Chat
Show HN: Chatroom with curl command (requires IPv6)
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What is Chat?
ChatHN is an open-source AI chatbot that enables users to explore Hacker News using natural language conversations. It allows you to ask questions about top stories, get summaries of comments, and find details about the current hottest topics on Hacker News without visiting the website directly.
The tool uses the Hacker News API combined with OpenAI Functions and Vercel AI SDK to provide clear and relevant answers. It allows you to customize search results by title, link, score, and comment count, presenting information in easy-to-read markdown tables. ChatHN supports queries like retrieving the most popular articles, specific articles with comments, and summarizing the top story and its comments.
ChatHN is perfect for developers, tech enthusiasts, researchers, and content creators who want to stay updated on the latest technology and computer science news. It offers a simple and efficient way to interact with Hacker News content through conversational language instead of navigating complex search syntax.
The tool is built with Next.js, OpenAI Functions for AI completions, Vercel AI SDK for AI streaming, TailwindCSS for styling, and can be deployed on Vercel. Users can deploy their own instance or contribute to the project on GitHub under the MIT license.
Chat pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
Free - ChatHN is completely free and open-source under the MIT license. The hosted version at chathn.vercel.app is free to use. For self-hosting, you only need to pay for your own OpenAI API usage costs.
Chat pros
- Open-source and free to use
- Natural language interaction with Hacker News
- Real-time access to Hacker News API data
- Summarizes top stories and comments
- Customizable search results by title, link, score, comments
- Results displayed in easy-to-read markdown tables
- One-click deployment on Vercel
- Built with modern tech stack (Next.js, TailwindCSS)
- No need to visit Hacker News website directly
- Simple and efficient interface
- Handles complex queries with AI function calling
- Streaming AI responses for faster interaction
- MIT license allows free modification
- Active GitHub repository for contributions
- Perfect for tech news enthusiasts and developers
Chat cons
- Requires OpenAI API key for self-hosting
- Only works with Hacker News content
- Depends on OpenAI Functions (paid API)
- Limited to top stories and comments
- No mobile app available
- Self-hosting requires technical knowledge
- No advanced filtering beyond title/link/score/comments
- Cannot search historical content beyond API limits
Frequently asked questions about Chat
What is ChatHN?
ChatHN is an open-source AI chatbot that uses OpenAI Functions and the Vercel AI SDK to interact with the Hacker News API using natural language, allowing users to query top stories, summarize comments, and get details about trending topics.
Is ChatHN free to use?
Yes, ChatHN is completely free and open-source under the MIT license. The hosted version at chathn.vercel.app is free to use, though self-hosting requires your own OpenAI API key with associated costs.
How do I deploy my own version of ChatHN?
You can deploy your own version with one-click on Vercel, or set it up locally by cloning the GitHub repository and setting the OPENAI_API_KEY environment variable.
What technology powers ChatHN?
ChatHN is built with Next.js as the framework, OpenAI Functions for AI completions, Vercel AI SDK for AI streaming, TailwindCSS for styling, and Vercel for deployments.
What can I ask ChatHN about Hacker News?
You can ask about top stories, get summaries of comments from the top story, retrieve specific articles with their comments, find details about current hottest topics, and customize results by title, link, score, and comment count.
Do I need an OpenAI API key to use ChatHN?
No, you don't need an API key to use the hosted version at chathn.vercel.app. However, if you want to self-host your own instance, you need to provide your own OPENAI_API_KEY.
Can I contribute to ChatHN?
Yes, ChatHN is open-source and welcomes contributions. You can open issues on GitHub to report bugs, suggest enhancements, or submit pull requests to add new features and improvements.
What license is ChatHN under?
ChatHN is licensed under the MIT license, which allows free use, modification, distribution, and private use of the software.
Does ChatHN work on mobile devices?
ChatHN is a web-based tool built with Next.js and TailwindCSS with a responsive interface, so it should work on mobile browsers, though there is no dedicated mobile app.
Who created ChatHN?
ChatHN was created by Steven Tey (@steventey) as an open-source project to facilitate conversational access to Hacker News content without requiring direct usage of the Hacker News website or API.