# Hacker News Launches Scraper (`scrupulous_waterbird_m4w/hn-launches`) Actor Pull Hacker News Show HN, Launch HN, front page, or single-item threads. Title, author, points, comments, external URL. Public Algolia API, no auth, no proxy. - **URL**: https://apify.com/scrupulous\_waterbird\_m4w/hn-launches.md - **Developed by:** [Mori](https://apify.com/scrupulous_waterbird_m4w) (community) - **Categories:** Automation, Agents, MCP servers - **Stats:** 1 total users, 0 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per usage This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage ## 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 ## Hacker News Launches Scraper Pull Hacker News Show HN, Launch HN, front page, or single-item threads. Title, author, points, comment count, external URL. Powered by the public [Hacker News Algolia API](https://hn.algolia.com/api) - no auth, no proxy, no captcha. ### What it does - show_hn - top Show HN stories (optionally text-filtered and date-bounded). Default window: last 7 days. Sort: most points first. - launch_hn - top Launch HN stories (YC launches). Same filter options. - front_page - current Hacker News front page (top 30 by points). - item - single HN story by objectID plus its full comment tree, flattened. Each story record carries: title, author, points, numComments, createdAt, url (external link), hnUrl (canonical HN item URL). ### Input | Field | Required | Type | Description | |---|---|---|---| | mode | yes | enum | show_hn (default) / launch_hn / front_page / item | | query | no | string | Free-text search applied to titles (show_hn / launch_hn only). Empty = no text filter. | | daysBack | no | integer | Date window for show_hn / launch_hn. 0 = no date filter. Max 30. | | objectID | yes (item mode) | string | HN story id (e.g. 46205632). Ignored in other modes. | | maxItems | no | integer | Cap on results. Default 30, max 100. For item mode, caps comment count. | ### Output One record per story (or comment, in item mode): ```json { "mode": "show_hn", "kind": "story", "source": "hn-algolia", "objectID": 46205632, "title": "Show HN: ...", "url": "https://...", "hnUrl": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46205632", "author": "keepamovin", "points": 3346, "numComments": 278, "createdAt": "2025-12-09T15:00:38.000Z", "query": null, "daysBack": 7, "fetchedAt": "2026-07-08T..." } ```` item mode also emits one record per nested comment (kind=comment) with parentId, storyId, and text (raw HTML). ### Limitations - HN Algolia search returns at most 1000 hits per query - for very deep historical scans, run multiple passes with tighter daysBack windows. - No HTML rendering required - pure JSON API. ### Changelog - 0.1.0 - initial release. # Actor input Schema ## `mode` (type: `string`): What to fetch. One of: 'show\_hn' (Show HN stories — search by points, default), 'launch\_hn' (Launch HN stories), 'front\_page' (current HN front page), 'item' (single story + nested comments by objectID). ## `query` (type: `string`): Optional free-text search applied to titles (only used in modes show\_hn / launch\_hn). Empty = no text filter (just the tag). ## `daysBack` (type: `integer`): Window in days for show\_hn / launch\_hn modes (date-bounded via search\_by\_date). 0 = no date filter. Max 30. ## `objectID` (type: `string`): For mode='item': the HN story ID (e.g. 46205632). Ignored in other modes. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Number of stories / comments to fetch per run. For 'item' mode this caps the number of top-level comments returned. ## Actor input object example ```json { "mode": "show_hn", "daysBack": 7, "maxItems": 30 } ``` # 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 '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "query": "", "objectID": "" }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("scrupulous_waterbird_m4w/hn-launches").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 '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "query": "", "objectID": "", } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("scrupulous_waterbird_m4w/hn-launches").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 '{ "query": "", "objectID": "" }' | apify call scrupulous_waterbird_m4w/hn-launches --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=scrupulous_waterbird_m4w/hn-launches", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Hacker News Launches Scraper", "description": "Pull Hacker News Show HN, Launch HN, front page, or single-item threads. Title, author, points, comments, external URL. Public Algolia API, no auth, no proxy.", "version": "0.0", "x-build-id": "74rO5qrJbRohJ96b5" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/scrupulous_waterbird_m4w~hn-launches/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-scrupulous_waterbird_m4w-hn-launches", "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/scrupulous_waterbird_m4w~hn-launches/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-scrupulous_waterbird_m4w-hn-launches", "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/scrupulous_waterbird_m4w~hn-launches/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-scrupulous_waterbird_m4w-hn-launches", "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": [ "mode" ], "properties": { "mode": { "title": "Mode", "enum": [ "show_hn", "launch_hn", "front_page", "item" ], "type": "string", "description": "What to fetch. One of: 'show_hn' (Show HN stories — search by points, default), 'launch_hn' (Launch HN stories), 'front_page' (current HN front page), 'item' (single story + nested comments by objectID).", "default": "show_hn" }, "query": { "title": "Search query", "type": "string", "description": "Optional free-text search applied to titles (only used in modes show_hn / launch_hn). Empty = no text filter (just the tag)." }, "daysBack": { "title": "Days back", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 30, "type": "integer", "description": "Window in days for show_hn / launch_hn modes (date-bounded via search_by_date). 0 = no date filter. Max 30.", "default": 7 }, "objectID": { "title": "Story / item ID", "type": "string", "description": "For mode='item': the HN story ID (e.g. 46205632). Ignored in other modes." }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max items", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 100, "type": "integer", "description": "Number of stories / comments to fetch per run. For 'item' mode this caps the number of top-level comments returned.", "default": 30 } } }, "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 } } } } } } } } } } ```