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Hacker News Story Comments API
Scrape Hacker News Story Comments data with one API call. Returns the whole comment tree for a story under `data.items[]`, in the unified Comment shape: each entry carries `id`, `author`, `text`, `published_at`, the HN permalink at `url`, its direct-reply count at `engagement.replies`, and its nested replies at `replies[]`, recursively. Algolia serves the entire thread in one response, so there is no cursor and nothing is left behind. Note that a story's `num_comments` on the search index counts every node ever posted, including ones the thread no longer shows, so it can exceed the tree returned here. Same upstream call as `/v1/hackernews/story`, with the CommentList archetype selecting the `children` list.
Last updated October 2026Maintained by the SocialCrawl team
Returns the comment tree for a Hacker News story: each comment's id, author, text, points, time posted, and its nested replies.
Use it when you want the discussion under a story rather than the story's own details. The whole tree arrives in one call, nested replies included, so there is no cursor to follow.
Searching 68 platforms in parallel
·
TikTok·
Instagram·
YouTube·
Facebook·
X·
LinkedIn·
Reddit·
Threads·
Pinterest·
Twitch·
Truth Social·
Snapchat·
Kick·
Bluesky·
Kwai·
Rumble·
Spotify·
Apple Music·TikTok Shop·
Amazon Shop·
Google Shopping·
Trustpilot·
TripAdvisor·
Yelp·
Linktree·
Komi·
Pillar·
lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·
Finance·
Polymarket·
Tavily·Hacker News·
GitHub·
Perplexity·
Naver·
Utility·
Universal Search
TikTok·Instagram·YouTube·Facebook·X·LinkedIn·Reddit·Threads·Pinterest·Twitch·Truth Social·Snapchat·Kick·Bluesky·Kwai·Rumble·Spotify·Apple Music·TikTok Shop·Amazon Shop·Google Shopping·Trustpilot·TripAdvisor·Yelp·Linktree·Komi·Pillar·lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·Finance·Polymarket·Tavily·Hacker News·GitHub·Perplexity·Naver·Utility·Universal Search·TikTok·Instagram·YouTube·Facebook·X·LinkedIn·Reddit·Threads·Pinterest·Twitch·Truth Social·Snapchat·Kick·Bluesky·Kwai·Rumble·Spotify·Apple Music·TikTok Shop·Amazon Shop·Google Shopping·Trustpilot·TripAdvisor·Yelp·Linktree·Komi·Pillar·lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·Finance·Polymarket·Tavily·Hacker News·GitHub·Perplexity·Naver·Utility·Universal Search
TikTok·Instagram·YouTube·Facebook·X·LinkedIn·Reddit·Threads·Pinterest·Twitch·Truth Social·Snapchat·Kick·Bluesky·Kwai·Rumble·Spotify·Apple Music·TikTok Shop·Amazon Shop·Google Shopping·Trustpilot·TripAdvisor·Yelp·Linktree·Komi·Pillar·lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·Finance·Polymarket·Tavily·Hacker News·GitHub·Perplexity·Naver·Utility·Universal Search·TikTok·Instagram·YouTube·Facebook·X·LinkedIn·Reddit·Threads·Pinterest·Twitch·Truth Social·Snapchat·Kick·Bluesky·Kwai·Rumble·Spotify·Apple Music·TikTok Shop·Amazon Shop·Google Shopping·Trustpilot·TripAdvisor·Yelp·Linktree·Komi·Pillar·lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·Finance·Polymarket·Tavily·Hacker News·GitHub·Perplexity·Naver·Utility·Universal Search
TikTok·Instagram·YouTube·Facebook·X·LinkedIn·Reddit·Threads·Pinterest·Twitch·Truth Social·Snapchat·Kick·Bluesky·Kwai·Rumble·Spotify·Apple Music·TikTok Shop·Amazon Shop·Google Shopping·Trustpilot·TripAdvisor·Yelp·Linktree·Komi·Pillar·lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·Finance·Polymarket·Tavily·Hacker News·GitHub·Perplexity·Naver·Utility·Universal Search·TikTok·Instagram·YouTube·Facebook·X·LinkedIn·Reddit·Threads·Pinterest·Twitch·Truth Social·Snapchat·Kick·Bluesky·Kwai·Rumble·Spotify·Apple Music·TikTok Shop·Amazon Shop·Google Shopping·Trustpilot·TripAdvisor·Yelp·Linktree·Komi·Pillar·lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·Finance·Polymarket·Tavily·Hacker News·GitHub·Perplexity·Naver·Utility·Universal Search
TikTok·Instagram·YouTube·Facebook·X·LinkedIn·Reddit·Threads·Pinterest·Twitch·Truth Social·Snapchat·Kick·Bluesky·Kwai·Rumble·Spotify·Apple Music·TikTok Shop·Amazon Shop·Google Shopping·Trustpilot·TripAdvisor·Yelp·Linktree·Komi·Pillar·lnk.bio·Facebook Ads·Google Ads·LinkedIn Ads·Google Search·Google News·Finance·Polymarket·Tavily·Hacker News·GitHub·Perplexity·Naver·Utility·Universal SearchHacker News API
What can you do with the Story Comments API?
The Story Comments endpoint gives you structured Hacker News data with computed fields in a single request. No scraping infrastructure to build or maintain.
Example Request
curl -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/hackernews/story/comments?id=8863"import requests
response = requests.get(
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/hackernews/story/comments",
params={
'id': '8863',
},
headers={"x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
)
data = response.json()const response = await fetch(
"https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/hackernews/story/comments?id=8863",
{
headers: { "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY" },
},
);
const data = await response.json();Parameters
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| id | Yes | HN story id (the numeric `objectID`). |
| since | No | Only rows published on or after this date: YYYY-MM-DD (midnight UTC) or an ISO 8601 timestamp. Rows older than it are left off each page. This list is not in date order, so the walk does not stop at the date: keep following `next_cursor`, and each page costs what a page costs even when every row on it is filtered out. A row with no date is kept. `published_after`, `start_date`, `from_date`, `publish_time` (`yesterday`, `this-week`, `this-month`, `last-3-months`, `last-6-months`) and `max_age_days` are accepted and applied as `since`. |
| until | No | Only rows published on or before this date: YYYY-MM-DD (that whole UTC day is included) or an ISO 8601 timestamp. Newer rows are left off each page and the walk does not stop, so older pages follow. A row with no date is kept. `published_before`, `end_date` and `to_date` are accepted and applied as `until`. |
Example Response
What does the Hacker News Story Comments API return?
Every response follows one unified schema. Here is a real, unmodified response body, so you can see the exact fields you get back before spending a credit.
Example response
{
"success": true,
"platform": "youtube",
"endpoint": "/v1/youtube/video/comments",
"data": {
"items": [
{
"comment": {
"id": "Ugzge340dBgB75hWBm54AaABAg",
"url": null,
"parent_id": null,
"post_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
"text": "Sample comment text (redacted).",
"author": {
"username": "user_607bca",
"display_name": "user_607bca",
"avatar_url": "https://example.com/avatars/user_b3bde6.png",
"verified": null
},
"engagement": {
"likes": 322497,
"replies": 1000
},
"flags": {
"pinned": null,
"deleted": false
},
"published_at": "2025-04-22T19:05:08.000Z",
"ext": {
"replies_token": "sc2.eyJzIjoiYSIsImMiOiJVZ3pnZTM0MGRCZ0I3NWhXQm01NEFhQUJBZyJ9",
"updated_at": "2025-04-22T19:05:08Z",
"author_channel_id": "user_0faa89",
"author_url": "https://example.com/user_fa30a8",
"viewer_rating": "Sample comment text (redacted).",
"text_original": "Sample comment text (redacted).",
"preview_replies": [
{
"id": "Ugzge340dBgB75hWBm54AaABAg.AHE8_QAWJx9AHE9eIiztxR",
"channelId": "user_b70959",
"videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
"textDisplay": "Sample comment text (redacted).",
"textOriginal": "Sample comment text (redacted).",
"parentId": "Ugzge340dBgB75hWBm54AaABAg",
"authorDisplayName": "user_a07ce6",
"authorProfileImageUrl": "https://example.com/avatars/user_b7fd7d.png",
"authorChannelUrl": "https://example.com/user_7ab559",
"authorChannelId": {
"value": "user_5afaba"
},
"canRate": true,
"viewerRating": "Sample comment text (redacted).",
"likeCount": 7573,
"publishedAt": "2025-04-22T19:14:32Z",
"updatedAt": "2025-04-22T19:14:32Z"
},
{
"id": "Ugzge340dBgB75hWBm54AaABAg.AHE8_QAWJx9AHEAB_-JmDA",
"channelId": "user_b70959",
"videoId": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
"textDisplay": "Sample comment text (redacted).",
"textOriginal": "Sample comment text (redacted).",
"parentId": "Ugzge340dBgB75hWBm54AaABAg",
"authorDisplayName": "user_d8b3d6",
"authorProfileImageUrl": "https://example.com/avatars/user_2ece01.png",
"authorChannelUrl": "https://example.com/user_7a3f35",
"authorChannelId": {
"value": "user_da87da"
},
"canRate": true,
"viewerRating": "Sample comment text (redacted).",
"likeCount": 3180,
"publishedAt": "2025-04-22T19:19:13Z",
"updatedAt": "2025-04-22T19:19:13Z"
}
]
}
},
"computed": {
"language": "en",
"labels": {
"sentiment": {
"level": 3,
"score_0_1": 0.85,
"confidence": 0.61
},
"question": {
"p": 0.03
},
"purchase_intent": {
"p": 0.02
},
"complaint": {
"p": 0.04
}
}
}
},
{
"comment": {
"id": "UgzjClLu_KHsDVWheGx4AaABAg",
"url": null,
"parent_id": null,
"post_id": "dQw4w9WgXcQ",
"text": "Sample comment text (redacted).",
"author": {
"username": "user_f90324",
"display_name": "user_f90324",
"avatar_url": "https://example.com/avatars/user_191ddb.png",
"verified": null
},
"engagement": {
"likes": 1,
"replies": 0
},
"flags": {
"pinned": null,
"deleted": false
},
"published_at": "2026-10-02T15:39:20.000Z",
"ext": {
"replies_token": "sc2.eyJzIjoiYSIsImMiOiJVZ3pqQ2xMdV9LSHNEVldoZUd4NEFhQUJBZyJ9",
"updated_at": "2026-10-02T15:39:20Z",
"author_channel_id": "user_121069",
"author_url": "https://example.com/user_ec3ca5",
"viewer_rating": "Sample comment text (redacted).",
"text_original": "Sample comment text (redacted)."
}
},
"computed": {
"language": "en",
"labels": {
"sentiment": {
"level": 3,
"score_0_1": 0.76,
"confidence": 0.8
},
"question": {
"p": 0.02
},
"purchase_intent": {
"p": 0.02
},
"complaint": {
"p": 0.03
}
}
}
}
],
"next_cursor": "sc2.eyJzIjoiYSIsImMiOiJzYzEuZXlKaklqb2lXakpXTUZneU5XeGtNbFo2WkVZNWJXRllTbnBrUXpCMFVUSmtibE5YWkVKVlZscEhUakphVTFRd1NrcFNhMDVPV2pKa1NGRlZSbFJSYkVad1drVnNRMW93U2taYU1WWktZVlZPUWxkVlJrTlRWVnBFVXpKa2JsSXdSa0pWTUVwU1lWVm9TbEZ0WkVKU1YyUldVMWMxY0ZGV2JFSlJhMnhIVVRCc2Nsb3daRUpSVjJ4RldqSTVUbEV3ZEd4YU1UZzFWbFZrUmxNeWF6Rk9SWEJDVWtaV1FsRnNiRUpWVVQwOUlpd2ljeUk2V3lKVlozcG5aVE0wTUdSQ1owSTNOV2hYUW0wMU5FRmhRVUpCWnlJc0lsVm5lbXBEYkV4MVgwdEljMFJXVjJobFIzZzBRV0ZCUWtGbklsMTkifQ",
"total": null,
"labels": {
"presets": [
"sentiment",
"question"
],
"rows": 2,
"labelled": 2,
"cached": 1,
"skipped": 0,
"unjudged": 0,
"dropped": 0,
"dropped_ids": [],
"extra_credits": 0,
"methodology_version": "labels/1",
"mode": "default",
"status": "complete",
"pending": 0,
"pending_ids": []
},
"label_share": {
"policy_version": "share/1",
"presets": {
"question": {
"n": 2,
"counted": 0,
"abstained": 0,
"share": null,
"low": 0,
"high": 0.575,
"receipts": [],
"policy_version": "share/1",
"too_few": true,
"at_cut": 0,
"nulls": 0,
"low_confidence": 0
},
"purchase_intent": {
"n": 2,
"counted": 0,
"abstained": 0,
"share": null,
"low": 0,
"high": 0.575,
"receipts": [],
"policy_version": "share/1",
"too_few": true,
"at_cut": 0,
"nulls": 0,
"low_confidence": 0
},
"complaint": {
"n": 2,
"counted": 0,
"abstained": 0,
"share": null,
"low": 0,
"high": 0.575,
"receipts": [],
"policy_version": "share/1",
"too_few": true,
"at_cut": 0,
"nulls": 0,
"low_confidence": 0
},
"sentiment": {
"positive": {
"n": 2,
"counted": 2,
"abstained": 0,
"share": null,
"low": 0.425,
"high": 1,
"receipts": [
{
"id": "Ugzge340dBgB75hWBm54AaABAg",
"text": "Sample comment text (redacted)."
},
{
"id": "UgzjClLu_KHsDVWheGx4AaABAg",
"text": "Sample comment text (redacted)."
}
],
"policy_version": "share/1",
"too_few": true,
"at_cut": 2,
"nulls": 0,
"low_confidence": 0
},
"neutral": {
"n": 2,
"counted": 0,
"abstained": 0,
"share": null,
"low": 0,
"high": 0.575,
"receipts": [],
"policy_version": "share/1",
"too_few": true,
"at_cut": 0,
"nulls": 0,
"low_confidence": 0
},
"negative": {
"n": 2,
"counted": 0,
"abstained": 0,
"share": null,
"low": 0,
"high": 0.575,
"receipts": [],
"policy_version": "share/1",
"too_few": true,
"at_cut": 0,
"nulls": 0,
"low_confidence": 0
}
}
}
},
"comment_language": {
"policy_version": "share/1",
"n": 2,
"abstained": 0,
"judged_by": {
"script": 0,
"choice": 2
},
"shares": {
"en": {
"n": 2,
"counted": 2,
"abstained": 0,
"share": null,
"low": 0.425,
"high": 1,
"receipts": [
{
"id": "Ugzge340dBgB75hWBm54AaABAg",
"text": "Sample comment text (redacted)."
},
{
"id": "UgzjClLu_KHsDVWheGx4AaABAg",
"text": "Sample comment text (redacted)."
}
],
"policy_version": "share/1",
"too_few": true
}
}
},
"comment_recency": {
"policy_version": "d09-1",
"n": 2,
"counted": 2,
"abstained": 0,
"share_last_24h": 0.5,
"share_later_half": null,
"too_few": true,
"stage": "unknown",
"order": "top",
"recent_share_is_floor": true,
"receipts": [
{
"id": "UgzjClLu_KHsDVWheGx4AaABAg",
"text": "Sample comment text (redacted)."
}
]
},
"dropped": 0
},
"credits_used": 1,
"credits_remaining": 9999,
"request_id": "req-8Kq2ZmR4vT9xLb3P",
"cached": false,
"pagination": {
"next_cursor": "sc.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",
"has_more": true,
"page_size": 2
},
"redacted": true
}Example captured from the YouTube API. Every SocialCrawl endpoint returns this same unified schema, so your Hacker News Story Comments response has the same fields.
API Details
How does the Hacker News Story Comments API work?
Send a GET request with your API key and get back clean, structured JSON in our unified schema. Supported computed fields are populated when the source provides the required inputs.
Method
GET
Response
JSON
Developer First
How do you scrape social media data in seconds?
The fastest social media scraping API for developers. Scrape profiles, posts, comments, and analytics from 68 platforms covering 10B+ monthly active users.
One schema, every platform
Query 68 platforms with identical response structures. Write your integration once.
Computed fields, not just scraped
When an endpoint supports these metrics and the source provides the required inputs, the normalized record includes engagement_rate, estimated_reach, content_category, and language. Ready to use.
See your data before you code
Visual Data Explorer. Paste any URL, get rich result cards, sortable tables, CSV export.
import requests
response = requests.get(
'https://www.socialcrawl.dev/v1/tiktok/profile',
params={'handle': 'charlidamelio'},
headers={'x-api-key': 'sc_YOUR_API_KEY'}
)
data = response.json()[ .JSON ]
{
"success": true,
"platform": "tiktok",
"data": {
"author": {
"username": "charlidamelio",
"followers": 152400000
},
"engagement": {
"likes": 12400000000,
"engagement_rate": 0.087
},
"metadata": {
"language": "en",
"content_category": "lifestyle"
}
}
}FAQ
Have a question? We got answers
Find answers to frequently asked questions about SocialCrawl's API, pricing, and capabilities.
Contact usHow do I fetch the comments on a Hacker News story?
Send a GET request to /v1/hackernews/story/comments with the story's item ID in the id parameter. SocialCrawl returns the full threaded comment tree, with each comment's author, body text, created date, and nested replies in one response.
Are replies nested or flat in the response?
Replies are nested. Each comment carries a children array containing its direct replies, which in turn hold their own replies. Walk the tree recursively for the full discussion, or flatten it when you only need a sentiment snapshot.
What fields does each comment include?
Author handle, comment body text, created timestamp, parent ID, and the children array of nested replies. The structure mirrors the Hacker News thread exactly so you can reconstruct the conversation order in your own UI or pipeline.
Can I analyze developer sentiment from HN threads?
Yes. Pull the comment tree for stories about your product, a competitor, or a technology, then run sentiment or topic analysis over the bodies. It is a common pattern for dev-sentiment tracking next to your Reddit and X comment sources.
How much does the Hacker News Comments API cost?
Each comment fetch costs 1 credit on the standard tier, regardless of how many comments a story has. New accounts get 100 free credits with no credit card required, enough to pull around 100 full comment threads.
Ask AI about SocialCrawl
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