src ▸ target opened 0

Monitor Hacker News for changes

Watch any Hacker News page for the things that matter, and act the instant it changes. Monitors check as fast as every 10s on Scale; see the per-plan floors below.

Build a Hacker News monitor How Watch-and-Act works
Writ runs on your own accounts, with your own credentials and data, on sites you are authorized to use.
●Succeedinglast checked 8s ago

Watching on Hacker News

  • ◍new story matching a query
  • ◍points threshold
  • ◍front-page entry
new ▸ monitor built 01
02
create

Build a Hacker News monitor in minutes

Point the recorder at a Hacker News page, mark new story matching a query or any selector, and Writ builds a Monitor that checks on a schedule and fires a workflow on a change, running on your own account, on a page you are authorized to use.

  1. 1
    Open the Hacker News page in the recorder

    Point the recorder at the Hacker News page you care about and mark what to watch: new story matching a query, a CSS selector, or a visual baseline. Writ renders Hacker News in real Chromium, so it sees values that load with JavaScript.

  2. 2
    Set the schedule and threshold

    Choose how often Writ checks (as fast as every 10s, 10s on Enterprise) and what counts as a change worth acting on.

  3. 3
    Connect a workflow to the change

    On a real change, an automation trigger runs a workflow: notify a channel, log the new value, or take an action on your own authenticated Hacker News account.

Build a Hacker News monitor See how it works

See how Watch-and-Act works, build on workflows, or search for another site. Free to start. See pricing.

watch ▸ targets listed 02
03
watch

Track the Hacker News changes that matter

These are the signals teams most often watch on Hacker News. Each can trigger a workflow when it changes.

◍ new story matching a query◍ points threshold◍ front-page entry
type ▸ three modes 03
04
types

Three ways Writ monitors Hacker News

Content, availability, and dynamic values, all rendered in a real browser.

◈Content changeTrack a selector, the full page, or a visual baseline and get notified the moment Hacker News changes what you're watching.
◈Uptime & SSLCheck that a Hacker News page or your own Hacker News integration is reachable, with response-time and certificate-expiry alerts.
◈JS-rendered valuesWrit renders Hacker News in real Chromium, so it sees prices, stock, and status that load dynamically, not just the raw HTML.
plan ▸ check floors 04
05
frequency

How fast Writ checks Hacker News, by plan

A faster cadence is a paid capability: a lightweight HTTP check costs far less than a full JS render, so the tightest intervals live on higher plans.

Plan Static page Dynamic (JS-rendered)
Free 5 min 15 min
Starter 60s 10 min
Growth 30s 5 min
Scale 10s 2 min

Enterprise checks down to 10s. Local and BYO runs carry no compute charge; cloud checks are metered from your plan’s included usage, and past it from your wallet.

flow ▸ watch and act 05
06
flow

From a Hacker News change to an action in seconds

A Monitor detects the change; an automation trigger runs your workflow.

  1. 1
    Watch Hacker News

    Pick the Hacker News page and the change you care about: new story matching a query, a selector, or a visual baseline.

  2. 2
    Detect the change

    Monitors check as fast as every 10s (10s on Enterprise). On a real change, an automation trigger fires.

  3. 3
    Act in seconds

    The trigger runs a workflow: notify a channel, extract the new value, or take an action on your own Hacker News account.

◉

Notify any channel. Route a Hacker News change to any of six providers (Email, SMS, WhatsApp, Signal, Pushover, or a custom webhook), or run a full workflow that takes an action on your own account.

Built on the same engine as the recorder and workflows.

also ▸ same site 06
07
other ways

Other ways to work with Hacker News

Turn Hacker News into an APICall Hacker News as a REST endpoint.REST Hacker News MCP toolsExpose Hacker News as MCP tools for your agent.For AI agents Automate Hacker NewsBuild Hacker News actions without an API.Automation
faq ▸ questions answered 07
08
faq

Monitoring Hacker News questions

How fast can Writ check Hacker News?
It depends on your plan. Static-page checks run every 5 min on Free, 60s on Starter, 30s on Growth, and 10s on Scale; JS-rendered pages are slower (15 min down to 2 min), and Enterprise checks down to 10s. A detected change fires the connected workflow in seconds, so you act on Hacker News changes almost as they happen.
Is there a ready-made Hacker News monitor I can install?
Point the recorder at the Hacker News page, mark what to watch (new story matching a query, a selector, or a visual baseline), and Writ builds a Monitor that checks on a schedule and fires a workflow on a change. It takes minutes.
What can I monitor on Hacker News?
Common targets include new story matching a query, points threshold, front-page entry. You can watch a specific element, the whole page, or a visual baseline, and Writ renders Hacker News in a real browser so it catches values that load with JavaScript.
What happens when Hacker News changes?
A change becomes an automation trigger that runs a workflow you choose: send a notification through one of six providers, extract the new data, push it to a destination, or take an action on your own authenticated Hacker News account.
Is it allowed to monitor Hacker News?
Collect Hacker News data you have the right to access and respect its guidelines and rate limits. These are Monitors and change detection on pages you are authorized to access. Writ runs on your own accounts, with your own credentials and data, on sites you are authorized to use.
rec ▸ ready ●

Watch Hacker News. Act the instant it changes.

Set up a Monitor, connect a workflow, and let Writ do the watching. Get started free.

Get started