io.github.cyanheads/hn-mcp-server
REMOTE · HN.CASEYJHAND.COM · 2 COMPONENTS · SCANNED SEP 20
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Available components
How this component scores in each security and reliability category. Every signal is checked automatically against the live server, and we only credit what we can confirm. How we score → Why this is hard to score →
Endpoint Security66
- The endpoint's TLS certificate is valid, in date, and uses a strong key. View diagnostics → Pass
- Authorisation not fully verified: no authorisation is required to call this server, and 4 tool(s) never declared a destructiveHint. The MCP spec treats an absent hint as destructive by default, so we cannot call this surface safe. See how to fix → View diagnostics → Unverified
- HTTPS is enforced; there's no plaintext access path. View diagnostics → Pass
- The HSTS (Strict-Transport-Security) header is present. View diagnostics → Pass
- DNSSEC is configured correctly; the domain's records validate against the full chain to the root. View diagnostics → Pass
Transport & Reachability100
- Verified streamable-http transport via a live MCP handshake. View diagnostics → Pass
Schema Quality & AI Usability68
- AI-judged instruction clarity (excellent).Pass
- Context-footprint check failed: tool/resource definitions use about 915 tokens (~228/item across 4 items; 4 tools + 0 resources), over budget; trim descriptions and params. See how to fix → Fail
- Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples. See how to fix → Fail
Stability & Change Management100
- No destabilizing schema changes in the last 30 days.Pass
Tool Coverage100
- 100% of tools have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the tool's name).Pass
- 100% of tool parameters carry a description.Pass
- Structured output schemas are declared (100% of tools); any adoption earns full credit.Pass
Tool Safety100
- No prompt-injection markers were found in the server instructions, tool names or descriptions we captured.Pass
- We read all 4 captured tool definition(s), and no name or description among them implies an irreversible operation.Pass
- An AI judge read all 5 captured unit(s) of tool text and found none that tries to manipulate the model reading it.Pass
Capabilities100
- Implements a current MCP spec version (2026-07-28).Pass
How do I install the io.github.cyanheads/hn-mcp-server server?
io.github.cyanheads/hn-mcp-server is a hosted endpoint at https://hn.caseyjhand.com/mcp, so there is nothing to install locally. Ready-made configuration for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and 5 more is on this page, copied from each client's own documentation.
remote · hn.caseyjhand.com
claude mcp add --transport http cyanheads-hn-mcp-server 'https://hn.caseyjhand.com/mcp'
{
"mcpServers": {
"cyanheads-hn-mcp-server": {
"url": "https://hn.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
}
}
} {
"servers": {
"cyanheads-hn-mcp-server": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://hn.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
}
}
} [mcp_servers.cyanheads-hn-mcp-server] url = "https://hn.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
{
"$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
"mcp": {
"cyanheads-hn-mcp-server": {
"type": "remote",
"url": "https://hn.caseyjhand.com/mcp",
"enabled": true
}
}
} openclaw mcp add cyanheads-hn-mcp-server --url 'https://hn.caseyjhand.com/mcp' --transport streamable-http
mcp_servers:
cyanheads-hn-mcp-server:
url: "https://hn.caseyjhand.com/mcp" {
"McpServers": {
"cyanheads-hn-mcp-server": {
"Transport": "http",
"Url": "https://hn.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
}
}
} assistant mcp add cyanheads-hn-mcp-server -t streamable-http -u 'https://hn.caseyjhand.com/mcp'
{
"mcpServers": {
"cyanheads-hn-mcp-server": {
"type": "http",
"url": "https://hn.caseyjhand.com/mcp"
}
}
} The mcpServers block is a cross-client convention. Remote transports vary, so check your client's docs.
Every change we have recorded for this component, newest first. Security-relevant changes are always shown. ▲ marks a change for the better, ▼ a change for the worse; unmarked changes are neutral.
- 19 Sept 26 0
- Server version: 0.5.16 → 0.5.17 functional
- 13 Sept 26 0
- Server version: 0.5.15 → 0.5.16 functional
- 9 Sept 26 +1
- Stability: 0.97 → pass security
- 7 Sept 26 −1
- Stability: pass → 0.93 functional
- 4 Sept 26 0
- Server version: 0.5.14 → 0.5.15 functional
- 27 Aug 26 +7
- Stability: fail → pass ▲ security
- 26 Aug 26 +1
- We updated how we score, so this day's move reflects our rubric, not a change to the server See what changed → functional
- 25 Aug 26 +1
- MCP protocol: Implements a current MCP spec version (2026-07-28). functional
- MCP protocol version: 2025-11-25 → 2026-07-28 functional
- Server version: 0.5.13 → 0.5.14 functional
Diagnostic detail from the automated scan of this channel: what the scanner observed at each step, so you can see exactly where a check passed or failed. It is informational only and never changes the trust score.
Captured 20 Sept 2026 · Probed https://hn.caseyjhand.com/mcp
TLS valid
Negotiated TLS 1.3 with TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256 .
| Subject | Issuer | Valid from | Valid until | Key | Signature | Serial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CN=caseyjhand.com | CN=WE1,O=Google Trust Services,C=US | 4 Sept 2026 | 3 Dec 2026 | ECDSA 256 | ECDSA-SHA256 | a6985204ed51ae050e7738aa6be668e9 |
| SANs: caseyjhand.com, *.caseyjhand.com | ||||||
| CN=WE1,O=Google Trust Services,C=US (CA) | CN=GTS Root R4,O=Google Trust Services LLC,C=US | 13 Dec 2023 | 20 Feb 2029 | ECDSA 256 | ECDSA-SHA384 | 7ff31977972c224a76155d13b6d685e3 |
| CN=GTS Root R4,O=Google Trust Services LLC,C=US (CA) | CN=GlobalSign Root CA,OU=Root CA,O=GlobalSign nv-sa,C=BE | 15 Nov 2023 | 28 Jan 2028 | ECDSA 384 | SHA256-RSA | 7fe530bf331343bedd821610493d8a1b |
Background: What to check on a remote MCP endpoint →
DNSSEC secure
Validation of hn.caseyjhand.com. — Secure
| Zone | DS | Keys | Algorithms | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| . | trust_anchor | 20326, 38696 | 8, 8 | Verified |
| com. | present | 19718 | 13 | Verified |
| caseyjhand.com. | present | 2371 | 13 | Verified |
| hn.caseyjhand.com. | Verified address RRset verified with the apex keys |
Authentication No authorisation required
The endpoint answered without asking for a token. Anyone who knows the URL can reach it.
| Result | No authorisation required |
|---|---|
| HTTP status | 200 |
| Header | Value |
|---|---|
| strict-transport-security | max-age=63072000; includeSubDomains; preload |
| x-content-type-options | nosniff |
Background: How OAuth 2.1 works in the 2026 MCP spec →
Transports 2 probes
| Transport | URL | Outcome | Status | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| streamable-http | https://hn.caseyjhand.com/mcp | Verified | 200 | |
| http (plaintext) | http://hn.caseyjhand.com/mcp | HTTPS enforced | 301 | https://hn.caseyjhand.com/mcp |
The tools this component advertises to a client, with an estimated token cost for each. Expand a tool to see its parameters and schema. The per-tool counts are indicative and are not scored directly; the schema's total context footprint is one signal in Schema Quality & AI Usability. A tool's description is untrusted text the model reads on every call, which is what makes this list a security surface and not just an inventory: how tool poisoning works →
hn_get_stories Hn Get Stories ~123
Fetch stories from an HN feed (top, new, best, ask, show, jobs), with title, URL, score, author, and comment count for each story.
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| count | integer | – | Number of stories to return. Larger counts take longer. |
| feed | string | yes | Which HN feed to fetch. "top" includes jobs. "ask" and "show" are Ask HN / Show HN posts. |
| offset | integer | – | Number of stories to skip from the start of the feed. Use with count for pagination. |
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| cap | number | – | The count cap that was applied. |
| error | object | – | Present when the call failed. Absent on success. |
| feed | string | – | Which feed was fetched. |
| hasMore | boolean | – | Whether more stories are available beyond this page. |
| notice | string | – | Recovery hint when a page is empty — e.g. offset past end of feed or feed has no items. Absent on non-empty result pages. |
| offset | number | – | Offset that was applied to this page. |
| shown | number | – | Number of stories returned on this page. |
| stories | array | – | Stories from the feed, ordered by HN ranking. |
| total | number | – | Total items in the feed (up to 500 for top/new/best, 200 for ask/show/jobs). |
| truncated | boolean | – | True when the feed was capped by the count parameter. |
No examples provided.
hn_get_thread Hn Get Thread ~165
Get an item and its comment tree as a threaded discussion, with child comments resolved recursively. Use depth 0 for an item-only lookup.
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| depth | integer | – | How many levels of replies to resolve. 0 = just the item, no comments. 1 = direct replies only. Popular stories often have more top-level comments than maxComments — to see nesting, raise maxComments… |
| itemId | integer | yes | ID of the story, comment, or poll to fetch the thread for. |
| maxComments | integer | – | Maximum total comments to include across all depth levels. Highest-ranked top-level comments resolve first; replies fill in only after the level above is exhausted. |
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| cap | number | – | The maxComments cap that was applied. |
| comments | array | – | Flat comment list ordered breadth-first by rank: highest-ranked top-level comments first, then their replies. Use depth/parentId to reconstruct nesting. |
| error | object | – | Present when the call failed. Absent on success. |
| item | object | – | The root item (story, comment, or poll). |
| notice | string | – | Truncation context: counts of deleted/dead comments dropped during traversal, or pagination hint when totalLoaded < totalAvailable. Absent when no comments were dropped and all available comments wer… |
| shown | number | – | Number of comments returned. |
| totalAvailable | number | – | Total comment count from the root item. If totalLoaded < totalAvailable, raise maxComments (and depth, if you want nested replies) and call again. |
| totalLoaded | number | – | Number of comments actually fetched and included. |
| truncated | boolean | – | True when the comment list was capped by maxComments. |
No examples provided.
hn_get_user Hn Get User ~184
Get an HN user profile with karma, about, and optionally their most recent submissions resolved into full items.
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| includeSubmissions | boolean | – | Resolve the user's most recent submissions into full items. Without this, only the submission count is available. |
| submissionCount | integer | – | Page size — how many submissions to resolve per call. Only used when includeSubmissions is true. |
| submissionOffset | integer | – | How many submissions to skip before resolving, counting back from the most recent. Use with submissionCount to page through a long history: request offset 0, then offset submissionCount, and so on. T… |
| username | string | yes | HN username. Case-sensitive. Trimmed; blank or whitespace-only input is rejected. |
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| cap | number | – | The submissionCount cap that was applied. |
| error | object | – | Present when the call failed. Absent on success. |
| notice | string | – | Pagination context — which window of the history this page covers and the submissionOffset to send next, or a warning that the offset is past the end. Absent when the page reaches the end of the hist… |
| shown | number | – | Number of submissions returned. |
| submissionOffset | number | – | The offset this page started at. Absent when includeSubmissions is false or the user has never submitted. |
| submissions | array | – | One page of submissions, most recent first, starting at submissionOffset. Absent when includeSubmissions is false or the user has never submitted. Empty when the page holds no live items — either the… |
| truncated | boolean | – | True when submissions remain beyond this page. |
| user | object | – | User profile. |
No examples provided.
hn_search_content Hn Search Content ~338
Search Hacker News stories and comments via Algolia. Filterable by content type, author, date range, and minimum points.
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| author | string | – | Filter results to a specific author. Useful for finding a user's posts on a topic (hn_get_user only shows recent submissions). Trimmed before filtering; omit the field to search all authors rather th… |
| count | integer | – | Number of results to return. |
| dateRange | object | – | Filter to a date window. Useful for finding discussions about recent events. |
| minPoints | integer | – | Minimum score/points. Filters out low-engagement content. |
| page | integer | – | Page number for pagination (0-indexed). |
| query | string | yes | Search terms. Supports simple keywords — Algolia handles stemming and relevance. Trimmed before searching; blank or whitespace-only input is rejected. |
| sort | string | – | Sort order. "relevance" for best match, "date" for most recent first. |
| tags | string | – | Filter results by content type. Omit to search all types. |
| view | string | – | How much of each hit to return. "full" includes every field. "compact" omits the two body-text fields — `text` and `highlights.text` — which together can repeat a long comment twice per hit; everythi… |
| Name | Type | Req | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| cap | number | – | The count cap that was applied. |
| error | object | – | Present when the call failed. Absent on success. |
| hits | array | – | Search results ranked by sort order. |
| notice | string | – | Recovery hint when results are empty — names the filters applied, for relaxing the search. Absent on non-empty result pages. |
| page | number | – | Current page number (0-indexed). |
| query | string | – | The query that was searched. |
| shown | number | – | Number of hits returned. |
| totalHits | number | – | Total matching results across all pages. |
| totalPages | number | – | Number of pages Algolia will actually serve for this query. Not derived from totalHits — broad queries report a totalHits far larger than the reachable page range, so paginate against this value. |
| truncated | boolean | – | True when the hit list was capped by the count parameter. |
No examples provided.
What is the io.github.cyanheads/hn-mcp-server server?
io.github.cyanheads/hn-mcp-server is listed in the public MCP registry as io.github.cyanheads/hn-mcp-server. Browse Hacker News feeds, threads, and user profiles with full-text search. This page covers its hosted endpoint (https://hn.caseyjhand.com/mcp).
Is the io.github.cyanheads/hn-mcp-server server safe to use?
io.github.cyanheads/hn-mcp-server scores 81 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. That is a record of what we were able to check automatically, not an endorsement. The category breakdown on this page shows every signal behind the number, including the ones we could not confirm.
What tools does the io.github.cyanheads/hn-mcp-server server expose?
io.github.cyanheads/hn-mcp-server exposes 4 tools: hn_get_stories, hn_get_thread, hn_get_user, hn_search_content. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 810 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.
Does the io.github.cyanheads/hn-mcp-server server require authentication?
No. We connected to io.github.cyanheads/hn-mcp-server without credentials and it answered, so anything it exposes is reachable by anyone who knows the address.
Is the io.github.cyanheads/hn-mcp-server server still maintained?
io.github.cyanheads/hn-mcp-server is still listed as active in the MCP registry. We last reached this channel on 20 September 2026. Those dates come from our own scans of the registry and the channel itself, not from anything the publisher announced.