# Hacker News API for AI agents

Scrollport gives AI agents 3 tools to search Hacker News, from Hacker News, through one connection. Each costs $0.0050/request, paid per use from one prepaid wallet with no subscription, provider accounts or API keys. Agents use them over MCP, the CLI or the HTTP API.

Updated 13 September 2026

## Research Hacker News with Scrollport

[Get started](https://scrollport.com/start)

Use verified tools with pay-per-use pricing. Provider access is included. Tools that work in your own apps ask you to connect that account.

Connect your first agent to receive $1 trial credit.

## Compare Hacker News API tools

The lowest listed price is Search from Hacker News at $0.0050/request. Compare what each tool returns before choosing.

| Tool | Provider | What it returns | Price |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Search](https://scrollport.com/tools/providers/hacker-news/search) | Hacker News | Search public Hacker News stories, comments, jobs and polls with bounded time, type and sort filters. | $0.0050/request |
| [Thread](https://scrollport.com/tools/providers/hacker-news/thread) | Hacker News | Retrieve one public Hacker News item with a bounded nested comment tree and explicit truncation state. | $0.0050/request |
| [User Profile](https://scrollport.com/tools/providers/hacker-news/user-profile) | Hacker News | Retrieve one public Hacker News username with karma, plain-text bio and canonical profile link. | $0.0050/request |

## 3 available tools

Search Hacker News

$0.0050/request

### Search

Search public Hacker News stories, comments, jobs and polls with bounded time, type and sort filters.

Hacker News

Search Hacker News

$0.0050/request

### Thread

Retrieve one public Hacker News item with a bounded nested comment tree and explicit truncation state.

Hacker News

Search Hacker News

$0.0050/request

### User Profile

Retrieve one public Hacker News username with karma, plain-text bio and canonical profile link.

Hacker News

## Questions about Hacker News API

### How much do Hacker News API tools cost?

Each costs $0.0050/request. You pay per use from one prepaid wallet with no subscription. Your agent sees the exact price before each run, and connecting your first agent adds $1 of trial credit.

### What is the best Hacker News API for an AI agent?

It depends on what you need back and how much you will run it. Search (Hacker News, $0.0050/request): Search public Hacker News stories, comments, jobs and polls with bounded time, type and sort filters. Thread (Hacker News, $0.0050/request): Retrieve one public Hacker News item with a bounded nested comment tree and explicit truncation state. User Profile (Hacker News, $0.0050/request): Retrieve one public Hacker News username with karma, plain-text bio and canonical profile link. Your agent can inspect the closest match and see its exact price before it runs.

## Learn more about Hacker News research

Tell your agent whether you need stories, comments, users or a discussion around a specific topic. It can preserve thread context and source identity instead of reducing conversations to isolated quotes.

**Frame the technical question**

Describe the product decision, pain point, launch or technical claim you want to investigate and the useful time period. Give known stories, authors or terms as seeds, then let the agent discover the relevant submissions and complete discussions.

**What can Hacker News research reveal?**

Threads can reveal practitioner concerns, technical arguments, launch reactions and source links. Visibility reflects timing and community voting, so it should not be treated as representative market sentiment.

**Keep comments attached to their thread**

Ask the agent to retain story and comment links, parent context and timestamps, identify disagreement and distinguish firsthand evidence from speculation.

**Example prompt**

This prompt uses threads as contextual technical evidence.

Example prompt to give your agent

`Use Scrollport's Hacker News research tools to investigate discussions about [TOPIC] between [DATES]. Include relevant stories and comment threads with source links and context, identify recurring technical claims and credible disagreement, and state the sampling and community limitations. Show me the price before the paid run.`

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Canonical page: https://scrollport.com/tools/hacker-news-api