Understanding User Profiles

The Hacker News MCP Server provides powerful capabilities for searching and exploring user profiles and their activity history on the platform. Every Hacker News user maintains a public profile that includes their submission history, comments, karma score, and optional biographical information. This feature allows you to research contributors, track thought leaders, and analyze community participation patterns.

Accessing User Profiles

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

• Karma score - The cumulative points earned from community upvotes
• Account creation date - When the user joined Hacker News
• About section - Biographical information the user has chosen to share
• Submitted stories - A list of articles and posts the user has submitted
• Comment history - The user's participation in discussions

Exploring 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 a particular user and how they engage with the community.

Ask your assistant to show you a user's recent submissions to see what articles or discussions they've posted. This is particularly useful for following subject matter experts in specific domains like machine learning, startups, or programming languages.

Similarly, you can explore a user's comment history to understand their perspectives and areas of expertise. Comments often reveal deeper technical knowledge and nuanced opinions that aren't visible from submissions alone.

Practical Applications

Identifying Experts: Find users with deep knowledge in specific technical areas by examining their contribution history and the quality of their discussions.

Tracking Influence: Monitor how active users shape conversations and which topics they champion within the community.

Research: Gather historical context about how specific individuals or organizations have been discussed on Hacker News over time.

Tips for Effective Searching

Be specific with usernames since Hacker News profiles are case-sensitive. When analyzing activity history, consider both the quantity and quality of contributions—karma scores provide community-validated signals about contribution value. Remember that all profile data is public information that users have chosen to share on the platform.