Hacker News Trending — hosted on Cloudflare Workers (HTTP + npm stdio)

What is Hacker News Trending?

Hacker News Trending is a hosted MCP server that provides LLM agents with real-time Hacker News data: front-page and top stories, full-text Algolia search across stories and comments, recent Show HN launches, and individual item or user lookups. It is built for tech-trend, indie-launch, and Show-HN-watcher AI workflows.

How to use Hacker News Trending?

Point any MCP-aware client (Cursor, Claude Desktop, Windsurf) at the hosted endpoint https://hn-trending-mcp.atlasword.workers.dev/mcp using mcp-remote or the npm launcher @insnapsprakhar/hn-trending-mcp. Obtain an API key from the upgrade page, then configure the client with the key as a Bearer token. Anonymous users get 100 calls/month/IP for free.

Key features of Hacker News Trending

• Fetch front-page, best, new, Ask/Show HN, and job stories
• Full-text Algolia search with point and age filters
• Track recent Show HN launches by minimum points
• Lookup individual items and user profiles
• Hosted on Cloudflare Workers with global edge caching
• Bearer-token auth with free tier and paid subscriptions

Use cases of Hacker News Trending

• AI assistants monitoring Hacker News trends for daily digests
• Agents discovering new Show HN launches for product research
• LLMs searching HN archives for technical discussions or comments
• Automated reputation checks of HN users and submissions
• Building custom HN front-end or analysis tools via MCP

FAQ from Hacker News Trending

What data sources does the server use?

It uses the official Hacker News API (Firebase) and the Algolia HN Search API. The server is a thin caching and auth layer over these free public APIs.

What runtime and storage does Hacker News Trending rely on?

It runs on Cloudflare Workers and stores upstream response caches and usage data (API keys, monthly counters) in two Cloudflare KV namespaces.

How do I get an API key?

Visit the upgrade page (/upgrade?tier=solo|team|pro) on the hosted domain, complete payment via Dodo Payments, then copy the key shown on the welcome page. The key is displayed only once.

Is there a free tier?

Yes. Anonymous callers get 100 calls per month per IP, with a rate limit of 10 requests per minute. No signup required.

Where does my data live and how is privacy handled?

The server stores only your email, API key, monthly call counters, and Dodo subscription metadata. Tool arguments and upstream responses are not logged beyond short cache TTLs. GDPR data export and deletion are available via the account endpoint or by email.