Understanding User Profiles

The Hacker News MCP Server provides comprehensive access to user profile information, allowing you to explore the activity and contributions of community members. Each Hacker News user maintains a public profile that includes their submission history, comments, karma score, and optional biographical details. This feature enables you to track thought leaders, research subject matter experts, or analyze engagement patterns within the community.

Accessing a User Profile

To view a user's profile, simply ask your AI assistant about a specific Hacker News user by their username. For example, you might request "Show me the profile for user pg" or "What's the karma score for user dang?" The server will retrieve the complete profile information, including:

• Username and account age: When the user joined Hacker News
• Karma score: A measure of community appreciation for their contributions
• About section: Biographical information the user has chosen to share
• Submission history: Stories and links the user has posted
• Comment activity: Recent discussions the user has participated in

Viewing Activity History

Once you've accessed a user profile, you can dive deeper into their activity history. The server provides access to both submissions and comments, allowing you to understand what topics interest them and how they engage with the community.

Submissions: Review all stories and links a user has posted to Hacker News. This reveals their areas of interest and what content they consider valuable enough to share with the community.

Comments: Explore a user's comment history to understand their perspectives, expertise, and discussion style. Comments often provide more insight into a user's knowledge and viewpoint than their submissions alone.

Practical Applications

User profile and activity data serves several valuable purposes:

Identifying Experts: Find users who consistently contribute insightful comments on specific technologies or topics. Their activity history helps you assess their expertise and perspective.

Research and Networking: Discover individuals who share your interests or work in relevant domains. Understanding their contributions can inform research or identify potential connections.

Community Analysis: Study how influential members engage with the platform to understand community norms, values, and discussion patterns.

Making Requests

Interact with user profiles through natural language queries to your AI assistant. You might ask to "analyze the recent comments from user X" or "show me what stories user Y has submitted in the past month." The server handles the technical details, returning organized, readable information about user activity and profile data.