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Hacker News Lead Finder

Name: Hacker News Lead Finder
Author: 3rdbrain

by pbopps · GitHub ↗ · v1.0.0 · MIT-0

cross-platform ✓ Security Clean

191

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Install in OpenClaw

/install hn-prospecting

Description

Find high-intent leads on Hacker News via the free Algolia API — no API key needed. Score posts, surface Ask HN threads, and identify technical founders acti...

README (SKILL.md)

Hacker News Prospecting Skill

Find warm leads in Hacker News threads — technical founders and buyers actively seeking tools. Uses the free Algolia HN Search API — no API key, no credentials, no rate limits worth worrying about.

How It Works

The HN Algolia API (hn.algolia.com) provides full-text search over all HN content — stories, Ask HN threads, and comments — completely free with no auth. This skill searches for buying-intent posts and scores them by lead quality.

Commands

Run with Node.js: node {baseDir}/hn-prospecting.js \x3Ccommand> [args]

search \x3Ckeyword> — Find high-intent HN posts mentioning your keyword
ask — Find recent "Ask HN" threads (best for tool discovery opportunities)
front — Get current front page stories (trending technical discussions)
score — Score an HN post for lead quality

Usage

node {baseDir}/hn-prospecting.js search "looking for AI agent tool"
node {baseDir}/hn-prospecting.js search "alternative to Zapier"
node {baseDir}/hn-prospecting.js ask "lead generation"
node {baseDir}/hn-prospecting.js front
node {baseDir}/hn-prospecting.js score --title "Ask HN: What do you use for outreach?" --points 45 --comments 32

Environment Variables

None required. The HN Algolia API is fully public.

Why HN?

HN readers are disproportionately technical founders, early adopters, and decision-makers — the exact ICP for most B2B SaaS tools. "Ask HN: What tools do you use for X?" threads are goldmines for qualified lead discovery.

Usage Guidance

This skill appears coherent and implements what it says: it queries the public hn.algolia.com API, scores posts for buying intent, and prints results. Before installing or running: 1) ensure you have Node.js >=18 (package.json specifies this); 2) be aware it makes outbound HTTPS requests to hn.algolia.com (no hidden endpoints or credentials); 3) if you plan to reach out to leads found, follow Hacker News community norms and disclose affiliations; 4) review the included hn-prospecting.js source yourself if you want to be extra cautious (the code is small and readable). Overall there are no disproportionate permissions or secret requests.

Capability Analysis

Type: OpenClaw Skill Name: hn-prospecting Version: 1.0.0 The hn-prospecting skill is a legitimate tool for searching and analyzing Hacker News posts via the public Algolia API. The code in hn-prospecting.js is well-structured, contains no external dependencies, and performs only read-only operations against a public endpoint. There is no evidence of data exfiltration, malicious execution, or prompt injection attempts.

Capability Assessment

✓ Purpose & Capability

Name/description claim lead discovery on Hacker News; included code implements searches against hn.algolia.com, scoring, and CLI usage. Requested resources (none) align with this purpose.

✓ Instruction Scope

SKILL.md directs the agent to run the bundled Node.js CLI and use the Algolia HN API. The runtime instructions and code only access Hacker News data and print/return analyses; they do not read unrelated files or environment variables.

✓ Install Mechanism

No install spec; this is an instruction+code skill that runs with Node.js. No downloads from arbitrary URLs or packaged install steps are present.

✓ Credentials

No environment variables, credentials, or config paths are requested. package.json declares no required env. Network access to hn.algolia.com is expected and proportional to the function.

✓ Persistence & Privilege

Skill is user-invocable and not always-enabled. It does not modify other skills or system-wide settings and does not request persistent privileges.

How to Use

Make sure OpenClaw is installed (local or Docker)
Run the install command in chat: /install hn-prospecting
After installation, invoke the skill by name or use /hn-prospecting
Provide required inputs per the skill's parameter spec and get structured output

Version History

v1.0.0

Initial public release. - Find and score high-intent leads on Hacker News using the free, public Algolia API (no setup or API key needed). - Includes commands to search posts, surface recent "Ask HN" threads, view front page stories, and score post lead quality. - Specifically targets technical founders and buyers seeking new tools. - No environment configuration required.

Metadata

Slug hn-prospecting

Version 1.0.0

License MIT-0

All-time Installs 0

Active Installs 0

Total Versions 1

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Hacker News Lead Finder?

Find high-intent leads on Hacker News via the free Algolia API — no API key needed. Score posts, surface Ask HN threads, and identify technical founders acti... It is an AI Agent Skill for Claude Code / OpenClaw, with 191 downloads so far.

How do I install Hacker News Lead Finder?

Run "/install hn-prospecting" in the OpenClaw or Claude Code chat to install it in one step — no extra setup required.

Is Hacker News Lead Finder free?

Yes, Hacker News Lead Finder is completely free, licensed under MIT-0. You can download, install and use it at no cost.

Which platforms does Hacker News Lead Finder support?

Hacker News Lead Finder is cross-platform and runs anywhere OpenClaw / Claude Code is available (cross-platform).

Who created Hacker News Lead Finder?

It is built and maintained by pbopps (@3rdbrain); the current version is v1.0.0.

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