Overview

The Hacker News MCP Server connects your AI assistant to Hacker News, allowing you to retrieve stories, comments, and user profiles through natural language queries. This guide walks you through the setup process so you can start accessing tech discussions and trending topics immediately.

Prerequisites

Before setting up the Hacker News MCP Server, ensure you have:

• An MCP-compatible client (such as Claude Desktop or another AI assistant that supports MCP)
• Node.js installed on your system
• Basic familiarity with editing JSON configuration files

Installation Steps

Step 1: Install the Server

Open your terminal and install the Hacker News MCP Server using npm:

npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/server-hackernews

Alternatively, if you prefer using npx without global installation, you can reference it directly in your configuration file.

Step 2: Configure Your MCP Client

Locate your MCP client's configuration file. For Claude Desktop, this is typically found at:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Open the configuration file and add the Hacker News server to the mcpServers section:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hackernews": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-hackernews"]
    }
  }
}

Step 3: Restart Your Client

Close and restart your MCP client application to load the new server configuration.

Verifying the Setup

Once restarted, test the connection by asking your AI assistant questions like:

• "What are the top stories on Hacker News right now?"
• "Show me the latest new submissions"
• "Get comments for story ID 12345"

If the server is properly configured, you'll receive structured responses with current Hacker News data.

Using the Server

After setup, you can interact with Hacker News through natural language. The server supports retrieving top stories, new posts, best stories, individual comments, comment threads, and user profile information. Simply ask your AI assistant about Hacker News content, and the server handles the technical details behind the scenes.

Troubleshooting

If the server doesn't respond, verify that your configuration file syntax is correct and that Node.js is properly installed. Check your client's log files for specific error messages that can help identify configuration issues.