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Don't forget about their API on github. It's simplistic but you can still use it to write a sh*ttier version of HN. https://github.com/HackerNews/API https://

Don't forget about their API on github. It's simplistic but you can still use it to write a sh*ttier version of HN. https://github.com/HackerNews/API https://github.com/HackerNews/API I just wish they'd open source their We're-Not-Reddit behaviors library.

minimaxir 6y ago
The API has no authentication, which makes it useless for anything other than a reader.
- saagarjha 6y ago
  You may find this interesting, and as a bonus it also includes something that you haven't documented: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22788526 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22788526
  - minimaxir 6y ago
    That is indeed interesting, but I have a feeling it'll be documented once it launches. :P
    - saagarjha 6y ago
      Was talking more about the existence of an alpha-tester list, which has some additional features itself :)
- willis936 6y ago
  I'd be interested in a discourse mirror for consumption.
- gvjddbnvdrbv 6y ago
  Isn't posting, voting etc just done using POST requests?
flanbiscuit 6y ago
One thing I've been wanting to do is write a better mobile UI experience for HN using their api. I visit mostly on my phone and I have such a hard time tapping any of the action buttons (upvoting, minimizing a comment thread, etc). I tried a CSS-only mod using Stylish (I primarily use Firefox on Android) but I wanted to do some stuff that the current HTML structure made difficult. While I appreciate that they finally added some mobile styling, it was very minimal and ignored accessibility best practices for touch target size.
- raydev 6y ago
  If you use their Firebase API on iOS or Android then you'll need to make a request for each object, whether it's a news post or comment. If you want to present a comment thread, then you need to request each comment individually, so imagine making 400 requests to present a 400 comment thread. Their Github docs say to use the Firebase SDK, but the mobile SDKs require that you actually have your own Firebase account and you own the Firebase db, you can't enter an arbitrary Firebase URL and have it "just work."

minimaxir 6y ago

The API has no authentication, which makes it useless for anything other than a reader.

saagarjha 6y ago
You may find this interesting, and as a bonus it also includes something that you haven't documented: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22788526 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22788526
- minimaxir 6y ago
  That is indeed interesting, but I have a feeling it'll be documented once it launches. :P
  - saagarjha 6y ago
    Was talking more about the existence of an alpha-tester list, which has some additional features itself :)
willis936 6y ago
I'd be interested in a discourse mirror for consumption.
gvjddbnvdrbv 6y ago
Isn't posting, voting etc just done using POST requests?

flanbiscuit 6y ago

One thing I've been wanting to do is write a better mobile UI experience for HN using their api. I visit mostly on my phone and I have such a hard time tapping any of the action buttons (upvoting, minimizing a comment thread, etc). I tried a CSS-only mod using Stylish (I primarily use Firefox on Android) but I wanted to do some stuff that the current HTML structure made difficult. While I appreciate that they finally added some mobile styling, it was very minimal and ignored accessibility best practices for touch target size.

raydev 6y ago
If you use their Firebase API on iOS or Android then you'll need to make a request for each object, whether it's a news post or comment. If you want to present a comment thread, then you need to request each comment individually, so imagine making 400 requests to present a 400 comment thread. Their Github docs say to use the Firebase SDK, but the mobile SDKs require that you actually have your own Firebase account and you own the Firebase db, you can't enter an arbitrary Firebase URL and have it "just work."