# Hackernews (npm · @pipeworx/mcp-hackernews)

Hacker News MCP — search and retrieve stories from Hacker News

- Trust score: 85/100 (high trust)
- Change this week: +3
- Registry status: active
- Liveness: live
- Owner verified: no
- Last scored: 2026-11-06

## Components

- remote · `gateway.pipeworx.io`: 64/100, [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-hackernews/hackernews-mcp.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-hackernews/hackernews-mcp)
- npm · `@pipeworx/mcp-hackernews`: 85/100 (this document), [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-hackernews/pipeworx-mcp-hackernews.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-hackernews/pipeworx-mcp-hackernews)

## Channel facts

- Registry: `npm`
- Package: `@pipeworx/mcp-hackernews`
- Version: `0.2.1`
- Transport: `stdio`

## Trust breakdown

How this component scores in each security and reliability category. Every signal is checked automatically from public evidence about the published package, including repeated runs of it in an isolated sandbox, and we only credit what we can confirm. Scores are 0–100 per category. Scoring method: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring (what has changed: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring/changelog)

Scored 2026-11-06.

- **Supply Chain Security**: 100/100
  - No malware found by supply-chain analysis.
  - No known CVEs affecting this package version or its production dependencies.
  - No install/post-install scripts declared.
  - No production dependencies, so there is no dependency health to assess.
- **Provenance & Transparency**: 97/100
  - Source repository is publicly reachable at the declared URL.
  - Cryptographically verified build provenance (signed, bound to pipeworx-io/mcp-hackernews).
  - Clear OSI-approved license (MIT).
  - Actively maintained (last published 3 days ago).
  - Disclosure check failed: no security disclosure policy was found in the source repository.
- **Schema Quality & AI Usability**: 78/100
  - AI-judged instruction clarity (excellent).
  - Tool/resource definitions use about 569 tokens (~113/item across 5 items; 5 tools + 0 resources), lean.
  - Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples.
- **Stability & Change Management**: 27/100
  - Stability observed for 8 of 30 days with no destabilising changes; credit accrues until the full window elapses.
- **Tool Coverage**: 100/100
  - 100% of tools have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the tool's name).
  - 100% of tool parameters carry a description.
- **Tool Safety**: 100/100
  - No prompt-injection markers were found in the server instructions, tool names or descriptions we captured.
  - We read all 5 captured tool definition(s), and no name or description among them implies an irreversible operation.
  - An AI judge read all 6 captured unit(s) of tool text and found none that tries to manipulate the model reading it.
- **Capabilities**: 100/100
  - Implements a supported MCP spec version (2025-11-25); the latest is 2026-07-28.

## Install

### How do I install the Hackernews MCP server?

Hackernews runs locally as an npm package, launched with npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-hackernews. Ready-made configuration for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and 5 more is on this page, copied from each client's own documentation.

### Claude

```bash
claude mcp add pipeworx-io-hackernews -- npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-hackernews
```

### Cursor

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipeworx-io-hackernews": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@pipeworx/mcp-hackernews"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### VS Code

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "pipeworx-io-hackernews": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@pipeworx/mcp-hackernews"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### Codex

```bash
codex mcp add pipeworx-io-hackernews -- npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-hackernews
```

### opencode

```json
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "pipeworx-io-hackernews": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": [
        "npx",
        "-y",
        "@pipeworx/mcp-hackernews"
      ],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}
```

### OpenClaw

```bash
openclaw mcp add pipeworx-io-hackernews --command npx --arg -y --arg @pipeworx/mcp-hackernews
```

### Hermes

```yaml
mcp_servers:
  pipeworx-io-hackernews:
    command: "npx"
    args: ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-hackernews"]
```

### Netclaw

```json
{
  "McpServers": {
    "pipeworx-io-hackernews": {
      "Transport": "stdio",
      "Command": "npx",
      "Arguments": [
        "-y",
        "@pipeworx/mcp-hackernews"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

### Vellum

```bash
assistant mcp add pipeworx-io-hackernews -t stdio -c npx -a -y @pipeworx/mcp-hackernews
```

### Other

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipeworx-io-hackernews": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@pipeworx/mcp-hackernews"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

## Changelog

Every change recorded for this component, newest first. Days that predate change tracking, or that we cannot explain, say so: "we were watching and nothing happened" and "we were not watching" are different claims.

### 2026-11-05 (score 85, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 20 to 23. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 6 days of observed history at the previous scan, 7 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-11-03 (score 84, +27)

- [security improvement] Malware scan: unverified → pass
- [security improvement] Known CVEs: unverified → pass
- [functional improvement] Dependency health: unverified → pass

### 2026-11-02 (score 57, −26)

- [security regression] Malware scan: pass → unverified
- [security regression] Known CVEs: pass → unverified
- [functional regression] Dependency health: pass → unverified
- [functional] Package version: 0.2.0 → 0.2.1

### 2026-11-01 (score 83, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 7 to 10. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 2 days of observed history at the previous scan, 3 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-30 (score 82, +1)

No change was recorded against any check on this day. Stability & Change Management went from 0 to 3. That category is still filling its 30-day observation window: 0 days of observed history at the previous scan, 1 at this one. The score rises as the window fills, whether or not the server changes.

### 2026-10-29 (score 81)

First indexed and scored.

## MCP tools (5)

### `search_hn` (~111 tokens)

Full-text search Hacker News via Algolia. Pass query plus optional tags filter (story, comment, ask_hn, show_hn; default: story). Returns title, URL, score, author, comment count, and timestamp.

Input parameters:

- `per_page` (number): Number of results to return (default: 10)
- `query` (string, required): Search query string
- `tags` (string): Content type filter: story, comment, ask_hn, or show_hn (default: story)

### `get_top_stories` (~70 tokens)

Fetch the current live top-ranked Hacker News stories from the Firebase API. Returns up to `count` stories (default 10) with title, URL, score, author, comment count, and Unix timestamp.

Input parameters:

- `count` (number): Number of top stories to return (default: 10)

### `get_stories` (~145 tokens)

Fetch Hacker News stories of a given TYPE: top (default), new (newest), best, ask (Ask HN), show (Show HN), or job (jobs/hiring). PREFER for "newest HN stories", "top Ask HN posts", "Show HN", "HN job postings / who is hiring". Returns title, URL (or self-text for Ask/Show), score, author, comment count, and timestamp.

Input parameters:

- `count` (number): Number of stories to return (default 10, max 100).
- `type` (string): Story list: top (default), new, best, ask, show, job.

### `get_item` (~53 tokens)

Fetch a Hacker News story or comment by ID (e.g., "42153809"). Returns full text, score, author, timestamp, and child replies.

Input parameters:

- `id` (number, required): The numeric Hacker News item ID

### `get_hn_comments` (~137 tokens)

Fetch the discussion (top-level comments, actual text) on a Hacker News story by its item ID. PREFER OVER WEB SEARCH for "what are people saying about <HN story>", "HN discussion / developer sentiment on X". get_item returns only comment IDs; this resolves them to text. Find a story ID via get_top_stories or search_hn. Returns each top comment author, text, time, and reply count.

Input parameters:

- `id` (number, required): HN story item ID (e.g. 42153809).
- `limit` (number): Top-level comments to return (1-50, default 15).

## Diagnostics

Captured diagnostic sections: Provenance, Dependencies. The full working is on the page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-hackernews/pipeworx-mcp-hackernews#diagnostics

## Score history

- 2026-11-06: 85
- 2026-11-05: 85
- 2026-11-04: 84
- 2026-11-03: 84
- 2026-11-02: 57
- 2026-11-01: 83
- 2026-10-31: 82
- 2026-10-30: 82
- 2026-10-29: 81

## Common questions

### What is the Hackernews MCP server?

Hackernews is an MCP server listed in the public MCP registry as io.github.pipeworx-io/hackernews. Hacker News MCP, search and retrieve stories from Hacker News. This page covers its npm package (@pipeworx/mcp-hackernews).

### Is the Hackernews MCP server safe to use?

Hackernews scores 85 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. We found no known CVEs affecting it as of 6 November 2026. It declares no install or post-install scripts. Its build provenance is signed and verified. 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 Hackernews MCP server expose?

Hackernews exposes 5 tools: search_hn, get_top_stories, get_stories, get_item, get_hn_comments. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 516 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.

### Is the Hackernews MCP server still maintained?

Hackernews is still listed as active in the MCP registry. We last reached this channel on 6 November 2026. Those dates come from our own scans of the registry and the channel itself, not from anything the publisher announced.

### What licence is the Hackernews MCP server under?

Hackernews declares the MIT licence, which is OSI-approved. That covers the source only, and says nothing about the cost of any service it calls.

### What did VerifyMCP test on the Hackernews MCP server?

VerifyMCP ran 16 checks on Hackernews, covering Malware scan, Known CVEs, Install scripts, Dependency health and 12 more. Endpoint Security and Transport & Reachability do not apply to an npm package, so they were not tested. The score does not measure everything, and the scoring documentation lists what it leaves out.

## Links

- npm package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@pipeworx/mcp-hackernews
- Socket report: https://socket.dev/npm/package/@pipeworx/mcp-hackernews
- Repository: https://github.com/pipeworx-io/mcp-hackernews
- Website: https://pipeworx.io/packs/hackernews
- Changelog RSS feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-hackernews/pipeworx-mcp-hackernews.xml
- Changelog JSON feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-hackernews/pipeworx-mcp-hackernews/changelog.json
- Trust report (JSON): https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-hackernews/pipeworx-mcp-hackernews.json
- HTML version of this page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/pipeworx-io-hackernews/pipeworx-mcp-hackernews