Overview

The Hacker News MCP server provides real-time access to one of tech's most influential communities. By connecting through this server, you can monitor breaking discussions, track emerging trends, and stay informed about what matters in technology without manually browsing the site.

Accessing Real-Time Stories

To view current top stories, simply ask your AI assistant to retrieve them through the Neon MCP connection. The server fetches live data directly from Hacker News, showing you what's trending right now based on community votes and engagement.

You can also access "new" stories to see the latest submissions as they arrive, giving you the earliest possible view of breaking news and fresh content. For curated quality, request "best" stories that have demonstrated lasting value to the community.

Each story includes essential metadata: title, URL, score, submission time, and author. This structured format makes it easy to quickly scan what's important and decide what deserves deeper attention.

Monitoring Comment Discussions

Real-time monitoring isn't limited to stories. Request comment threads on any submission to see how the community is responding. Comments on Hacker News often contain expert insights, technical analysis, and valuable perspectives that complement or even surpass the original article.

You can traverse entire comment trees to follow specific discussion threads, making it simple to track how conversations evolve around topics you care about.

Tracking Specific Topics

To monitor particular subjects or keywords, ask your assistant to check for recent stories or comments related to those topics. While the server doesn't provide built-in search filtering, you can request recent stories and have your AI assistant analyze them for relevant content.

For ongoing monitoring, periodically request top or new stories and compare them against previous results to identify emerging patterns and trending themes.

Following User Activity

Track specific Hacker News users by requesting their profile information. This reveals their recent submissions and comments, allowing you to follow thought leaders, monitor competitive activity, or research expert contributors in specific technical domains.

Best Practices

Check top stories multiple times daily to catch trends as they develop. The Hacker News front page changes frequently, and stories can rise or fall quickly based on community engagement.

When monitoring discussions, revisit comment threads periodically since valuable insights often appear hours after initial submission as experts weigh in.

Combine story retrieval with comment analysis for complete context—the real value often lies in community discussion rather than just the submitted link.