# Show HN Startup Hunter – Hacker News Launches & Deals API (`robinworld/show-hn-early-stage-product-hunter`) Actor

Scrapes real-time early-stage startup launches, founder handles, live website URLs, and community traction ratings from Hacker News Show HN.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/robinworld/show-hn-early-stage-product-hunter.md
- **Developed by:** [Robin world](https://apify.com/robinworld) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 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/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#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

## 🚀 Show HN Early-Stage Startup & Tech Product Hunter

> Real-time deal-sourcing intelligence on newly launched tech startups, developer tools, AI apps, and indie hacker projects from Hacker News (Show HN). Built for venture capital scouts, angel investors, tech journalists, and early-adopter developers.

[![Apify Actor](https://img.shields.io/badge/Apify-Actor%20Ready-brightgreen.svg)](https://apify.com)
[![Data Source](https://img.shields.io/badge/Data%20Source-Hacker%20News%20Official%20Algolia-blue.svg)](https://news.ycombinator.com)
[![Pricing](https://img.shields.io/badge/Pricing-Pay--Per--Event%20\($0.0050/record\)-orange.svg)](#pricing)
[![Free Trial](https://img.shields.io/badge/Free%20Trial-$5.00%20Credit%20Included-success.svg)](#free-trial)

***

### 💡 Why Choose This Actor?

The world's most valuable tech companies (Dropbox, Stripe, Reddit, Docker) posted their first public alpha versions on Hacker News Show HN. Commercial startup databases charge prohibitive monthly retainers:

| Feature / Metric | Commercial Deal Sourcing (PitchBook / Crunchbase Pro) | Manual HN Refreshing | **Show HN Early-Stage Product Hunter** |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Monthly Pricing** | **$300 – $1,200 / month** (Annual lock-in) | $0 but hours of non-stop manual refreshing | **Pay-Per-Event ($0.0050 / product)** (No recurring fee) |
| **Data Freshness** | Delayed until incorporation / funding filing | Real-time | **Instant real-time sync with newly posted Show HN threads** |
| **Founder Identification** | Often hidden behind paywalls | Manual profile lookup | **Direct founder username, product domain, & thread links** |
| **Traction Scoring** | Proprietary algorithm | Guesswork | **Automated Community Traction Tier (Viral / High Interest)** |
| **Free Trial** | Sales call mandatory | None | **$5.00 Free Trial Credit** (Up to 1,000 product records free) |

***

### 🎯 Target Audiences & Use Cases

1. **Angel Investors & Micro-VC Funds**:
   - Discover pre-seed founders before they begin fundraising.
   - Analyze early founder feedback and technical discussions in real time.
2. **Tech Journalists & Newsletter Curators**:
   - Source breakout products and underground tech trends for publication.
3. **B2B Growth & Sales Teams**:
   - Find newly launched startups that need cloud infra, payment gateways, or developer tools.
4. **Indie Hackers & Founders**:
   - Monitor competitive launches in your market vertical.

***

### 📥 Input Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| `searchQuery` | String | `""` | Optional keyword filter (e.g., `"ai"`, `"saas"`, `"database"`, `"security"`). |
| `minPoints` | Integer | `1` | Minimum upvote threshold (e.g. `30` for trending launches). |
| `minComments` | Integer | `0` | Minimum community discussion comment threshold. |
| `maxItems` | Integer | `50` | Maximum number of startup launches to collect (1 to 300). |

***

### 📤 Output Data Format (JSON Sample)

```json
[
  {
    "story_id": 41582910,
    "title": "Show HN: Supabase Vector Studio – Visual DB Inspector for Embeddings",
    "product_name": "Supabase Vector Studio",
    "founder_username": "tech_alchemist",
    "points": 142,
    "num_comments": 48,
    "product_url": "https://vector-studio.dev",
    "product_domain": "vector-studio.dev",
    "hn_discussion_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41582910",
    "traction_tier": "🔥 Viral Tech Launch",
    "created_at": "2026-09-08T04:12:00Z",
    "scraped_at": "2026-09-08T06:00:00+00:00"
  }
]
```

***

### 🐍 1-Click Python Integration

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

## Initialize client with your Apify API Token
client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")

## Run Show HN Early-Stage Product Hunter
run = client.actor("robinworld/show-hn-early-stage-product-hunter").call(
    run_input={
        "searchQuery": "ai",
        "minPoints": 10,
        "maxItems": 20
    }
)

## Fetch latest breakout startup launches
for product in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(f"🚀 [{product['traction_tier']}] {product['product_name']} (Points: {product['points']})")
    print(f"   Founder: @{product['founder_username']} | Site: {product['product_url']}")
    print(f"   Discussion: {product['hn_discussion_url']}")
```

***

### ❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

##### Q: How fast are newly launched products indexed?

Items are indexed within 60 seconds of submission to Hacker News.

##### Q: Does this require any paid proxy or API key?

No! It connects directly to Hacker News's public high-speed Algolia search cluster with zero proxy costs.

# Actor input Schema

## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):

Filter Show HN launches by keyword (e.g. 'ai', 'database', 'devtools', 'open source', 'saas'). Leave empty for all latest launches.

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

Filter launches by minimum community upvotes on Hacker News.

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

Filter launches by minimum founder discussion and community feedback.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of product launches to collect.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "searchQuery": "",
  "minPoints": 1,
  "minComments": 0,
  "maxItems": 50
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

Direct link to dataset containing early-stage startup launches and traction ratings.

# 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("robinworld/show-hn-early-stage-product-hunter").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("robinworld/show-hn-early-stage-product-hunter").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 robinworld/show-hn-early-stage-product-hunter --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,robinworld/show-hn-early-stage-product-hunter"
        }
    }
}
```

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/RziPgRdbQ6miKoBxA/builds/GGwTqqszOKiYahy7O/openapi.json