Understanding Natural Language Queries

The Hacker News MCP server integrates seamlessly with your AI assistant, allowing you to access Hacker News content using conversational language rather than complex commands or API calls. Simply ask questions or make requests in plain English, and the server translates your intent into the appropriate Hacker News data retrieval.

Basic Query Patterns

Browsing Stories

To access current Hacker News content, use natural phrases like:

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

The server understands your intent and retrieves the appropriate story feed, presenting titles, scores, authors, and links in an easy-to-read format.

Accessing Specific Content

When you want to dive deeper into a particular story or comment thread, reference it directly:

• "Get the comments for story 12345678"
• "Show me the details of this Hacker News post"
• "What are people saying about [story title]?"

The server fetches the complete discussion thread, allowing you to explore community reactions and insights.

Researching Users

Understanding community members and their contributions is straightforward:

• "Show me the profile for user 'patio11'"
• "What has this user submitted recently?"
• "Get information about [username]'s activity"

You'll receive karma scores, submission history, and biographical information that helps contextualize user contributions.

Advanced Search Techniques

Combining Requests

Natural language queries shine when combining multiple operations:

• "Show me the top 5 stories and their comment threads"
• "Get the newest stories about artificial intelligence"
• "Find posts by [username] with the most discussion"

The server interprets your complex requests and retrieves the relevant data in a single interaction.

Filtering and Refinement

Use descriptive language to narrow your search:

• "Show me highly-voted stories from today"
• "Find recent discussions about Python"
• "Get stories with more than 100 comments"

While the server accesses structured Hacker News data, your AI assistant can apply additional filtering based on your criteria.

Tips for Effective Queries

Be specific about what you want to see—mention story types (top, new, best), user information, or comment threads explicitly. When referencing specific content, include identifiers or distinctive details. The more clearly you express your intent, the more precisely the server can retrieve the information you need.