Hacker News data and analytics
Track HN is a Hacker News analytics platform that captures continuous snapshots of score, rank, and comment count for every front-page story. Explore data through interactive dashboards, research reports, a Chrome browser extension, and direct SQL database access.
Continuous data collection since 2023 · snapshots captured every few minutes
Hacker News analytics features
Score & rank history
Snapshots of score, rank, and comment count captured every few minutes.
FreeDashboards
Interactive charts for front page trends, score trajectories, and posting patterns.
FreeUser profiles & activity
Submission history, karma trends, and activity patterns for any HN user.
ProDirect DB access
SQL access to the full dataset. Run your own queries.
Topic detection
Surface emerging topics and shifts in what HN is discussing.
ComingSentiment analysis
Track how discussion tone changes over the life of a story.
ComingAlerts & digests
Weekly email digests and alerts for keywords, users, or score thresholds.
ComingFull-text search
Search stories and comments with typo tolerance and filters.
ComingSample HN data insights
A preview of what Track HN tracks. Sign up for full interactive dashboards with filters, date ranges, and more.
When should you post on HN?
Day × hour heatmap of average score
How long do stories survive on page 1?
Survival curves by score tier
Upvotes vs. discussion
Score × comments — popular ≠ discussed
HN's daily heartbeat
Submissions per hour over 7 days
Ask HN vs Show HN vs Links
Which story type performs best?
Can a nobody go viral?
Viral rate by user karma tier
The first hour decides everything
Early score predicts final outcome
Who owns the front page?
Top domains by front-page appearances
Score inflation over time
Are stories getting more points?
Hacker News research reports
Hacker News browser extension
Score, rank, and comment charts injected into Hacker News story pages.
Sponsors & HN community
Retool
We also built a set of dashboards with Retool.
@TrackHN on X
Trending stories, score milestones, front page alerts, and weekly recaps.
Follow @TrackHNFrequently asked questions
- What is Track HN?
- Track HN is a Hacker News analytics platform that archives score, rank, and comment data for every front-page story. It provides interactive dashboards, research reports, a Chrome browser extension, direct SQL database access, and an automated X account (@TrackHN) for monitoring Hacker News story performance over time.
- What data does Track HN collect?
- Track HN records snapshots of each story's score, front-page rank position, and comment count at regular intervals. This continuous data collection has run since 2023, building a time-series dataset that shows how Hacker News stories gain traction, reach their peak, and decline over hours and days.
- Is Track HN free?
- Track HN offers a free tier that includes score and rank history for every story, interactive dashboards, and access to select research reports. The Pro plan adds user profile analytics, direct SQL database access, and full report library access.
- How can I access the Track HN dataset?
- You can explore data through pre-built interactive dashboards, read detailed research reports on Hacker News patterns, install the Chrome browser extension to see score history directly on news.ycombinator.com, or connect via direct SQL access to run your own queries against the full dataset.
- What is the Track HN browser extension?
- The Track HN browser extension for Chrome overlays score, rank, and comment history charts directly on Hacker News story pages at news.ycombinator.com, providing historical performance context without leaving the site.
Start tracking Hacker News for free
No credit card. Access dashboards and reports immediately.