SourcingSignal · Sourcing

Hackernews Intel

Monitors Hacker News for user-configured keywords, deduplicates against a local SQLite cache, and sends Slack alerts for new matching posts.

by Varnan Tech·MIT·263 on GitHub·updated 2026-05-14
npx skills add Varnan-Tech/opendirectory

Description

Monitors Hacker News for user-configured keywords, deduplicates against a local SQLite cache, and sends Slack alerts for new matching posts. Use when asked to monitor Hacker News for mentions, track keywords on HN, get alerts when something is posted about a topic on Hacker News, or set up HN keyword monitoring. Trigger when a user mentions Hacker News alerts, HN monitoring, keyword tracking on...

What this skill does

  1. 1Fetches posts matching configured keywords from the HN Algolia API, filtered to a configurable time window.
  2. 2Deduplicates results against a local SQLite cache so only genuinely new posts trigger alerts.
  3. 3Sends Slack notifications for each new match, with optional minimum-points threshold to filter low-signal posts.
  4. 4Runs on cron or GitHub Actions for continuous monitoring; supports dry-run mode to preview matches without alerting.

When to use

  • You want to know immediately when your product, category, or competitor gets mentioned on Hacker News.
  • You are tracking a technical trend or niche topic and need signal without manually checking HN daily.
  • Your team wants a lightweight brand-monitoring alert that feeds into Slack without a paid monitoring tool.

Tools used

HackerNews· SocialSlack· Productivity

Best for

GTM EngineerMarketing Manager

Format

Tracker

Frequently asked questions

What is Hackernews Intel?

Hackernews Intel is a Claude Code skill for sourcing by Varnan Tech. Monitors Hacker News for user-configured keywords, deduplicates against a local SQLite cache, and sends Slack alerts for new matching posts.

When should I use Hackernews Intel?

You want to know immediately when your product, category, or competitor gets mentioned on Hacker News. You are tracking a technical trend or niche topic and need signal without manually checking HN daily.

How do I install Hackernews Intel?

Run the install command (npx skills add Varnan-Tech/opendirectory). Once the skill is in place, Claude Code loads it automatically whenever a task matches what it does.

Is Hackernews Intel free to use?

Yes. Hackernews Intel is open source under the MIT license, published in the Varnan-Tech/opendirectory repository on GitHub.

Source repository

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