Understanding Story Queries

The Hacker News MCP Server allows you to retrieve stories using two primary methods: by their unique identifier or by story category. Understanding these query methods will help you efficiently access the content most relevant to your needs.

Querying Stories by ID

Every item on Hacker News—whether a story, comment, or poll—has a unique numeric identifier. When you know the specific ID of a story you want to retrieve, you can request it directly.

To query a story by ID, simply ask your AI assistant for the specific item number. For example, you might say "Get me Hacker News story 35423156" or "Show me details for item 35400000." The server will return comprehensive information about that story, including its title, URL, author, score, submission time, and the number of comments it has received.

This method is particularly useful when you're following up on a specific discussion, have bookmarked a story ID for later reference, or are working with a list of IDs you've collected through previous queries or external sources.

Querying Stories by Category

Hacker News organizes stories into several curated categories based on community engagement and editorial selection. The server provides access to these primary story feeds:

Top Stories represent the highest-ranked submissions currently on Hacker News, determined by the community voting algorithm. These are the stories you'd see when visiting the front page of the site. Request these when you want to know what's capturing the community's attention right now.

New Stories show the most recent submissions in chronological order. This feed gives you access to content as it arrives, before the community has voted it up or down. Use this category when you want to monitor emerging discussions or catch breaking news in the tech world.

Best Stories are selected based on an algorithm that identifies submissions with lasting value and high-quality engagement. This feed filters for content that has demonstrated sustained interest and meaningful discussion.

Practical Tips

When querying by category, the server typically returns a list of story IDs rather than full story details. You can then request specific stories from that list to get complete information. This two-step approach keeps responses manageable while giving you control over which stories you explore in depth.

For research or monitoring purposes, consider starting with category queries to identify stories of interest, then follow up with ID-based queries to retrieve detailed information about specific submissions and their comment threads.