MCP #06: Hacker News

Introduction

The Hacker News MCP Server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that provides LLMs like Claude with direct access to Hacker News content. This server enables AI assistants to search for stories and comments, retrieve specific stories with their comments, get user profiles, and much more. Built by developer Mustapha Abdulhameed Bolaji (devabdultech), it's designed to integrate with various LLM clients including Claude Desktop, Cursor, and others that support the Model Context Protocol.

Installation (8/10)

The installation process for the Hacker News MCP server is straightforward, especially when using Smithery's CLI tool. The two main options are:

👍 Via Smithery:

The installation instructions are clear and account for different client configurations. Docker support has been added recently (April 4, 2025), which provides additional deployment flexibility.

The only slight drawback is that server configuration options aren't extensively documented, which might be an issue for users with specific requirements.

Production Readiness (7/10)

The Hacker News MCP server shows good signs of production readiness:

👍 Strengths:

• Docker support for containerized deployment

• Active maintenance with recent commits (last update on April 4, 2025)

• MIT License makes it suitable for commercial use

• Multiple contributors involved in the project

• Smithery integration for easier deployment

👎 Areas for Improvement:

• Limited information about error handling and robustness

• No mention of logging or monitoring capabilities

• No detailed documentation on handling rate limits from the Hacker News API

The server uses both the official Hacker News API and Algolia Search API, which should provide reliable access to HN data, but there's limited information on how it handles API failures or rate limiting.

Cost (10/10)

The cost structure for the Hacker News MCP server is excellent:

👍 Strengths:

• Free and open-source under MIT license

• No paid tiers or premium features

• No hidden costs for usage

• Minimal resource requirements for running the server

Since the server doesn't require any paid APIs or services (it uses the free public Hacker News API), there are no operational costs beyond the standard infrastructure costs for hosting the server. The Docker support makes deployment cost-effective on various platforms.

According to Smithery, the server has only 39 monthly tool calls recorded, which suggests it's not heavily utilized yet but also indicates low resource usage.

Usability (9/10)

The Hacker News MCP server offers excellent usability for both developers and end-users:

👍 Strengths:

• Clear tool documentation with well-defined parameters

• Comprehensive feature set covering all major Hacker News functionality

• Multiple integration options (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.)

• Intuitive tool naming that matches functionality

• Pagination support for search results

👍 Tool Functionality:

1. search - Search stories and comments with filtering options

2. getStories - Get stories by type (top, new, best, etc.)

3. getStoryWithComments - Get complete story threads with comments

4. getCommentTree - Get hierarchical comment structures

5. getUser - Access user profile information

6. getUserSubmissions - Get a user's submitted content

The tools cover the full range of Hacker News functionality, and the parameter naming is intuitive. The server appears to handle the complexity of the Hacker News data structure well, especially with nested comments.

The only minor concern is the absence of extensive examples or templates for common use cases, which would help new users get started quickly.

Bottom Line

The Hacker News MCP Server by devabdultech is a solid, well-designed implementation that provides comprehensive access to Hacker News content through the Model Context Protocol. With a score of 8.5/10 overall, it excels in cost (free) and usability while providing acceptable installation and production readiness.