mcp-claude-hackernews

This MCP server enables Claude Desktop to interact with Hacker News through the MCP (Model Context Protocol) interface. It exposes a lightweight integration that fetches the latest Hacker News stories, allows keyword search across articles, and retrieves comments for specific posts. The available capabilities map to common Claude workflows: you can fetch the latest articles to surface trending items, search for articles by topic or keyword, and drill into article details and user comments directly from Claude.

To use it, start the server with the standard Node.js startup (for example, npm install followed by npm start if you are using the repository’s package.json scripts). Once running, instruct Claude with commands like “fetch latest articles”, “search for [keyword]”, or “view comments for article [ID]” to retrieve data from Hacker News. The integration relies on the Hacker News API endpoints to pull article IDs, details, and user comments, and then formats that data for easy consumption inside Claude.

Prerequisites:

• Node.js and npm installed on your system
• Access to the repository containing the MCP Claude Hacker News integration

Step-by-step installation:

1. Install Node.js and npm if you don’t already have them. You can download from https://nodejs.org/

2. Clone the repository (replace with the actual repo URL): git clone https://github.com/mpress001/mcp-claude-hackernews.git cd mcp-claude-hackernews

3. Install dependencies: npm install

4. Start the MCP server: npm start

5. Verify the server is running by checking the console output or by making a test request via your MCP client.

Notes:

• If the project uses a different start script or a custom runner, adjust the start command accordingly (e.g., npm run start-server or node server.js).
• The README references a zipped release URL for distribution in some setups; ensure you’re using the local repository or a properly hosted package if applicable.

Tips and caveats:

• The integration depends on the Hacker News API endpoints (e.g., /v0/item/[ID].json and /v0/user/[username].json). Rate limiting or API changes can affect data availability; implement appropriate error handling in your client.
• If you customize endpoints or host endpoints behind a proxy, ensure the MCP server has network access to those URLs.
• If you plan to deploy, consider environment-specific configurations (e.g., API keys or auth if you extend functionality). The current integration typically does not require authentication for public Hacker News endpoints.
• Ensure your Claude Desktop configuration points to the MCP server’s hostname and port, and that any firewall rules allow traffic between Claude and the MCP server.
• The provided npm_package is null since this appears to be an internal integration not published as a standalone npm package.