# Hacker News MCP Server (`quodlibetical_buffalo/hacker-news-mcp`) Actor

Search Hacker News via Algolia: stories, comments, and item details. MCP server for AI agents.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/quodlibetical\_buffalo/hacker-news-mcp.md
- **Developed by:** [Marek Pommier](https://apify.com/quodlibetical_buffalo) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $0.07 / 1,000 search results

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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Hacker News MCP Server

Search Hacker News via Algolia: stories, comments, and item details. MCP server for AI agents.

### MCP tools

| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| `search_stories` | Search Hacker News stories by keyword. Returns title, URL, points, comments, author. |
| `get_story` | Get a Hacker News item (story) with details and top comments by its numeric ID. |
| `search_comments` | Search Hacker News comments by keyword. Returns comment text, author, story link. |

### Connect from your AI agent

Streamable HTTP endpoint:

`https://quodlibetical-buffalo--hacker-news-mcp.apify.actor/mcp`

Claude Desktop / Cursor / any MCP client:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hacker-news-mcp": {
      "type": "streamable-http",
      "url": "https://quodlibetical-buffalo--hacker-news-mcp.apify.actor/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Standby endpoints require an Apify API token — pass any Apify token (`apify_api_...`) as a Bearer header or as a `token` query parameter.

### Input (batch run)

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `query` | string | `artificial intelligence` | Search query for Hacker News stories. |
| `limit` | integer | `10` | Maximum number of results. |
| `mode` | string | `batch` | Legacy switch. Normal runs always execute batch mode. |

Run it on Apify with default input `{}` to get a demo record in the dataset.

### Pricing (pay-per-event)

- **search-result** — Search Result: $7e-05 per event

Pay only for events. Prices are set ~30% below the market benchmark for this category.

### Run it as an Actor

Start a run with empty input `{}` — the Actor executes its batch mode, pushes one demo record to the dataset and exits successfully.

# Actor input Schema

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

Search query for Hacker News stories.

## `limit` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of results.

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

Legacy switch. Normal runs always execute batch mode.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "query": "artificial intelligence",
  "limit": 10,
  "mode": "batch"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

All result records stored in the default dataset.

# 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 = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("quodlibetical_buffalo/hacker-news-mcp").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 = {}

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

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/lC67e5QD97Hhrqm3i/builds/B0atHscoh7pWc86ij/openapi.json