Always interesting to see new HN apps, and this one seems OK.
Personally I prefer HACK [1], which is probably the most extensive HN client for iOS. The amount of options for controlling the look of the app means you can influence the reading experience quite a bit, which isn't true for this new app.
My biggest complaint with HACK is search. Instead of a real UI, it uses its own kludgy search syntax to control what to filter. For example, "foo #stories" filters stories only.
Do you read it on your phone? This website's (lack of a) mobile design makes it really hard to read. If I don't use my mobile app of choice (Harmonic), I have to zoom in really close and scroll all over the place. It's really annoying. The font is way too small, and it's hard-coded.
This looks fine to me? In long threads it gets a bit hard to follow, only thing I'm missing is a jump to next root comment. https://i.imgur.com/8e1Syyf.jpeg
> only thing I'm missing is a jump to next root comment
That's a two step process currently when you are just going through the comments you click "root" on any sub-root-comment and then "next" on the root comment. Next will always take you to the next sibling comment (called a sibling, because it's a tree data-structure basically and sibling comes from a family tree. In fact where I said sub-root-comment I could have said descendants or children.)
EDIT: I just realized that the first child of the root doesn't have the "root" button so you have to click "parent" on it and then "next".
I have been using an app on my phone (HACK) for a while. The content is way more readable with the app. And the interactions (voting and replying) are much more native. Navigating the comments (collapsing and expanding) are way easier
Strange question to ask on a forum where people seem intent on showing their new “I used AI to build something completely useless that will be forgotten in a matter of minutes” and the vast majority of people think it’s the next coming of Jesus.
If some users start seen `HNNetwork.NetworkError error 0`, this could be related to HN rate limit, i will add a friendly message for this error on the next version
Everything is persisted on device using GRDB
Credentials are stored on device keychain
Nothing leaves the app, its all Firebase, HNSite and iCloud to store custom groups
I dont have any infra supporting the app
Not really fixable, unfortunately. The API requires an network call for each comment:
> The v0 API is essentially a dump of our in-memory data structures. We know, what works great locally in memory isn't so hot over the network.
When I played around with making a client, I found the best approach was to only load the first level of comments, and asynchronously fetch children inside DisclosureGroups on appear.
Then I realized the only reason I was making an HN app was so it didn’t blind me at night, and then I realized Lobsters has all the same stories as this place but lets me filter out vibe coding articles, and I just gave up.
You can fetch the HTML (1 request), parse that, extract the comments, render the above the fold content, then use the API and blend the rest of the comments for the rest of the comments. You can also use the algolia api to grab comment data but the order doesn't match the website.
You might like HACK [1], then. It has a large set of options (maybe too many!) to change fonts, styles, colors, and spacing. It's probably the most extensive HN client for iOS.
Hey! Why a new app though? It's always interesting to understand the motives and the preferences of a person creating something new. I've skimmed through your website but you haven't highlighted what you missed in existing apps or what was your pain point
Always interesting to see new HN apps, and this one seems OK.
Personally I prefer HACK [1], which is probably the most extensive HN client for iOS. The amount of options for controlling the look of the app means you can influence the reading experience quite a bit, which isn't true for this new app.
My biggest complaint with HACK is search. Instead of a real UI, it uses its own kludgy search syntax to control what to filter. For example, "foo #stories" filters stories only.
[1] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hack-for-hacker-news-yc-reader...
why does this website need an app?
Do you read it on your phone? This website's (lack of a) mobile design makes it really hard to read. If I don't use my mobile app of choice (Harmonic), I have to zoom in really close and scroll all over the place. It's really annoying. The font is way too small, and it's hard-coded.
This looks fine to me? In long threads it gets a bit hard to follow, only thing I'm missing is a jump to next root comment. https://i.imgur.com/8e1Syyf.jpeg
Do you up or downvote? The icons are very small on mobile.
> only thing I'm missing is a jump to next root comment
That's a two step process currently when you are just going through the comments you click "root" on any sub-root-comment and then "next" on the root comment. Next will always take you to the next sibling comment (called a sibling, because it's a tree data-structure basically and sibling comes from a family tree. In fact where I said sub-root-comment I could have said descendants or children.)
EDIT: I just realized that the first child of the root doesn't have the "root" button so you have to click "parent" on it and then "next".
I have been using an app on my phone (HACK) for a while. The content is way more readable with the app. And the interactions (voting and replying) are much more native. Navigating the comments (collapsing and expanding) are way easier
Also on the iPad, the two column view is nice too
If it is not the data collection, then it is always the UX. Seems to be UX on this case. But highly opinionated, some people like the old feel here.
Strange question to ask on a forum where people seem intent on showing their new “I used AI to build something completely useless that will be forgotten in a matter of minutes” and the vast majority of people think it’s the next coming of Jesus.
It doesn’t need one, but now the option is there.
To "delve into comments" (quoting from the app's website).
it's a perfectly cromulent word!
Why does any?
HN clients are one of the most popular projects. I’m gonna agree with some of the other comment: this is nothing new.
https://hnpwa.com/
Is it vibe coded? Sorry I ask this about ALL software now.
No, the app is not vibe coded, all things, good and bad are 100% human made :D
Why would that be relevant?
Because support for the app stops the moment the Claude Code subscription ends. No-one enjoys unmaintained apps.
Then use OpenAI Codex?
The website is, no idea about the app, though.
Yes, the site is vibe coded
Honestly? Why does it matter? This isn’t going away so we can all focus our energy on helping this workflow improve, or just ignoring it.
Feature Request: allow me to see only posts by categories I want to create and filter by.
For example: "AI" or "startups" or "discoveries"
If some users start seen `HNNetwork.NetworkError error 0`, this could be related to HN rate limit, i will add a friendly message for this error on the next version
Is there some caching currently? And how login is handled? Are credentials routed through your own infrastructure?
Everything is persisted on device using GRDB Credentials are stored on device keychain Nothing leaves the app, its all Firebase, HNSite and iCloud to store custom groups I dont have any infra supporting the app
I don’t think the Firebase HN API has rate limits. By the way, how many concurrent requests are you doing?
Im using Firebase API, Algolia and HN Site HN Site request are never concurrent and i only use it when i cannot use Firebase and Algolia
great app, neat and native, but unfortunately the website still loads faster, which beats the whole purpose to me
+1. downloaded it to see if it’s faster, but comment section takes around 5-7 seconds to load. other than that, gj—-nice ux, polished, icon..
Not really fixable, unfortunately. The API requires an network call for each comment:
> The v0 API is essentially a dump of our in-memory data structures. We know, what works great locally in memory isn't so hot over the network.
When I played around with making a client, I found the best approach was to only load the first level of comments, and asynchronously fetch children inside DisclosureGroups on appear.
Then I realized the only reason I was making an HN app was so it didn’t blind me at night, and then I realized Lobsters has all the same stories as this place but lets me filter out vibe coding articles, and I just gave up.
You can fetch the HTML (1 request), parse that, extract the comments, render the above the fold content, then use the API and blend the rest of the comments for the rest of the comments. You can also use the algolia api to grab comment data but the order doesn't match the website.
At least, that's what claude would suggest doing.
Feature Request #2 Allow me to re-edit my comment after posting.
This is the first HN app that immediately clicks for me.
Would absolutely love it if the text could be made bigger (both for reading and commenting)!
By the way, this reply was posted using the HackerNows app itself :-)
You might like HACK [1], then. It has a large set of options (maybe too many!) to change fonts, styles, colors, and spacing. It's probably the most extensive HN client for iOS.
[1] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hack-for-hacker-news-yc-reader...
Thanks, i will work on that.
Native dynamic fonts works, but i will add an in app option to change font size
I really like this. It feels clean enough that I might make it my main HN app.
Hey! Why a new app though? It's always interesting to understand the motives and the preferences of a person creating something new. I've skimmed through your website but you haven't highlighted what you missed in existing apps or what was your pain point
For this one i would say Custom Groups and iCloud sync All other features are pretty similar to other HN clients
I'm trying it, really interesting!
Muito foda, obrigado meu bom!
Pretty cool. Any way to change the fonts?
I predict that building an iOS app for HN will be so common, that it will become a standard AI benchmark.
Any plans for android?
Maybe in the future, im working on a macOS version atm and since the app rely heavily on iCloud it makes it difficult to support Android
Nice job, bro! Keep it up!