The official Hacker News RSS feed at news.ycombinator.com/rss only covers the front page. About 30 items, no filters, no comment thresholds. Most engineers I know use hnrss.org instead, which exposes custom feeds (newest, points/comment thresholds, keywords, Show HN, Ask HN) built on top of Algolia's HN API. The result is a personalized HN feed that filters out the noise without forcing you to scroll the live front page.
Below is the 2026 setup for consuming Hacker News via RSS, the third-party feeds worth using, the best clients, and the AI summarizers that make the firehose manageable.
Quick reference: HN RSS in 2026
| Item | URL or Detail |
|---|---|
| Official Hacker News feed | https://news.ycombinator.com/rss |
| hnrss.org (custom feeds) | https://hnrss.github.io/ |
| Algolia API | https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1 |
| Firebase API | https://hacker-news.firebaseio.com |
| Best clients | Inoreader, Feedly, NetNewsWire, Reeder 5, Feedbin |
| AI summarizers | Refind (curated), Feedly Leo, Readless |
What the official feed gives you
The official RSS at `https://news.ycombinator.com/rss` is the front page only. Around 30 items per fetch, no filters, no metadata about points or comments. Adequate for casual reading, inadequate for power users.
What you miss with the official feed:
- High-signal Show HN posts that stay below the front-page threshold
- Ask HN questions that drive valuable discussion
- Posts with high comment counts that did not crack the front page
- Keyword filtering for topics you actually care about
For most engineers in 2026: the official feed is too narrow. HNRSS.org is the upgrade.
HNRSS.org custom feeds
HNRSS exposes custom feed URLs built on Algolia's HN API:
Front page: `https://hnrss.org/frontpage` (same as official)
Newest posts: `https://hnrss.org/newest` (everything submitted, firehose)
Points threshold: `https://hnrss.org/newest?points=100` (only posts with 100+ points)
Comments threshold: `https://hnrss.org/newest?comments=50`
Keyword search: `https://hnrss.org/newest?q=Claude` (only posts mentioning "Claude")
Show HN: `https://hnrss.org/show` (Show HN posts)
Ask HN: `https://hnrss.org/ask` (Ask HN posts)
Combined filters: `https://hnrss.org/newest?q=AI&points=100&comments=20`
For most engineers in 2026: subscribe to front page plus a points-thresholded keyword search for topics you care about (AI, your stack, your industry).
Pick the right RSS client
| Client | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Feedly | Free, Pro $12/month | AI filtering with Leo, broad source coverage |
| Inoreader | Free (150 feeds), Pro $14.99/month | Power users with rules and automation |
| NetNewsWire | Free | Native macOS and iOS |
| Reeder 5 | $9.99 one-time | Premium native iOS and macOS experience |
| Feedbin | $5/month | Clean web reader |
The decision tree:
Free tier user with broad source needs: Feedly Free. AI filtering with Leo (paid) is the unique value. Free tier covers most casual users.
Power user who wants rules and automation: Inoreader. Free tier supports 150 feeds vs Feedly Free's 100. Rules and automation in Pro tier are best-in-class.
Mac and iOS user who wants native: NetNewsWire (free) or Reeder 5 ($9.99 one-time). Both are polished native readers.
Web-first reader: Feedbin at $5/month. Clean interface, fast.
For most engineers in 2026: Inoreader Free if you have under 150 feeds, Feedly Pro at $12/month if you want AI filtering.
AI summarizers worth using
Three approaches to making the HN firehose manageable:
Refind (free with paid tier): Curated daily email digest with AI summaries. Best if you want hands-off curation.
Feedly Leo (Pro tier): AI filtering and prioritization across your subscribed feeds. Deduplicates and ranks by relevance to interests you train.
Readless (RSS to summary): Generates AI summaries from RSS items. Useful for skimming a high-volume feed without reading every item.
The mistake: subscribing to the full HN firehose (newest, no filter) and trying to read everything. The signal-to-noise ratio is brutal. Use thresholds, keyword filters, or AI summarizers.
Building custom feeds with the Algolia API
For custom feeds beyond the Algolia HN Search API, the hnrss.org source is often enough. The official Hacker News site exposes most of the same data through its public endpoints.
For deeper customization than HNRSS provides, hit the Algolia API directly:
```
https://hn.algolia.com/api/v1/search?query=YourTopic&tags=story&hitsPerPage=20
```
Returns JSON with stories, points, comments, and timestamps. Build custom RSS feeds, dashboards, or alerts on top.
Common use cases:
- Author-specific feeds (track posts from specific HN users)
- Comment-specific feeds (search comment text, not just titles)
- Time-windowed feeds (top posts of the last 24 hours, not all-time)
The Algolia API is rate-limited but free for personal use. Build with care for community resources.
Automation and integration
For pushing HN items into your existing tools, Zapier and IFTTT both have RSS-to-anywhere connectors. Common destinations: Slack channels for team alerts, or Trello cards for an article-reading queue. If you want to build your own feed plumbing, the walkthrough on creating an RSS feed from scratch is a good starting point. To understand the traffic side, discover more insights about front-page stats before you submit your own work.
If your reading is feeding daily work, the broader playbook on how to improve developer productivity covers what to do with the time saved.
Why HN still matters in 2026
Three reasons:
1. Launch channel for AI and dev tools: Cursor, Claude, Anthropic, Linear, and many other 2025-2026 launches drove their initial traction through HN. Front-page placement still moves real product signups.
2. Counter-trend to algorithmic feeds: HN remains chronological and community-curated. No algorithm filtering what you see based on engagement bait.
3. Dev culture gravity: Discussion threads on technical posts reach depth that other platforms (Twitter, Reddit, LinkedIn) rarely match.
The 2024-2025 prediction that HN would decline did not materialize. Submission volume is up year over year. Engagement remains high. RSS lets you bypass the live site entirely, which is genuinely valuable.
What changed in 2025-2026
Three real shifts:
Inoreader gained share over Feedly: Free tier limits favor Inoreader (150 vs 100 feeds). Inoreader's rules and automation in Pro tier are stronger.
AI summarization tools matured: Refind and Feedly Leo both improved enough to be credible alternatives to manual reading.
HN's role as launch channel for AI tools strengthened: 2025-2026 saw most major AI tool launches drive initial traction through HN. The community remains the de facto launch channel.
What does not work
Three patterns to avoid:
1. Subscribing to the firehose without filters: HN's newest feed is unreadable without thresholds. Use points or keyword filters.
2. Trying to read every comment thread: Most threads are not worth your time. Use Refind or Feedly Leo to filter.
3. Forgetting RSS entirely and scrolling HN live: The live site is fine but RSS plus a good client is faster and lets you batch reading.
FAQ
What is the official Hacker News RSS feed?
`https://news.ycombinator.com/rss`. Front page only, around 30 items, no filters. Adequate for casual reading. Power users should use HNRSS.org for custom feeds.
How do I filter Hacker News by topic or threshold?
Use HNRSS.org. Example: `https://hnrss.org/newest?q=AI&points=100&comments=20` for posts mentioning AI with 100+ points and 20+ comments. Combine filters as needed.
What is the best RSS client for Hacker News in 2026?
Inoreader Free (150 feeds, beats Feedly Free) or Feedly Pro at $12/month for AI filtering. NetNewsWire (free) for Mac/iOS native. Reeder 5 ($9.99 one-time) for premium native experience.
Should I use AI to summarize Hacker News?
Yes if you want to skim. Refind for curated daily digest. Feedly Leo for AI filtering across feeds. Readless for AI summaries of RSS items. Saves significant time on the firehose.
Why is Hacker News still relevant in 2026?
Launch channel for AI and dev tools (Cursor, Claude, Anthropic, Linear). Counter-trend to algorithmic feeds. Deep technical discussion threads. Submission volume up year over year. RSS plus a good client is the efficient way to consume it.
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