Overview

The Hacker News MCP Server provides three primary story feeds that help you stay current with technology discussions: top stories, new stories, and best stories. Each feed serves a different purpose and offers unique insights into what's happening in the tech community. Understanding how to retrieve and use these feeds will help you make the most of your Hacker News integration.

Understanding the Story Types

Top Stories represent the current front page of Hacker News—submissions that have gained significant traction through community upvotes and engagement. These stories reflect what the community finds most interesting right now and typically include a mix of breaking news, thoughtful essays, and noteworthy technical content.

New Stories show the latest submissions as they arrive on Hacker News, regardless of voting or engagement. This feed is ideal for discovering content early, before it gains wider attention, and for monitoring specific topics in real-time.

Best Stories highlight submissions that have demonstrated lasting value, combining factors like score, engagement, and time to identify content with sustained community interest. This feed helps you find the most substantive discussions and highest-quality content.

Retrieving Stories

To access any of these story feeds, simply ask your AI assistant for what you need using natural language. For example:

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

The server processes your request, queries the Hacker News API, and returns structured information about each story, including titles, URLs, scores, submission times, and author details.

Working with Results

Once you receive story results, you can dive deeper into any submission by requesting its comments, checking the author's profile, or asking for additional context about specific topics. The server provides seamless access to related information, allowing you to explore stories and discussions that interest you.

Practical Tips

For trend monitoring, check top stories regularly to track what captures community attention. For early content discovery, monitor new stories to find hidden gems before they trend. For quality research, browse best stories to access the most valuable discussions and resources the community has identified.

The real-time nature of these feeds means you're always working with current data, making this tool particularly valuable for staying informed about technology news, discussions, and emerging trends.