Hacker News Community Engagement Skill
Overview
This skill enables authentic Hacker News engagement by discovering relevant discussions, crafting thoughtful responses, and tracking engagement history.
Actions
Data Files
| File | Purpose |
|---|
.business_growth/marketing/social/BUSINESS.md | Shared business context (required) |
.business_growth/marketing/social/hackernews/strategy.md | Hacker News engagement strategy (overall approach, topics, expertise areas) |
.business_growth/marketing/social/hackernews/{YYYY-MM}/{YYYY-MM-DD}.md | Daily threads and engagement log |
community-pulse/skills/hackernews/.env.profiles.local | HN credentials (gitignored) |
Quick Start
- First time? → Run Login to authenticate, then Research to find discussions
- Have threads? → Run Engage to comment or submit posts
- Before any Research or Engagement → The strategy file at
.business_growth/marketing/social/hackernews/strategy.md is loaded automatically. If it doesn't exist, you'll be asked if you want to create one.
Decision Flow
User Request
│
├─► "Login" / "Sign in" / "Authenticate"
│ └─► Load references/login.md
│
├─► "Find threads" / "Research" / "Discover" / "Search HN"
│ └─► Load references/research.md
│
├─► "Comment" / "Post" / "Submit" / "Engage" / "Reply"
│ └─► Load references/engage.md
│
└─► Unclear
└─► Ask: "Would you like me to research HN discussions or engage with existing ones?"
Browser MCP Quick Reference
Get Browser Context
tabs_context_mcp (get available tabs)
tabs_create_mcp (create new tab if needed)
Navigation
navigate (url, tabId)
Reading Page
read_page (tabId) - Get page structure
get_page_text (tabId) - Get text content
screenshot - Visual verification
Finding Elements
find (query, tabId) - Natural language element search
Interaction
form_input (ref, value, tabId) - Fill form fields
computer (action: "left_click", coordinate, tabId) - Click elements
computer (action: "scroll", scroll_direction, tabId) - Scroll page
computer (action: "type", text, tabId) - Type text
Important Notes
- Authentication: Use login skill or ensure manual login before engaging
- Karma Requirements: New accounts have limited posting ability; commenting builds karma
- Rate Limits: HN limits posting frequency - wait between submissions
- Culture: HN values substance, intellectual curiosity, and technical depth
- Showdead: Flagged/dead comments are hidden - avoid promotional or low-quality content
- User Approval: ALL engagement actions require explicit user confirmation
