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Hacker News keyword stats

This tool queries Hacker News’s official search API directly from your browser. Enter a keyword, see the weekly volume of stories and comments, and click through to the top threads. The API is public and allows cross-origin reads.

Keyword

Calls the Hacker News official search API (hn.algolia.com) directly from your browser. No discatch key needed.

What this shows

  • Stories and comments matching the keyword, counted per week for the last eight weeks.
  • The top threads by score, with links to the Hacker News discussion.
  • A line showing the total across the period.

How it works

The tool calls https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/search, the official search API for Hacker News. It is public, requires no key, and allows cross-origin reads. The query parameter is your keyword. The tags parameter filters to stories and comments. The numericFilters parameter restricts to the last eight weeks.

Example API call

https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/search?query=supabase&tags=(story,comment)&numericFilters=created_at_i>1720569600&hitsPerPage=100

The discatch catch for the same keyword

This tool checks once. A discatch catch watches the same keyword continuously and pushes new matches to your agent or inbox. The catch below fires every hour on the free tier.

Questions

Does this tool use the discatch API?

No. It calls the Hacker News official search API directly from your browser. No discatch key is needed.

Is this rate limited?

The Hacker News official search API has a rate limit. If you see an error, wait a moment and try again. Normal use is well within the limit.

Why only eight weeks?

Eight weeks is enough to see a trend. The API supports longer ranges, but the tool is meant for a quick check, not a historical analysis.

Can I search for a phrase?

Yes. The search box passes your input directly to the API. Wrap a phrase in quotes for an exact match.

What is the difference between this and a discatch catch?

This tool checks once and shows you the results. A discatch catch watches the keyword continuously and pushes new matches to your agent or inbox as they appear.

Does discatch use this API internally?

discatch reaches Hacker News through the official search API. This tool calls the same API directly from your browser.

Can I see Reddit activity too?

Reddit is planned as a discatch source. Reddit has no public search API with cross-origin reads, so a browser-based tool cannot query it directly.

How do I turn this into a catch?

Use the API call shown below the results. It creates a catch on Hacker News at one hour on the free tier. The catch fires whenever a new story or comment matches your keyword.

Last reviewed by , founder, dcouple. Copy from docs/data-sources.md, docs/pricing.md.