Hacker News MCP Server

An Apify Actor that exposes Hacker News data through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Browse top stories, read discussions, and search the entire HN archive from any MCP-compatible client.

What does it do?

This MCP server gives you direct access to Hacker News through three focused tools:

• Browse top stories -- fetch the current front page with scores, authors, and comment counts.
• Read full stories with comments -- dive into any story and its discussion thread.
• Search the archive -- find stories across the entire Hacker News history using the Algolia search API.

The server uses the official Hacker News Firebase API for real-time data and the Algolia HN Search API for full-text search.

Why use it?

• Zero configuration -- no API keys needed. Hacker News APIs are open and free.
• Real-time data -- stories, scores, and comments are fetched live from HN's Firebase backend.
• Full-text search -- search millions of HN posts and comments via Algolia.
• Pay-per-use -- only pay when your agent actually calls a tool. No idle costs.
• Standards-based -- built on the Model Context Protocol, works with any MCP-compatible client.

How to use

MCP client setup

Add this to your MCP client configuration (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json):

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "hackernews": {
            "type": "url",
            "url": "https://nyxar_dev--hackernews-mcp.apify.actor/mcp"
        }
    }
}

Cursor

Go to Settings > MCP Servers and add:

• Name: hackernews
• Type: url
• URL: https://nyxar_dev--hackernews-mcp.apify.actor/mcp

Other MCP clients

Point any MCP-compatible client to:

https://nyxar_dev--hackernews-mcp.apify.actor/mcp

Tools

get_top_stories

Fetch the top N stories currently on the Hacker News front page.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
count	number	10	Number of stories to fetch (1-30)

Returns an array of stories, each with: rank, id, title, url, score, author, commentCount, and time.

get_story

Get a single story by its Hacker News ID, including up to 10 top-level comments.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
id	number	Yes	The Hacker News story ID

Returns the full story object with a comments array. Each comment includes: id, author, text (HTML), time, and replyCount.

search_stories

Search the entire Hacker News archive using the Algolia Search API.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
query	string	--	The search term (required)
page	number	0	Page number for pagination

Returns: query, totalHits, page, totalPages, and a results array with: id, title, url, author, points, commentCount, and createdAt.

Output example

get_top_stories (count: 3)

[
    {
        "rank": 1,
        "id": 41942315,
        "title": "Show HN: I built a tool to manage dotfiles",
        "url": "https://github.com/example/dotfiles",
        "score": 284,
        "author": "techuser",
        "commentCount": 97,
        "time": "2026-04-04T08:30:00.000Z"
    },
    {
        "rank": 2,
        "id": 41942200,
        "title": "The hidden cost of microservices",
        "url": "https://blog.example.com/microservices-cost",
        "score": 201,
        "author": "archdev",
        "commentCount": 143,
        "time": "2026-04-04T07:15:00.000Z"
    },
    {
        "rank": 3,
        "id": 41941988,
        "title": "Rust in the Linux kernel: one year later",
        "url": "https://lwn.net/Articles/rust-kernel-update",
        "score": 178,
        "author": "kernelhacker",
        "commentCount": 62,
        "time": "2026-04-04T06:45:00.000Z"
    }
]

Pricing

This Actor uses pay-per-event pricing:

Event	Price per call
Tool call	$0.03

You are only charged when a tool is invoked. No charges for idle time or the MCP connection itself.