Understanding Story Feeds

The Hacker News MCP server provides access to several curated story feeds that reflect different aspects of community activity. Each feed serves a distinct purpose and can be retrieved through simple natural language requests to your AI assistant.

Top Stories represent submissions that have gained significant traction through community upvotes and are currently featured on the Hacker News front page. These are the most visible stories at any given moment and reflect what the community finds most interesting or important right now.

New Stories give you access to the latest submissions as they arrive on the platform. This feed is ideal for monitoring breaking news or catching emerging discussions before they gain widespread attention.

Best Stories showcase submissions that have demonstrated sustained value and engagement over time. This feed uses Hacker News's ranking algorithm to identify content with lasting impact rather than just momentary popularity.

Retrieving Story Feeds

To access these feeds, simply ask your AI assistant natural language questions like:

• "What are the current top stories on Hacker News?"
• "Show me the newest Hacker News submissions"
• "What are the best stories on Hacker News today?"

The server will return structured data for each story, including:

• Story title and URL
• Submission score (upvotes)
• Author username
• Timestamp of submission
• Number of comments
• Unique story identifier

This information allows you to quickly scan what's trending, identify stories worth reading, or track how specific topics are performing within the community.

Working with Story Data

Once you've retrieved story feeds, you can drill deeper into individual stories. Use the story identifier to access full comment threads, explore discussion quality, or track how a story evolves over time. You might ask questions like "Show me comments on story 12345678" to dive into the conversation surrounding a particular submission.

The story score and comment count provide quick indicators of community engagement, helping you prioritize which stories deserve closer attention. Higher scores typically indicate broad community approval, while high comment counts often signal controversial or discussion-worthy topics.

Practical Applications

Story feeds enable various workflows: monitor trending technical discussions throughout your day, research how specific technologies or companies are being discussed, discover high-quality technical content vetted by the community, or track when topics of interest gain traction. The real-time nature of these feeds ensures you're always working with current information, making the server valuable for staying informed about technology discourse as it unfolds.