Understanding Story Feeds

The Hacker News MCP server provides access to three primary story feeds that reflect different aspects of community activity. Each feed serves a distinct purpose and can be retrieved through simple natural language requests to your AI assistant.

Top Stories represent submissions that have gained significant traction through community voting and engagement. These are the articles and discussions you'd see on the Hacker News front page—the content that the community has collectively deemed most valuable or interesting at the current moment.

New Stories show the most recent submissions as they arrive on the platform. This feed gives you access to fresh content before it's been voted on extensively, allowing you to spot emerging trends or topics before they reach the front page.

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

How to Request Story Data

Retrieving stories through the MCP server is straightforward. Simply ask your AI assistant in natural language for the feed you want to access. For example:

• "Show me the top stories on Hacker News right now"
• "What are the latest new submissions?"
• "Get the best stories from Hacker News"

The server will return structured data for each story, including the title, URL, author, submission time, score (number of upvotes), and the number of comments. This information gives you a complete picture of each submission's content and community reception.

Working with Story Results

Once you receive story data, you can analyze it, monitor specific topics, or dive deeper into individual submissions. Each story includes a unique identifier that you can use to retrieve its complete comment thread, allowing you to explore the discussions surrounding any submission that catches your interest.

You can also follow up with requests to learn more about story authors by accessing their user profiles, or track how specific stories evolve over time by checking their scores and comment counts at different intervals.

Practical Applications

Use top stories to stay current with what the tech community considers important today. Monitor new stories to catch breaking news and emerging discussions early. Review best stories to discover high-quality content that has proven its value over time. Combining these feeds gives you comprehensive visibility into the Hacker News community's interests and conversations.