# Hacker News MCP for AI Agents AI Agent Connect > Hacker News MCP lets you pull the latest tech news, community discussions, and user profiles into your AI client. It gives your agent direct access to the pulse of the developer community, including specialized feeds like 'Show HN' and 'Ask HN', so you can stay on top of trends without leaving your workspace. Use it to find new projects, monitor job postings, and get summaries of the day's biggest stories. ## Overview - **Category:** developer-tools - **Price:** Free - **Endpoint:** https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_vDlTapZpwBOfy8YVPjPvW0Pp97m80WazZplkvCAt/ai-agent-connect - **Tags:** y-combinator, tech-news, hacker-news, api-integration, real-time-updates ## Description Hacker News MCP connects your AI client directly to the developer news ecosystem. It lets you pull in the latest tech stories, browse the best of the community, and dive into specific discussions without having to manually scroll through pages of content. You can have your agent summarize the top news of the day, find specific job postings, or look up the history of a particular user to see their contributions to the tech world. It's a way to keep your research up to date by letting your agent do the heavy lifting of monitoring what's trending. Since Vinkius hosts this Connector, you can get it running in minutes and start querying the news immediately. Whether you're looking for the latest open source project or just want to see what's being asked in the community feeds, this tool puts that data right in your chat window. ## Tools ### get_top_stories Get up to 500 of the current top stories to see what the community is prioritizing. ### get_updates Get real-time item and profile changes to keep your agent informed of latest activity. ### get_new_stories Get up to 500 of the newest stories added to the site to see fresh content. ### get_show_stories Pull up to 200 latest 'Show HN' stories to see new project launches. ### get_ask_stories Get up to 200 latest Ask HN stories to see what the community is currently asking. ### get_best_stories Pull up to 500 of the best stories ever posted to see all-time high-quality content. ### get_item Fetch specific details for a story, comment, or poll using its unique ID. ### get_job_stories Retrieve up to 200 latest job postings to find new career opportunities in tech. ### get_max_item Find the current largest item ID to navigate through the site's history. ### get_user Fetch details for a specific user to see their reputation and submission history. ## Prompt Examples **Prompt:** ``` What are the top 5 stories on Hacker News right now? ``` **Response:** ``` I've fetched the top stories for you. Here are the current leaders: | Rank | Story Title | ID | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 1 | New LLM release | 123 | | 2 | Open Source Database | 124 | | 3 | Rust performance update | 125 | | 4 | New JS framework | 126 | | 5 | Cloud infra tips | 127 | Would you like details on any of these? ``` **Prompt:** ``` Get the profile details and karma for user 'pg'. ``` **Response:** ``` Fetching profile for 'pg'... **User: pg** * **Karma:** 156,000 * **Member Since:** 2006 * **Total Submissions:** 10,000+ He is one of the most active contributors on the platform. Would you like to see his recent submissions? ``` **Prompt:** ``` Tell me more about the story with ID 42301234. ``` **Response:** ``` Inspecting item 42301234... **Title:** The Future of MCP **Author:** techie **Points:** 450 **Comments:** 82 **Link:** [GitHub Repository] This story discusses the evolution of the Model Context Protocol. Should I summarize the comments for you? ``` ## Capabilities ### Pull top tech stories Get the most talked about tech news directly in your chat. ### Fetch 'Show HN' launches See new projects and startups as they are released to the community. ### Retrieve 'Ask HN' questions Get access to the community's most frequent questions and queries. ### Get latest job postings Find new career opportunities in the tech space without leaving your IDE. ### Inspect specific story details Fetch deep details for any specific story, comment, or poll. ### Look up user profiles Analyze user karma and submission history for any public username. ### Monitor real-time updates Keep your agent informed of the very latest activity on the platform. ## Use Cases ### Trend analysis for LLMs A developer wants to see what's trending in LLMs. They ask their agent to use `get_top_stories` to find the most discussed topics. ### Tracking new startups A founder wants to see new startups. They ask their agent to use `get_show_stories` to find recent project launches. ### Verifying user reputation A researcher wants to know a user's reputation. They ask their agent to use `get_user` to check karma and history. ### Finding remote tech jobs A job seeker wants to see remote roles. They ask their agent to use `get_job_stories` to list current openings. ### Finding community questions A developer wants to know what's being asked. They ask their agent to use `get_ask_stories` to find common questions. ## Benefits - Stop manual browsing. Use `get_top_stories` to see what matters now without opening a new tab. - Faster research. Use `get_show_stories` to find new projects instantly when you need inspiration. - Better sentiment analysis. Use `get_user` and `get_item` to see how the community reacts to specific tech. - Stay on top of jobs. Use `get_job_stories` to see new opportunities without leaving your IDE. - Deep dive into history. Use `get_max_item` to explore the archives of the developer community. - Get real-time updates. Use `get_updates` to keep your agent informed of the very latest activity on the platform. ## How It Works The bottom line is you get a direct pipeline to the developer community's news and sentiment without manually visiting the site. 1. Subscribe to the Hacker News MCP on Vinkius. 2. Connect your AI client to the Connector. 3. Ask your agent to find specific news, jobs, or user trends. ## Frequently Asked Questions **What can I do with the Hacker News MCP?** You can pull real-time tech news, browse new project launches on 'Show HN', find job postings, and look up user reputations directly through your AI agent. **Does the Hacker News MCP require an API key?** No, it uses the public Hacker News API, so you can start using it immediately without any complex authentication. **How can I use the Hacker News MCP for research?** You can ask your agent to summarize the top stories of the day or pull specific feeds like 'Ask HN' to see what questions the community is currently asking. **Can I see new project launches with the Hacker News MCP?** Yes, you can specifically pull the 'Show HN' feed to see what new projects, tools, and startups are being shared by the community. **Can I see job postings using the Hacker News MCP?** Yes, there is a dedicated tool to pull the latest job stories so you can find new career opportunities in the tech space. **How do I find a specific story with the Hacker News MCP?** If you have the unique integer ID for a story, comment, or poll, you can ask your agent to fetch the full details for that specific item. **Is the Hacker News MCP good for staying updated on tech trends?** It's perfect for that. It allows your agent to monitor real-time updates and pull the most relevant news so you stay informed without manual browsing. **How can I get the full text of a specific Hacker News comment or story?** Use the `get_item` tool with the unique integer ID of the item. The agent will return the title, text, author, and other metadata associated with that ID. **Can I see the latest projects launched by the community?** Yes! Use the `get_show_stories` tool to retrieve the latest 'Show HN' posts where developers share their recent work and projects. **Is there a way to track what has changed recently on the site?** The `get_updates` tool provides a list of recently changed items and user profiles, allowing you to stay on top of the latest activity.