How do I install the Hn Digest skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add modbender/hn-digest in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Hn Digest safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Independent scanners report: SkillSpector: PASS, Skill Scanner: PASS. Capability flags: executes scripts, makes network calls. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Hn Digest?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Hn Digest free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Hn Digest?

modbender (@modbender) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Hn Digest by modbender — Agent Skill

Name: Hn Digest
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: modbender

Hn Digest

Fetch and send Hacker News front-page posts on demand. Use when the user asks for HN, says 'hn', 'pull HN', 'hn 10', or specifies a topic like 'hn health', 'hn hacking', or 'hn tech'. Sends N (default 5) posts as individual messages with Title + Link. Exclude crypto.

modbender Updated Sep 9, 2026 12 repo stars

File contents

HN Digest

Command format

Interpret a user message that starts with hn as a request for a Hacker News front-page digest.

Supported forms:

hn → default 5 posts
hn <n> → n posts
hn <topic> → filter/boost by topic
hn <n> <topic> → both
If the user asks for “more” after already seeing some (e.g. “show me top 10–15 since we already did top 10”), treat it as an offset request and use --offset (e.g. offset 10, count 10).

Topics:

tech (default)
health
hacking
life / lifehacks

Output requirements

Do not send any extra commentary/preamble/epilogue.
Send results as individual messages.
Each post message must be exactly:
- first line: the post title
- second line: <age> · <commentCount> comments (age like 45m ago, 6h ago, 3d ago)
- third line: the Hacker News comments link (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=...)
After the post messages, send one final message that is the generated image.
- If the chat provider requires non-empty text for media, use a minimal caption ..
Hard exclude crypto.

Procedure

Parse n and topic from the user message.
Fetch + rank items:
- Run node skills/hn-digest/scripts/hn.mjs --count <n> --offset <offset> --topic <topic> --format json.
- Default offset is 0 unless the user explicitly asks for “more/next” after a previous batch.
Send results as N individual messages in the required 3-line format.
Then generate a delightful mood image via Nano Banana, inspired by the posts you just sent:
- Use skills/hn-digest/scripts/mood_prompt.mjs to build a prompt from the JSON items.
- Add 3–4 subtle Easter eggs derived from the post themes (no text/logos; keep it fun).
- Generate and attach the image by running:
  - skills/hn-digest/scripts/generate_mood_nano_banana.sh ./tmp/hn-mood/hn-mood.png <topic> <n> <offset>
- Send the generated image as one additional message.

If fetching/ranking fails or returns 0 items:

Use https://news.ycombinator.com/ in the browser tool, pick N non-crypto items by judgment, and send them in the same 3-line format.
Still generate a mood image (general “HN tech deep dives” vibe) with a banana Easter egg.

---name: hn-digestdescription: Fetch and send Hacker News front-page posts on demand. Use when the user asks for HN, says 'hn', 'pull HN', 'hn 10', or specifies a topic like 'hn health', 'hn hacking', or 'hn tech'. Sends N (default 5) posts as individual messages with Title + Link. Exclude crypto.--- # HN Digest ## Command format Interpret a user message that starts with `hn` as a request for a Hacker News front-page digest. Supported forms: - `hn` → default 5 posts - `hn <n>` → n posts - `hn <topic>` → filter/boost by topic - `hn <n> <topic>` → both - If the user asks for “more” after already seeing some (e.g. “show me top 10–15 since we already did top 10”), treat it as an offset request and use `--offset` (e.g. offset 10, count 10). Topics: - `tech` (default) - `health` - `hacking` - `life` / `lifehacks` ## Output requirements - Do **not** send any extra commentary/preamble/epilogue. - Send results as **individual messages**. - Each post message must be exactly: - first line: the post title - second line: `<age> · <commentCount> comments` (age like `45m ago`, `6h ago`, `3d ago`) - third line: the Hacker News comments link (`https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=...`) - After the post messages, send **one final message** that is the generated image. - If the chat provider requires non-empty text for media, use a minimal caption `.`. - Hard exclude crypto. ## Procedure 1. Parse `n` and `topic` from the user message. 2. Fetch + rank items: - Run `node skills/hn-digest/scripts/hn.mjs --count <n> --offset <offset> --topic <topic> --format json`. - Default `offset` is 0 unless the user explicitly asks for “more/next” after a previous batch. 3. Send results as **N individual messages** in the required 3-line format. 4. Then generate a **delightful mood image** via Nano Banana, inspired by the posts you just sent: - Use `skills/hn-digest/scripts/mood_prompt.mjs` to build a prompt from the JSON items. - Add 3–4 subtle Easter eggs derived from the post themes (no text/logos; keep it fun). - Generate and attach the image by running: - `skills/hn-digest/scripts/generate_mood_nano_banana.sh ./tmp/hn-mood/hn-mood.png <topic> <n> <offset>` - Send the generated image as one additional message. If fetching/ranking fails or returns 0 items: - Use `https://news.ycombinator.com/` in the browser tool, pick N non-crypto items by judgment, and send them in the same 3-line format. - Still generate a mood image (general “HN tech deep dives” vibe) with a banana Easter egg.

Frequently asked questions