official data API** | Your own free Reddit API credentials (2-minute setup, guide below) |

Official APIs only — no scraping tricks, no proxies, nothing that breaks tomorrow.

### Use cases

- **Founders & indie hackers**: get pinged when your product hits HN — the first hour of replies matters.
- **DevRel & marketing**: track your brand and your competitors' across the channels developers actually use.
- **Sales**: someone asking "alternatives to X?" on Reddit is a warm lead.
- **Open-source maintainers**: find issues in *other* repos where your library is being discussed or misused.
- **Investors/analysts**: mention velocity as a traction signal.

### Input

```json
{
    "queries": ["mybrand", "competitor-x", "mydomain.com"],
    "sources": ["hackernews", "github"],
    "sinceDays": 30,
    "newMentionsOnly": true
}
````

| Parameter | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `queries` | Array (required) | Keywords, brand/product names or domains. Each is searched separately. |
| `sources` | Array | `hackernews`, `github`, `reddit` (default: HN + GitHub). |
| `sinceDays` | Integer | Look-back window (default 30). |
| `maxItemsPerQuery` | Integer | Cap per query & source (default 100). |
| `newMentionsOnly` | Boolean | **Diff mode** — only mentions not seen in previous runs. First run primes the memory. |
| `trackNewMentions` | Boolean | Adds `isNew` to every mention (default true). |
| `computeSignals` | Boolean | One summary item per query (default true). |
| `githubToken` | Secret | Optional; raises GitHub search limits and enables >100 results. No scopes needed. |
| `redditClientId` / `redditClientSecret` | Secret | Enables Reddit. Create a free "script" app at reddit.com/prefs/apps. |

### Output

One item per mention, unified across sources:

```json
{
    "type": "mention",
    "source": "hackernews",
    "query": "mybrand",
    "kind": "comment",
    "title": "Show HN: Something relevant",
    "text": "We switched to mybrand last month and...",
    "author": "pg",
    "points": 120,
    "numComments": 45,
    "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=999",
    "createdAt": "2026-07-01T00:00:00Z",
    "isNew": true
}
```

GitHub mentions carry `repo`, Reddit mentions carry `subreddit`. Plus one `mention_signals` item per query: totals by source, new since last run, newest mention date, and the top mention by engagement.

### Quick-start recipes

**Daily brand alert (schedule + Slack):**

```json
{ "queries": ["mybrand"], "sources": ["hackernews", "github", "reddit"], "newMentionsOnly": true }
```

**Competitor watch:**

```json
{ "queries": ["competitor-a", "competitor-b"], "sinceDays": 7 }
```

**"Alternatives to X" lead finder:**

```json
{ "queries": ["alternative to competitor-x"], "sources": ["reddit", "hackernews"], "newMentionsOnly": true }
```

### Setting up Reddit (2 minutes, free)

1. Log in to Reddit → https://www.reddit.com/prefs/apps → "create another app".
2. Type: **script**. Name and redirect URI can be anything (e.g. `http://localhost`).
3. Copy the **client ID** (under the app name) and the **secret** into the Actor input.

This keeps you within Reddit's Data API terms (free tier: 100 requests/min — far more than this Actor needs). Your credentials are stored encrypted by Apify and never leave your account.

### FAQ

**Why does Reddit need my credentials but HN/GitHub don't?** HN's search API (Algolia) and GitHub's search API are open by design. Reddit's data API requires each consumer to register — it's free, and using your own app is what keeps this compliant.

**Does it search Reddit comments too?** v1 searches posts (title + body). Comment search is on the roadmap.

**How does diff mode behave on the first run?** Returns everything in the window and primes the memory; from the second run on, only new mentions.

### Changelog

**1.0**

- Initial release: Hacker News + GitHub out of the box, Reddit via your own official API credentials, diff mode with `isNew`, per-query signals with top mention by engagement.

# Actor input Schema

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

Brand names, product names, competitor names, domains or keywords to monitor (each is searched separately).

## `sources` (type: `array`):

Where to search. `hackernews` (stories + comments) and `github` (issues + PRs) work out of the box. `reddit` requires your own free Reddit API credentials (see below).

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

Look-back window: only include mentions created in the last N days.

## `maxItemsPerQuery` (type: `integer`):

Safety cap of mentions collected per query and source.

## `newMentionsOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Only return mentions not seen in previous runs. Schedule daily + Slack/webhook integration = mention alerts. First run primes the memory.

## `trackNewMentions` (type: `boolean`):

Adds an `isNew` field to every mention.

## `computeSignals` (type: `boolean`):

One summary item per query: totals by source, new since last run, top mention by engagement.

## `githubToken` (type: `string`):

Optional classic/fine-grained token (no scopes needed) to raise GitHub search rate limits and enable pagination beyond 100 results.

## `redditClientId` (type: `string`):

Enables the Reddit source via Reddit's official API. Create a free 'script' app at reddit.com/prefs/apps and paste its client ID.

## `redditClientSecret` (type: `string`):

The secret of your Reddit script app.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "queries": [
    "apify"
  ],
  "sources": [
    "hackernews",
    "github"
  ],
  "sinceDays": 30,
  "maxItemsPerQuery": 100,
  "newMentionsOnly": false,
  "trackNewMentions": true,
  "computeSignals": true
}
```

# 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 = {
    "queries": [
        "apify"
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("nicolas_izquierdo/mentions-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 = { "queries": ["apify"] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("nicolas_izquierdo/mentions-monitor").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 '{
  "queries": [
    "apify"
  ]
}' |
apify call nicolas_izquierdo/mentions-monitor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=nicolas_izquierdo/mentions-monitor",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

```json
{
    "openapi": "3.0.1",
    "info": {
        "title": "Mentions Monitor - Hacker News, GitHub & Reddit Alerts",
        "description": "Track brand, competitor and keyword mentions across Hacker News, GitHub and Reddit. Diff mode returns only NEW mentions - schedule it and get Slack/email alerts the moment your product gets discussed. Per-query signals with top mention by engagement. Official APIs only.",
        "version": "1.0",
        "x-build-id": "J1zwINpNczIXWBzsL"
    },
    "servers": [
        {
            "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2"
        }
    ],
    "paths": {
        "/acts/nicolas_izquierdo~mentions-monitor/run-sync-get-dataset-items": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-nicolas_izquierdo-mentions-monitor",
                "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": {
                                "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                "parameters": [
                    {
                        "name": "token",
                        "in": "query",
                        "required": true,
                        "schema": {
                            "type": "string"
                        },
                        "description": "Enter your Apify token here"
                    }
                ],
                "responses": {
                    "200": {
                        "description": "OK"
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/nicolas_izquierdo~mentions-monitor/runs": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "runs-sync-nicolas_izquierdo-mentions-monitor",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$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": {
                                    "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema"
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        },
        "/acts/nicolas_izquierdo~mentions-monitor/run-sync": {
            "post": {
                "operationId": "run-sync-nicolas_izquierdo-mentions-monitor",
                "x-openai-isConsequential": false,
                "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.",
                "tags": [
                    "Run Actor"
                ],
                "requestBody": {
                    "required": true,
                    "content": {
                        "application/json": {
                            "schema": {
                                "$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",
                "required": [
                    "queries"
                ],
                "properties": {
                    "queries": {
                        "title": "Queries",
                        "type": "array",
                        "description": "Brand names, product names, competitor names, domains or keywords to monitor (each is searched separately).",
                        "items": {
                            "type": "string"
                        }
                    },
                    "sources": {
                        "title": "Sources",
                        "type": "array",
                        "description": "Where to search. `hackernews` (stories + comments) and `github` (issues + PRs) work out of the box. `reddit` requires your own free Reddit API credentials (see below).",
                        "items": {
                            "type": "string",
                            "enum": [
                                "hackernews",
                                "github",
                                "reddit"
                            ],
                            "enumTitles": [
                                "Hacker News",
                                "GitHub (issues & PRs)",
                                "Reddit (needs your API credentials)"
                            ]
                        },
                        "default": [
                            "hackernews",
                            "github"
                        ]
                    },
                    "sinceDays": {
                        "title": "Mentions from the last N days",
                        "minimum": 1,
                        "maximum": 365,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Look-back window: only include mentions created in the last N days.",
                        "default": 30
                    },
                    "maxItemsPerQuery": {
                        "title": "Max mentions per query & source",
                        "minimum": 1,
                        "maximum": 1000,
                        "type": "integer",
                        "description": "Safety cap of mentions collected per query and source.",
                        "default": 100
                    },
                    "newMentionsOnly": {
                        "title": "New mentions only (diff mode)",
                        "type": "boolean",
                        "description": "Only return mentions not seen in previous runs. Schedule daily + Slack/webhook integration = mention alerts. First run primes the memory.",
                        "default": false
                    },
                    "trackNewMentions": {
                        "title": "Track new mentions across runs",
                        "type": "boolean",
                        "description": "Adds an `isNew` field to every mention.",
                        "default": true
                    },
                    "computeSignals": {
                        "title": "Compute signals per query",
                        "type": "boolean",
                        "description": "One summary item per query: totals by source, new since last run, top mention by engagement.",
                        "default": true
                    },
                    "githubToken": {
                        "title": "GitHub token (optional)",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Optional classic/fine-grained token (no scopes needed) to raise GitHub search rate limits and enable pagination beyond 100 results."
                    },
                    "redditClientId": {
                        "title": "Reddit client ID (optional)",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "Enables the Reddit source via Reddit's official API. Create a free 'script' app at reddit.com/prefs/apps and paste its client ID."
                    },
                    "redditClientSecret": {
                        "title": "Reddit client secret (optional)",
                        "type": "string",
                        "description": "The secret of your Reddit script app."
                    }
                }
            },
            "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
                                    }
                                }
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```