Understanding Real-Time Updates

The Hacker News MCP Server provides continuous access to live data from Hacker News, ensuring you're always working with the most current information available. Unlike cached or delayed data sources, this server queries the Hacker News API directly, giving you immediate visibility into new submissions, updated scores, and fresh comments as they appear on the platform.

When you request information through the server, you're receiving the actual current state of Hacker News at that moment. This means story scores reflect the latest votes, comment threads include the most recent replies, and new story feeds show submissions that may have appeared just seconds ago.

Monitoring New Submissions

To stay informed about newly submitted content, you can request the "new stories" feed through your AI assistant. Simply ask to see the latest Hacker News submissions, and the server will retrieve the most recent posts as they arrive on the platform. This is particularly valuable when you want to:

• Catch breaking news in the technology sector before it gains widespread attention
• Monitor for submissions related to specific topics, companies, or technologies
• Identify emerging trends as they first appear in the community
• Discover fresh content that hasn't yet been voted to the front page

Each submission includes complete metadata such as the title, URL, submitter, and timestamp, allowing you to quickly assess relevance and decide which stories warrant deeper investigation.

Tracking Story Updates

Stories on Hacker News are dynamic—their scores change as users vote, and comment threads grow over time. You can check the current status of any story by requesting it by its unique ID or by browsing updated story feeds. This enables you to:

• Watch how a particular story's score evolves throughout the day
• Monitor growing discussions on topics of interest
• Identify which stories are gaining momentum
• Track when new comments appear on threads you're following

Working with Live Comment Threads

Comment discussions develop continuously, with new replies and sub-threads appearing as users engage with stories. The server retrieves the complete current state of any comment thread, including all nested replies. This allows you to follow ongoing technical discussions, debates, or analyses in real-time.

Best Practices for Real-Time Monitoring

For effective monitoring, consider checking new story feeds periodically rather than continuously. Request updates at intervals that match your needs—every few minutes for breaking news monitoring, or hourly for general trend awareness. Focus on specific story IDs when tracking particular discussions to avoid unnecessary data retrieval.

Remember that Hacker News activity varies throughout the day, with peak submission and voting times typically aligned with business hours in major technology hubs.