# Hacker News Scraper: Stories, Comments, Users & Search (`perconey/hackernews-scraper`) Actor

Scrape Hacker News via the official Firebase API + Algolia search. Top/new/best/ask/show/jobs stories, full comment trees, user profiles with karma, free-text search. No browser, no proxies, no auth. Pay only per result item.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/perconey/hackernews-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Perconey](https://apify.com/perconey) (community)
- **Categories:** Developer tools, News, Lead generation
- **Stats:** 1 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$1.00 / 1,000 result items

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

### What does Hacker News Scraper do?

**Hacker News Scraper** pulls structured data from [Hacker News](https://news.ycombinator.com) using **two official public APIs**: the Firebase API (canonical, zero-rate-limit, the same backend the HN web app uses) and the Algolia full-text search API (which powers HN's own search box). No browser, no proxies, no cookies, no anti-bot fight. The Firebase API has no rate limit, no quota, no auth - it's just a Google Firebase Realtime Database mirror that the YC team keeps open for everyone.

Try it instantly: pick **getTopStories**, leave queries empty, click Start. You get the current HN frontpage with author, score, comment count, URL, and posting time in under 10 seconds for $0.03.

### Why use Hacker News Scraper?

- **Tech recruiters**: Find high-karma engineers on niche topics. `searchStories` with `tags: comment,author_dhh` returns every comment a specific developer has written. `getUserProfile` with `includeSubmissions: true` returns 30 most recent stories/comments by a user - a real signal of expertise.
- **Startup researchers**: Track "Show HN" launches with `getShowStories`. Watch what's gaining traction in `getBestStories` (high-karma recent submissions). Build a daily digest with Apify Scheduler.
- **DevRel teams**: Monitor stories mentioning your product. `searchStories` with your project name as query + `sortByDate: true` gives newest-first chronological feed. Pipe into Slack/Discord via Apify Integrations.
- **Content marketers**: Reverse-engineer what HN upvotes. `getTopStories` over time + URL clustering reveals which domains/topics get traction.
- **AI/ML pipelines**: Hacker News comments are one of the highest-quality public conversation datasets. `getItemDetail` with `includeComments: true` returns full threaded discussions in clean JSON.
- **Hiring managers**: Use `getJobStories` to track Y Combinator portfolio hiring activity.

### How to use Hacker News Scraper

1. Open the **Input** tab.
2. Pick an **action** from the dropdown. `getTopStories` is the simplest starting point.
3. Story-list actions (Top/New/Best/Ask/Show/Jobs) need no queries - leave that field empty.
4. For `getItemDetail` or `getUserProfile`, enter the item id (e.g. `48106024`) or HN username (e.g. `pg`) in queries.
5. For `searchStories`, type the search query and optionally set `tags` (e.g. `story,ask_hn`) and `sortByDate`.
6. Set **maxItems** to cap the run. Default 30.
7. Toggle `includeComments` for getItemDetail or `includeSubmissions` for getUserProfile if you want the deep dive.
8. Click **Start**. Results stream to the dataset.

### Input

Field | Required | Description
\--- | --- | ---
`action` | yes | Which API call to make. Nine options.
`queries` | sometimes | Required for getItemDetail / getUserProfile / searchStories. Empty for story-list actions.
`maxItems` | no | Max items per query. Default 30. For getItemDetail+includeComments this caps the BFS comment walk.
`includeComments` | no | For getItemDetail: walk the full comment tree (each comment counts as a result-item).
`includeSubmissions` | no | For getUserProfile: also fetch the user's most recent submissions.
`sortByDate` | no | For searchStories: use Algolia's newest-first ranking instead of relevance.
`tags` | no | For searchStories: Algolia tags filter (e.g. `story`, `comment`, `ask_hn`, `show_hn`, `author_USERNAME`).

### Output

Every dataset item carries `_type` (`story` / `comment` / `job` / `poll` / `user` / `error`) plus `_action` for filtering.

```json
{
    "_type": "story",
    "_action": "getTopStories",
    "id": 48106024,
    "type": "story",
    "title": "Learning Software Architecture",
    "url": "https://example.com/article",
    "score": 189,
    "descendants": 47,
    "by": "surprisetalk",
    "time": "2026-05-12T11:23:11.000Z",
    "kids": [48106101, 48106220, 48106305],
    "hn_url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48106024"
}
```

You can download the dataset in JSON, CSV, XML, Excel, RSS or HTML format from the Output tab or the Apify API.

### Data fields

Type | Key fields
\--- | ---
`story` / `job` / `poll` | id, type, title, url, text, score, descendants (comment count), by (author), time, kids (comment ids), hn\_url
`comment` | id, type, text, by, time, parent, kids, hn\_url, score
`user` | id (username), karma, about (HTML bio), created, submitted\_count, submitted\_ids, hn\_url
`error` | \_action, \_query, error, status

### Pricing

**Pay-per-result: $0.001 per item.** Each story = one event. Each comment in a tree = one event. Each user profile = one event. No flat monthly fee.

Cost examples:

- Daily HN frontpage (30 stories): **$0.03**
- Full comment tree of a 200-comment story: **$0.20**
- 500 stories matching a search query: **$0.50**
- 100 user profiles + 30 submissions each (4000 items total): **$4.00**

### Tips

- **Firebase API has NO rate limit.** Run as many parallel requests as you want. We batch 5 concurrent fetches per page out of politeness.
- **Algolia returns up to 50 hits per page, max 1000 hits per query.** For exhaustive search over a high-volume term, segment by date with `numericFilters=created_at_i>...` (advanced) or use `sortByDate` and paginate by date.
- **Use `tags: author_USERNAME` in searchStories** to get every post or comment by a specific user. Compare with `getUserProfile + includeSubmissions: true` - same data, different angle.
- **HN ids are global and immutable.** A story id is unique across stories, comments, users, jobs, polls. The `_type` field tells you what shape the item is.
- **For real-time monitoring**, set up an Apify Schedule running `getNewStories` every 5 minutes. Combine with an Apify Integration (Slack, Discord, webhook) to get an instant feed.

### FAQ, disclaimers, support

**Is this legal?** The actor calls Hacker News's official public APIs (firebaseio.com + hn.algolia.com), both maintained by Y Combinator for public use. No scraping of the HTML, no auth bypass, no rate-limit games. We send a clear User-Agent identifying the actor.

**What about deleted/flagged content?** The Firebase API surfaces `deleted: true` and `dead: true` flags. We skip both in the comment-tree walker to keep your dataset clean, but solo `getItemDetail` will still return them with the flags so you can audit deletions if needed.

**Does it return downvotes?** No. HN doesn't expose downvote counts publicly. Only net `score` is available.

**Why no realtime stream?** The Firebase API supports realtime subscriptions but Apify Actors are batch workers. For a true realtime feed, run this actor on Apify Schedule with a tight interval (every 1-5 minutes).

**Bug or feature request?** Open an Issue on the actor's Issues tab. Usually responded to within a day.

**Need a scraper for Reddit, Lobsters, Lemmy, Tildes?** See my other actors at https://apify.com/perconey, or open an Issue.

# Actor input Schema

## `action` (type: `string`):

Story-list actions need no queries. getItemDetail and getUserProfile need a single id/username. searchStories needs a search query.

## `queries` (type: `array`):

Depends on action. Story-list actions: leave empty. getItemDetail: HN item id (e.g. 48106024) or full URL (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=...). getUserProfile: HN username (e.g. pg, dhh). searchStories: free-text query.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many items. For getItemDetail+includeComments, this caps the comment tree (BFS).

## `includeComments` (type: `boolean`):

Walk and fetch the full comment tree of the story. Each comment counts as one result-item. Capped by maxItems.

## `includeSubmissions` (type: `boolean`):

After the user profile, also fetch their most recent submissions. Counts toward maxItems.

## `sortByDate` (type: `boolean`):

Algolia default is relevance. Enable to get newest-first instead.

## `tags` (type: `string`):

Restrict search results. Examples: 'story', 'comment', 'story,author\_pg', 'ask\_hn', 'show\_hn'. See https://hn.algolia.com/api for the full list.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "action": "getTopStories",
  "queries": [],
  "maxItems": 30,
  "includeComments": false,
  "includeSubmissions": false,
  "sortByDate": false
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "queries": []
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("perconey/hackernews-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "queries": [] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("perconey/hackernews-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "queries": []
}' |
apify call perconey/hackernews-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,perconey/hackernews-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/a2xwsSNp27QOf30dS/builds/Gh4JJoTWGpYqSh51A/openapi.json