hn-prospecting
Find high-intent leads on Hacker News via the free Algolia API — no API key needed. Score posts, surface Ask HN threads, and identify technical founders actively seeking tools.
Install via CLI (Recommended)
clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/3rdbrain/hn-prospectingWhat This Skill Does
The Hacker News (HN) Prospecting skill is a specialized agent tool designed to extract high-intent sales leads from the Hacker News platform using the free Algolia API. Instead of relying on manual scrolling, this skill automates the discovery of technical founders, early adopters, and potential buyers who are actively discussing pain points or seeking software solutions. It parses HN threads, comments, and story data to filter for buying signals, allowing users to identify opportunities in real-time without needing an API key or complex authentication.
Installation
To install this skill, use the ClawHub CLI tool in your terminal:
clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/3rdbrain/hn-prospecting
Once installed, you can invoke the utility using Node.js from your project's base directory:
node {baseDir}/hn-prospecting.js <command> [args]
Ensure your local environment supports Node.js execution to utilize the underlying logic, which interacts directly with the public Algolia HN endpoint.
Use Cases
- Lead Generation: Identify users asking for "alternatives to [competitor]" to insert your solution into the conversation.
- Market Research: Monitor the "Ask HN" section to understand the most pressing technical problems your target audience is facing.
- Competitive Intelligence: Track mentions of your competitors to see what users dislike about their offerings.
- Trend Spotting: Use the
frontcommand to identify hot topics that could serve as content marketing inspiration or cold outreach hooks.
Example Prompts
- "OpenClaw, use the hn-prospecting skill to find any recent threads where people are complaining about high latency in database monitoring tools."
- "Search Hacker News for threads asking for alternatives to Mailchimp and summarize the top suggestions provided by users."
- "Check the current HN front page and identify any posts related to developer productivity tools that have high comment counts."
Tips & Limitations
To get the best results, always prioritize "Ask HN" threads, as these contain explicit buying intent. Remember that HN is a community-driven platform; avoid overly aggressive, automated spamming, as this will lead to account shadow-banning. The skill relies on the Algolia API, so it is limited to the data indexed by their service. While highly effective, it does not provide direct contact information (emails/phones) for the users; you will need to engage via thread replies or LinkedIn outreach once you have identified a lead.
Metadata
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Find the right skillPaste this into your clawhub.json to enable this plugin.
{
"plugins": {
"official-3rdbrain-hn-prospecting": {
"enabled": true,
"auto_update": true
}
}
}Tags(AI)
Flags: network-access
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