Overview

The Hacker News MCP server enables you to monitor and access Hacker News content in real-time through your AI assistant. Instead of manually checking the site throughout the day, you can query current discussions, trending stories, and community activity using natural language commands. This guide will help you understand how to effectively monitor Hacker News content as it happens.

Accessing Real-Time Stories

The server provides immediate access to various story feeds that update continuously throughout the day. You can request top stories to see what the community has voted to prominence, new stories to catch submissions as they arrive, or best stories for content that has demonstrated sustained value.

To monitor real-time content, simply ask your AI assistant questions like:

• "What are the current top stories on Hacker News?"
• "Show me the latest new submissions"
• "What's trending on Hacker News right now?"

Each response includes essential details: story titles, URLs, current scores, submission times, and author information. This structured data helps you quickly assess what's capturing community attention without opening multiple browser tabs.

Monitoring Active Discussions

Comments often contain the most valuable insights on Hacker News. The server lets you dive into active comment threads to see how discussions are evolving. You can retrieve entire conversation trees or focus on specific comments that interest you.

This is particularly useful when you want to understand community reaction to breaking news or technical announcements. Ask your assistant to "show me the comments on this story" or "what are people saying about [topic]" to access real-time community perspectives.

Tracking Specific Topics

Create effective monitoring workflows by combining different query types. For example, you might regularly check new submissions related to your industry, then examine top stories to see which topics gained traction, and finally review comments on relevant discussions.

The server's real-time access ensures you're always working with current data, not cached information. This makes it ideal for staying ahead of industry conversations, identifying emerging trends early, or monitoring mentions of specific technologies or companies.

Setting Up Monitoring Routines

Once configured, you can establish regular check-ins with your AI assistant. Rather than building complex monitoring tools, simply ask periodic questions throughout your day. The server handles all API interactions behind the scenes, delivering clean, readable results that keep you informed without overwhelming you with information.