Staying ahead in tech and startups doesn't require staring at a browser tab all day. By piping the Y Combinator community directly into a feed reader, you turn a noisy web forum into a quiet, structured stream of intelligence.
The official endpoint is [https://news.ycombinator.com/rss](https://news.ycombinator.com/rss), but relying solely on that default URL leaves out custom filters, targeted keyword tracking, and specialized category feeds like "Show HN" or "Ask HN". Setting up a proper pipeline lets you curate startup news without getting overwhelmed by the volume.
Essential Hacker News RSS Feed URLs
Y Combinator offers a basic endpoint, but the community-maintained indexing tool hnrss.org provides granular endpoints that target specific parts of the platform.
- Front Page:
[https://hnrss.org/frontpage](https://hnrss.org/frontpage)serves items that have successfully climbed to the main page. - Newest Submissions:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/rss](https://news.ycombinator.com/rss)or[https://hnrss.org/newest](https://hnrss.org/newest)acts as the raw firehose for every post submitted in real time. - Ask HN & Show HN:
[https://hnrss.org/ask](https://hnrss.org/ask)and[https://hnrss.org/show](https://hnrss.org/show)isolate community questions and builder showcases. - Jobs:
[https://hnrss.org/jobs](https://hnrss.org/jobs)tracks open roles posted across the ecosystem.
Building Advanced Filter Queries
The main problem with raw feeds is noise. If you only care about specific programming languages, infrastructure tools, or competitors, you can append parameters to build hyper-focused endpoints.
You can filter by points or comments using query strings. For instance, [https://hnrss.org/frontpage?points=100&comments=25](https://hnrss.org/frontpage?points=100&comments=25) ensures you only see discussions that have gained traction. To track particular tech stacks, use the q= parameter. Multiple keywords can be chained using OR operators, and symbols like + must be percent-encoded as %2B (such as searching for C%2B%2B).
Choosing and Configuring an RSS Reader
Your choice of aggregator dictates how clean your reading experience feels. Power users often rely on open-source desktop clients like NetNewsWire for macOS and iOS, or self-hosted web readers like Miniflux for cross-device synchronization.
Once you pick a reader, avoid dumping every feed into your main folder. Create a dedicated directory called "Startups" and divide it into sub-folders:
- Core News: Front page and best-of feeds for general industry awareness.
- Builders: Show HN and Ask HN feeds for product ideas and indie hacking trends.
- Signals: Keyword-filtered feeds tracking specific technologies or competitors.
Common Setup Mistakes to Avoid
Setting up a custom feed collector is straightforward, but a few operational mistakes can break your workflow.
- Polling too frequently: If you use third-party scraping feeds like
hnrss.org, setting your reader to refresh every minute places unnecessary load on the indexer. Set your polling interval to 30 or 60 minutes. - Ignoring comment links: The default official feed links directly to the submitted article URL. On Hacker News, the real insights often live inside the comment section. You can append
?link=commentstohnrss.orgURLs so your reader opens the discussion thread first. - Failing to prune: If your unread counter jumps by hundreds of items a day, your filters are too broad. Add point thresholds to cut out low-engagement submissions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do article titles change in my RSS reader?
Hacker News moderators and submitters frequently edit post titles for clarity or accuracy after submission. Because the platform doesn't always assign static item IDs that handle these updates gracefully, your reader may treat title edits as duplicate or new articles.
Can I track submissions from a specific user?
Yes. You can follow a specific contributor by using their username profile endpoint, such as https://hnrss.org/submitted?id=USERNAME for posts or https://hnrss.org/threads?id=USERNAME for comments.
How do I get Hacker News delivered to my email inbox?
If you prefer email over a dedicated reader application, you can use open-source utilities like rss2email to convert any of these XML feeds into daily or real-time email digests.
