Understanding User Profiles

The Hacker News MCP Server provides comprehensive access to user profile information, allowing you to explore individual contributors' activity and presence within the community. Each profile contains valuable data including submission history, comments, karma scores, and user-provided biographical details.

To view a user profile, simply ask your AI assistant about a specific Hacker News user by their username. For example, you might say "Show me the profile for user pg" or "What's the karma score for user dang?" The server will retrieve the current profile information and present it in an easy-to-read format.

Profile Information Available

User profiles contain several key pieces of information:

Basic Details: View the username, account creation date (shown as "about"), and any biographical information the user has chosen to share. This helps you understand how long someone has been active in the community.

Karma Score: See the total karma a user has accumulated through upvotes on their submissions and comments. Higher karma generally indicates sustained, valuable contributions to the community.

Submission History: Access a list of all stories and links the user has submitted to Hacker News. This reveals their areas of interest and the content they've chosen to share with the community.

Comment History: Review the user's comments across different discussions. This is particularly valuable for understanding their expertise, communication style, and the topics they engage with most frequently.

Exploring Activity History

Understanding a user's activity history helps you identify subject matter experts, track thought leaders, or research community dynamics. You can ask specific questions like:

• "What has user X posted recently?"
• "Show me the comment history for user Y"
• "What topics does user Z typically engage with?"

The server retrieves this information in real-time, ensuring you're viewing current activity rather than outdated data.

Practical Applications

Expert Identification: Find users who consistently contribute valuable insights in specific technical domains by reviewing their comment history and karma.

Trend Research: Track how influential community members respond to emerging technologies or industry developments.

Community Analysis: Study engagement patterns and contribution styles across different user profiles to understand community dynamics.

By leveraging user profile and activity data, you gain deeper insight into Hacker News discussions and can identify the voices that matter most in your areas of interest.