Overview

The Neon MCP server provides quick access to Hacker News story feeds, allowing you to stay updated on the latest tech discussions and trending topics. This guide explains how to retrieve different types of story feeds and understand the data returned.

Available Story Feeds

The server offers three primary story feeds that mirror the main sections of Hacker News:

Top Stories

Top stories represent submissions that have risen to prominence through community voting. These are the articles and discussions currently featured on Hacker News' front page. To retrieve top stories, simply ask your AI assistant for "top stories on Hacker News" or "what's trending on Hacker News."

Top stories are ranked by a combination of upvotes, time, and engagement, giving you insight into what the community finds most valuable right now.

New Stories

New stories show the latest submissions as they arrive on Hacker News, regardless of vote count or engagement. This feed is ideal for discovering fresh content before it gains traction or monitoring specific topics in real-time.

Request new stories by asking for "newest Hacker News submissions" or "latest posts on Hacker News."

Best Stories

Best stories represent submissions that have demonstrated sustained value and engagement over time. This feed uses Hacker News' ranking algorithm to identify content with lasting impact rather than momentary popularity.

Access best stories by requesting "best Hacker News stories" or "highest quality Hacker News posts."

Understanding Story Data

Each story retrieved includes comprehensive information:

• Title and URL: The submission's headline and link to the original content
• Score: Total upvotes received from the community
• Author: Username of the person who submitted the story
• Timestamp: When the story was posted
• Comment count: Number of discussion replies

This structured data helps you quickly assess whether a story is worth exploring further.

Practical Tips

Stay current: Check top stories regularly to track evolving discussions, as rankings change throughout the day.

Discover early: Use new stories to find content before it becomes widely discussed, giving you a head start on emerging topics.

Find quality: When researching topics, best stories often provide the most valuable and well-vetted resources.

Combine with comments: After identifying interesting stories, retrieve their comment threads to gain deeper insights into community perspectives and expert opinions.

The story feed functionality forms the foundation for exploring Hacker News content, helping you efficiently navigate one of tech's most influential discussion platforms.