Hacker News MCP Server for AutoGen 3 tools — connect in under 2 minutes
Microsoft AutoGen enables multi-agent conversations where agents negotiate, delegate, and execute tasks collaboratively. Add Hacker News as an MCP tool provider through Vinkius and every agent in the group can access live data and take action.
ASK AI ABOUT THIS MCP SERVER
Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.
import asyncio
from autogen_agentchat.agents import AssistantAgent
from autogen_ext.tools.mcp import McpWorkbench
async def main():
# Your Vinkius token. get it at cloud.vinkius.com
async with McpWorkbench(
server_params={"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"},
transport="streamable_http",
) as workbench:
tools = await workbench.list_tools()
agent = AssistantAgent(
name="hacker_news_agent",
tools=tools,
system_message=(
"You help users with Hacker News. "
"3 tools available."
),
)
print(f"Agent ready with {len(tools)} tools")
asyncio.run(main())
* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure
About Hacker News MCP Server
Connect to Hacker News (Y Combinator) and take full control of your tech news consumption, discussion auditing, and trend tracking through natural conversation.
AutoGen enables multi-agent conversations where agents negotiate, delegate, and collaboratively use Hacker News tools. Connect 3 tools through Vinkius and assign role-based access. a data analyst queries while a reviewer validates, with optional human-in-the-loop approval for sensitive operations.
What you can do
- Front Page Orchestration — Fetch current Top stories to retrieve popular social links, titles, scores, and author metadata natively within your chat
- Real-time Submission Tracking — Iterate through chronological submissions to discover cutting-edge tech updates and new project launches flawlessly
- Detailed Item Auditing — Read the full contents of specific HN items (stories, comments, or polls) by their numeric IDs to extract exact textual context
- Clean Comment Retrieval — Retrieve discussion threads with HTML comments converted cleanly into Markdown, allowing your AI agent to reason with structured conversations limitlessly
- Story Metadata Inspection — Analyze specific node blocks identifying submission times, URL references, and total comment counts synchronously
- Trend Discovery — Identify high-ranking tech discussions and gather required IDs to browse and discover ongoing community debates natively
The Hacker News MCP Server exposes 3 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to AutoGen in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.
How to Connect Hacker News to AutoGen via MCP
Follow these steps to integrate the Hacker News MCP Server with AutoGen.
Install AutoGen
Run pip install "autogen-ext[mcp]"
Replace the token
Replace [YOUR_TOKEN_HERE] with your Vinkius token
Integrate into workflow
Use the agent in your AutoGen multi-agent orchestration
Explore tools
The workbench discovers 3 tools from Hacker News automatically
Why Use AutoGen with the Hacker News MCP Server
AutoGen provides unique advantages when paired with Hacker News through the Model Context Protocol.
Multi-agent conversations: multiple AutoGen agents discuss, delegate, and collaboratively use Hacker News tools to solve complex tasks
Role-based architecture lets you assign Hacker News tool access to specific agents. a data analyst queries while a reviewer validates
Human-in-the-loop support: agents can pause for human approval before executing sensitive Hacker News tool calls
Code execution sandbox: AutoGen agents can write and run code that processes Hacker News tool responses in an isolated environment
Hacker News + AutoGen Use Cases
Practical scenarios where AutoGen combined with the Hacker News MCP Server delivers measurable value.
Collaborative analysis: one agent queries Hacker News while another validates results and a third generates the final report
Automated review pipelines: a researcher agent fetches data from Hacker News, a critic agent evaluates quality, and a writer produces the output
Interactive planning: agents negotiate task allocation using Hacker News data to make informed decisions about resource distribution
Code generation with live data: an AutoGen coder agent writes scripts that process Hacker News responses in a sandboxed execution environment
Hacker News MCP Tools for AutoGen (3)
These 3 tools become available when you connect Hacker News to AutoGen via MCP:
get_item
Read the detailed contents of a specific Hacker News item (a story, comment, or poll) by its ID. Returns HTML comments converted cleanly to Markdown
new_stories
Fetch the most recently submitted stories on Hacker News
top_stories
Fetch the current Top stories on the Hacker News front page
Example Prompts for Hacker News in AutoGen
Ready-to-use prompts you can give your AutoGen agent to start working with Hacker News immediately.
"Show me the top 5 stories on Hacker News right now"
"Get details and comments for HN item 123456"
"What are the newest submissions on tech launches?"
Troubleshooting Hacker News MCP Server with AutoGen
Common issues when connecting Hacker News to AutoGen through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.
McpWorkbench not found
pip install "autogen-ext[mcp]"Hacker News + AutoGen FAQ
Common questions about integrating Hacker News MCP Server with AutoGen.
How does AutoGen connect to MCP servers?
Can different agents have different MCP tool access?
Does AutoGen support human approval for tool calls?
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Connect Hacker News to AutoGen
Get your token, paste the configuration, and start using 3 tools in under 2 minutes. No API key management needed.