Tools / Hacker News Scraper: Search, Feeds, Comments & Who's Hiring
Hacker News Scraper: Search, Feeds, Comments & Who's Hiring
Hacker News via the official Firebase API and the HN Algolia search API. Input: mode, queries. Output (JSON/CSV): one row per item with type, rank, title, company, url, domain, author, points, numComments, createdAt.
What it's for
- Brand/competitor mention monitoring on HN
- Launch research: what Show HN posts hit the front page
- Recruiting/sales leads from the monthly Who is hiring thread
Example input
{
"mode": "search",
"queries": [
"apify"
],
"maxItems": 5
}Example output
{
"type": "job_post",
"threadId": 49922569,
"threadTitle": "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (October 2026)",
"id": 49922584,
"author": "mwest1066",
"createdAt": "2026-10-01T15:02:37.000Z",
"company": "PrairieLearn (Remote US)",
"headerFields": [
"Full-Stack Software Engineer",
"TypeScript / Postgres / React / AI"
],
"remote": true,
"onsite": false,
"visa": true,
"links": [
"https://www.prairielearn.com",
"https://github.com/PrairieLearn/PrairieLearn",
"https://www.prairielearn.com/jobs-ashby?utm_source=YeEJ5MAKk..."
],
"hnUrl": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49922584"
}Input reference
| Field | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
mode | string | search = keyword mentions; feed = live HN lists; whoishiring = parse the monthly hiring thread. |
queries | array | search mode: keywords, brands or domains. |
tags | string | search mode filter. |
minPoints | integer | search mode. |
dateFrom | string | YYYY-MM-DD (search mode). |
dateTo | string | YYYY-MM-DD (search mode). |
feed | string | feed mode list. |
threadIds | array | whoishiring mode; blank = latest thread. |
maxItems | integer | Total output cap. |
includeComments | boolean | Add comment threads for stories. |
maxCommentsPerStory | integer | Max comments per story |
Pricing
Pay per event: HN item (story, comment or job post) $0.0005. Plus Apify's small per-run start fee. Apify's free plan includes monthly credit to try it.
How to run
- Open the Store page and click Try for free.
- Fill in the input (or paste the example JSON in the JSON tab).
- Click Start, then export results as CSV, Excel or JSON, or call it via the Apify API.
- Optional: add a Schedule and a webhook/Slack/email integration for ongoing monitoring.