# Hacker News API — 5 Endpoints for Stories, Comments & Search

> Stories, full comment trees, front-page lists, full-text search, and user profiles as assembled JSON — one of 900+ sources on one key. 7-day free trial.

URL: https://anysite.io/sources/hackernews/
Canonical: https://anysite.io/sources/hackernews/
Language: en
Generated: 2026-10-01

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// Source · Social Media

# Hacker News API — Threads Assembled in One Call

The official Firebase API hands you raw item ids — no search, id-only lists, comment trees you rebuild fetch by fetch. These 5 endpoints return the finished objects: full threads, front-page lists with complete item data, full-text search, and user profiles.

[Start for free](https://app.anysite.io/register?lang=en) 7-day free trial

## What You Can Pull From Hacker News

/api/hackernews/items A single item — story, comment, job, or poll — by numeric id: title, url, author, score, time, type, and descendant count.

/api/hackernews/items/comments The full nested comment tree of a thread by id, in one call — no recursive id-by-id Firebase fetching.

/api/hackernews/items/lists Front-page lists (top, new, best, ask, show, job) returned with full item data, not just ids.

/api/hackernews/items/search Full-text search across stories, comments, jobs, and polls — the capability the official API does not have.

/api/hackernews/users A user profile by username: karma, account age, and submission history.

## Built for These Jobs

[Brand Monitoring](https://anysite.io/use-cases/brand-monitoring/) [Market Research](https://anysite.io/use-cases/market-research/) [Competitor Analysis](https://anysite.io/use-cases/competitor-analysis/)

## Start Building with Hacker News Data

Stories, full comment trees, front-page lists, search, and user profiles — one of 900+ sources on the same key, from $30/month with a 7-day free trial.

[Start for free](https://app.anysite.io/register?lang=en)

## Common Questions

How is this different from the official Firebase API?

The official HN API returns raw item ids: you reassemble comment trees by fetching each id recursively, front-page lists are id-only, and there is no search. These endpoints return the assembled objects — full comment trees in one call, lists with complete item data, and full-text search across everything.

Which front-page lists are available?

Top, new, best, ask, show, and job — each returned with full item data and an optional count, so a front-page pull is one request instead of thirty.

How fresh is the data?

Calls run at request time, not against a periodic snapshot — front-page ranks, scores, and comment counts reflect the thread as it stands when you ask.