# How to integrate Hackernews MCP with Mastra AI ```json { "title": "How to integrate Hackernews MCP with Mastra AI", "toolkit": "Hackernews", "toolkit_slug": "hackernews", "framework": "Mastra AI", "framework_slug": "mastra-ai", "url": "https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/mastra-ai", "markdown_url": "https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/mastra-ai.md", "updated_at": "2026-05-12T10:14:33.217Z" } ``` ## Introduction This guide walks you through connecting Hackernews to Mastra AI using the Composio tool router. By the end, you'll have a working Hackernews agent that can summarize today's top hacker news stories, find recent posts about ai startups, show comments from this frontpage post through natural language commands. This guide will help you understand how to give your Mastra AI agent real control over a Hackernews account through Composio's Hackernews MCP server. Before we dive in, let's take a quick look at the key ideas and tools involved. ## Also integrate Hackernews with - [OpenAI Agents SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/open-ai-agents-sdk) - [Claude Agent SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/claude-agents-sdk) - [Claude Code](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/claude-code) - [Claude Cowork](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/claude-cowork) - [Codex](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/codex) - [OpenClaw](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/openclaw) - [Hermes](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/hermes-agent) - [CLI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/cli) - [Google ADK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/google-adk) - [LangChain](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/langchain) - [Vercel AI SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/ai-sdk) - [LlamaIndex](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/llama-index) - [CrewAI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/crew-ai) ## TL;DR Here's what you'll learn: - Set up your environment so Mastra, OpenAI, and Composio work together - Create a Tool Router session in Composio that exposes Hackernews tools - Connect Mastra's MCP client to the Composio generated MCP URL - Fetch Hackernews tool definitions and attach them as a toolset - Build a Mastra agent that can reason, call tools, and return structured results - Run an interactive CLI where you can chat with your Hackernews agent ## What is Mastra AI? Mastra AI is a TypeScript framework for building AI agents with tool support. It provides a clean API for creating agents that can use external services through MCP. Key features include: - MCP Client: Built-in support for Model Context Protocol servers - Toolsets: Organize tools into logical groups - Step Callbacks: Monitor and debug agent execution - OpenAI Integration: Works with OpenAI models via @ai-sdk/openai ## What is the Hackernews MCP server, and what's possible with it? The Hackernews MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent and assistants like Claude, Cursor, etc directly to the Hacker News platform. It provides structured and secure access to top tech stories, user profiles, and community discussions, so your agent can fetch trending posts, search for news, analyze user activity, and surface the latest updates on your behalf. - Frontpage highlights and trending tech stories: Instantly get the current frontpage posts so your agent can summarize or monitor what's hot in tech right now. - Smart post search and discovery: Search Hacker News posts by keyword, filter results, and explore relevant discussions tailored to your interests. - Real-time updates on new posts: Let your agent fetch the latest or today's posts, keeping you in the loop on breaking news and emerging trends. - In-depth post and comment analysis: Retrieve detailed information about any specific Hacker News item, including stories and comment threads, for deeper insights. - User profile lookup and insights: Access details about any Hacker News user, helping you analyze activity, contributions, or community reputation. ## Supported Tools | Tool slug | Name | Description | |---|---|---| | `HACKERNEWS_GET_ASK_STORIES` | Get Ask HN Story IDs | Get up to 200 latest Ask HN story IDs from Hacker News. Returns an array of item IDs for Ask HN posts in ranked order. | | `HACKERNEWS_GET_BEST_STORIES` | Get Best HackerNews Stories | Get up to 500 best story IDs from HackerNews ranked by score. Returns story IDs only. Use the returned IDs with get_item_with_id action to fetch full story details. | | `HACKERNEWS_GET_ITEM_WITH_ID` | Get Hacker News Item | Tool to get a Hacker News item by its unique ID from the Firebase API. Use when you need to retrieve details about a specific story, comment, job, poll, or pollopt. | | `HACKERNEWS_GET_ITEM_WITH_ID` | Get Hackernews Item | Get a specific item from Hacker News using its ID. Limits response size to prevent context overflow. | | `HACKERNEWS_GET_JOB_STORIES` | Get Job Story IDs | Get up to 200 latest job story IDs from Hacker News. Returns an array of item IDs for job postings that can be used to fetch full job details. | | `HACKERNEWS_GET_LATEST_POSTS` | Get Latest Hackernews Posts | Get the latest posts from Hacker News based on optional filters. Results can be limited using the size parameter. | | `HACKERNEWS_GET_MAX_ITEM_ID` | Get Max Item ID | Tool to get the current largest item ID from Hacker News. Use when you need to discover the most recent items or iterate through all items in the system by walking backward from this ID. | | `HACKERNEWS_GET_NEW_STORIES` | Get New Hacker News Stories | Get up to 500 newest story IDs from Hacker News. Returns an array of item IDs sorted by recency (most recent first). Use these IDs with the Get Item action to retrieve full story details. | | `HACKERNEWS_GET_SHOW_STORIES` | Get Show HN Stories | Tool to retrieve up to 200 latest Show HN story IDs from Hacker News. Use when you need to find recent Show HN posts where people share their projects, products, or creations. | | `HACKERNEWS_GET_TOP_STORIES` | Get Top HackerNews Stories | Get up to 500 top story IDs from HackerNews including jobs. Returns story IDs sorted by front page position. Use the returned IDs with get_item_with_id action to fetch full story details. | | `HACKERNEWS_GET_UPDATES` | Get Hacker News Updates | Get recently changed items and user profiles from Hacker News. Use this to monitor recent activity or updates on the platform. | | `HACKERNEWS_GET_USER` | Get Hacker News User | Retrieve a Hacker News user's public profile by their username. Returns the user's username, karma score, and optional bio/about text. Use this to look up information about HN community members. | | `HACKERNEWS_GET_USER_BY_USERNAME` | Get HackerNews User by Username | Tool to get a user profile by their case-sensitive username from the HackerNews Firebase API. Use when you need detailed user information including creation date, karma, bio, and submission history. Only users with public activity are available. | | `HACKERNEWS_SEARCH_POSTS` | Search Hackernews Posts | Search Hacker News posts using full-text search powered by Algolia. Use this action to find stories, comments, and discussions on Hacker News matching specific keywords. Supports filtering by post type (story, comment, show_hn, ask_hn) and by author. | ## Supported Triggers None listed. ## Creating MCP Server - Stand-alone vs Composio SDK The Hackernews MCP server is an implementation of the Model Context Protocol that connects your AI agent to Hackernews. It provides structured and secure access so your agent can perform Hackernews operations on your behalf through a secure, permission-based interface. With Composio's managed implementation, you don't have to create your own developer app. For production, if you're building an end product, we recommend using your own credentials. The managed server helps you prototype fast and go from 0-1 faster. ## Step-by-step Guide ### 1. Prerequisites Before starting, make sure you have: - Node.js 18 or higher - A Composio account with an active API key - An OpenAI API key - Basic familiarity with TypeScript ### 1. Getting API Keys for OpenAI and Composio OpenAI API Key - Go to the [OpenAI dashboard](https://platform.openai.com/settings/organization/api-keys) and create an API key. - You need credits or a connected billing setup to use the models. - Store the key somewhere safe. Composio API Key - Log in to the [Composio dashboard](https://dashboard.composio.dev?utm_source=toolkits&utm_medium=framework_docs). - Go to Settings and copy your API key. - This key lets your Mastra agent talk to Composio and reach Hackernews through MCP. ### 2. Install dependencies Install the required packages. What's happening: - @composio/core is the Composio SDK for creating MCP sessions - @mastra/core provides the Agent class - @mastra/mcp is Mastra's MCP client - @ai-sdk/openai is the model wrapper for OpenAI - dotenv loads environment variables from .env ```bash npm install @composio/core @mastra/core @mastra/mcp @ai-sdk/openai dotenv ``` ### 3. Set up environment variables Create a .env file in your project root. What's happening: - COMPOSIO_API_KEY authenticates your requests to Composio - COMPOSIO_USER_ID tells Composio which user this session belongs to - OPENAI_API_KEY lets the Mastra agent call OpenAI models ```bash COMPOSIO_API_KEY=your_composio_api_key_here COMPOSIO_USER_ID=your_user_id_here OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key_here ``` ### 4. Import libraries and validate environment What's happening: - dotenv/config auto loads your .env so process.env.* is available - openai gives you a Mastra compatible model wrapper - Agent is the Mastra agent that will call tools and produce answers - MCPClient connects Mastra to your Composio MCP server - Composio is used to create a Tool Router session ```typescript import "dotenv/config"; import { openai } from "@ai-sdk/openai"; import { Agent } from "@mastra/core/agent"; import { MCPClient } from "@mastra/mcp"; import { Composio } from "@composio/core"; import * as readline from "readline"; import type { AiMessageType } from "@mastra/core/agent"; const openaiAPIKey = process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY; const composioAPIKey = process.env.COMPOSIO_API_KEY; const composioUserID = process.env.COMPOSIO_USER_ID; if (!openaiAPIKey) throw new Error("OPENAI_API_KEY is not set"); if (!composioAPIKey) throw new Error("COMPOSIO_API_KEY is not set"); if (!composioUserID) throw new Error("COMPOSIO_USER_ID is not set"); const composio = new Composio({ apiKey: composioAPIKey as string, }); ``` ### 5. Create a Tool Router session for Hackernews What's happening: - create spins up a short-lived MCP HTTP endpoint for this user - The toolkits array contains "hackernews" for Hackernews access - session.mcp.url is the MCP URL that Mastra's MCPClient will connect to ```typescript async function main() { const session = await composio.create( composioUserID as string, { toolkits: ["hackernews"], }, ); const composioMCPUrl = session.mcp.url; console.log("Hackernews MCP URL:", composioMCPUrl); ``` ### 6. Configure Mastra MCP client and fetch tools What's happening: - MCPClient takes an id for this client and a list of MCP servers - The headers property includes the x-api-key for authentication - getTools fetches the tool definitions exposed by the Hackernews toolkit ```typescript const mcpClient = new MCPClient({ id: composioUserID as string, servers: { nasdaq: { url: new URL(composioMCPUrl), requestInit: { headers: session.mcp.headers, }, }, }, timeout: 30_000, }); console.log("Fetching MCP tools from Composio..."); const composioTools = await mcpClient.getTools(); console.log("Number of tools:", Object.keys(composioTools).length); ``` ### 7. Create the Mastra agent What's happening: - Agent is the core Mastra agent - name is just an identifier for logging and debugging - instructions guide the agent to use tools instead of only answering in natural language - model uses openai("gpt-5") to configure the underlying LLM ```typescript const agent = new Agent({ name: "hackernews-mastra-agent", instructions: "You are an AI agent with Hackernews tools via Composio.", model: "openai/gpt-5", }); ``` ### 8. Set up interactive chat interface What's happening: - messages keeps the full conversation history in Mastra's expected format - agent.generate runs the agent with conversation history and Hackernews toolsets - maxSteps limits how many tool calls the agent can take in a single run - onStepFinish is a hook that prints intermediate steps for debugging ```typescript let messages: AiMessageType[] = []; console.log("Chat started! Type 'exit' or 'quit' to end.\n"); const rl = readline.createInterface({ input: process.stdin, output: process.stdout, prompt: "> ", }); rl.prompt(); rl.on("line", async (userInput: string) => { const trimmedInput = userInput.trim(); if (["exit", "quit", "bye"].includes(trimmedInput.toLowerCase())) { console.log("\nGoodbye!"); rl.close(); process.exit(0); } if (!trimmedInput) { rl.prompt(); return; } messages.push({ id: crypto.randomUUID(), role: "user", content: trimmedInput, }); console.log("\nAgent is thinking...\n"); try { const response = await agent.generate(messages, { toolsets: { hackernews: composioTools, }, maxSteps: 8, }); const { text } = response; if (text && text.trim().length > 0) { console.log(`Agent: ${text}\n`); messages.push({ id: crypto.randomUUID(), role: "assistant", content: text, }); } } catch (error) { console.error("\nError:", error); } rl.prompt(); }); rl.on("close", async () => { console.log("\nSession ended."); await mcpClient.disconnect(); process.exit(0); }); } main().catch((err) => { console.error("Fatal error:", err); process.exit(1); }); ``` ## Complete Code ```typescript import "dotenv/config"; import { openai } from "@ai-sdk/openai"; import { Agent } from "@mastra/core/agent"; import { MCPClient } from "@mastra/mcp"; import { Composio } from "@composio/core"; import * as readline from "readline"; import type { AiMessageType } from "@mastra/core/agent"; const openaiAPIKey = process.env.OPENAI_API_KEY; const composioAPIKey = process.env.COMPOSIO_API_KEY; const composioUserID = process.env.COMPOSIO_USER_ID; if (!openaiAPIKey) throw new Error("OPENAI_API_KEY is not set"); if (!composioAPIKey) throw new Error("COMPOSIO_API_KEY is not set"); if (!composioUserID) throw new Error("COMPOSIO_USER_ID is not set"); const composio = new Composio({ apiKey: composioAPIKey as string }); async function main() { const session = await composio.create(composioUserID as string, { toolkits: ["hackernews"], }); const composioMCPUrl = session.mcp.url; const mcpClient = new MCPClient({ id: composioUserID as string, servers: { hackernews: { url: new URL(composioMCPUrl), requestInit: { headers: session.mcp.headers, }, }, }, timeout: 30_000, }); const composioTools = await mcpClient.getTools(); const agent = new Agent({ name: "hackernews-mastra-agent", instructions: "You are an AI agent with Hackernews tools via Composio.", model: "openai/gpt-5", }); let messages: AiMessageType[] = []; const rl = readline.createInterface({ input: process.stdin, output: process.stdout, prompt: "> ", }); rl.prompt(); rl.on("line", async (input: string) => { const trimmed = input.trim(); if (["exit", "quit"].includes(trimmed.toLowerCase())) { rl.close(); return; } messages.push({ id: crypto.randomUUID(), role: "user", content: trimmed }); const { text } = await agent.generate(messages, { toolsets: { hackernews: composioTools }, maxSteps: 8, }); if (text) { console.log(`Agent: ${text}\n`); messages.push({ id: crypto.randomUUID(), role: "assistant", content: text }); } rl.prompt(); }); rl.on("close", async () => { await mcpClient.disconnect(); process.exit(0); }); } main(); ``` ## Conclusion You've built a Mastra AI agent that can interact with Hackernews through Composio's Tool Router. You can extend this further by: - Adding other toolkits like Gmail, Slack, or GitHub - Building a web-based chat interface around this agent - Using multiple MCP endpoints to enable cross-app workflows ## How to build Hackernews MCP Agent with another framework - [OpenAI Agents SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/open-ai-agents-sdk) - [Claude Agent SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/claude-agents-sdk) - [Claude Code](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/claude-code) - [Claude Cowork](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/claude-cowork) - [Codex](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/codex) - [OpenClaw](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/openclaw) - [Hermes](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/hermes-agent) - [CLI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/cli) - [Google ADK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/google-adk) - [LangChain](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/langchain) - [Vercel AI SDK](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/ai-sdk) - [LlamaIndex](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/llama-index) - [CrewAI](https://composio.dev/toolkits/hackernews/framework/crew-ai) ## Related Toolkits - [Supabase](https://composio.dev/toolkits/supabase) - Supabase is an open-source backend platform offering scalable Postgres databases, authentication, storage, and real-time APIs. It lets developers build modern apps without managing infrastructure. - [Codeinterpreter](https://composio.dev/toolkits/codeinterpreter) - Codeinterpreter is a Python-based coding environment with built-in data analysis and visualization. It lets you instantly run scripts, plot results, and prototype solutions inside supported platforms. - [GitHub](https://composio.dev/toolkits/github) - GitHub is a code hosting platform for version control and collaborative software development. It streamlines project management, code review, and team workflows in one place. - [Ably](https://composio.dev/toolkits/ably) - Ably is a real-time messaging platform for live chat and data sync in modern apps. It offers global scale and rock-solid reliability for seamless, instant experiences. - [Abuselpdb](https://composio.dev/toolkits/abuselpdb) - Abuselpdb is a central database for reporting and checking IPs linked to malicious online activity. Use it to quickly identify and report suspicious or abusive IP addresses. - [Alchemy](https://composio.dev/toolkits/alchemy) - Alchemy is a blockchain development platform offering APIs and tools for Ethereum apps. It simplifies building and scaling Web3 projects with robust infrastructure. - [Algolia](https://composio.dev/toolkits/algolia) - Algolia is a hosted search API that powers lightning-fast, relevant search experiences for web and mobile apps. It helps developers deliver instant, typo-tolerant, and scalable search without complex infrastructure. - [Anchor browser](https://composio.dev/toolkits/anchor_browser) - Anchor browser is a developer platform for AI-powered web automation. It transforms complex browser actions into easy API endpoints for streamlined web interaction. - [Apiflash](https://composio.dev/toolkits/apiflash) - Apiflash is a website screenshot API for programmatically capturing web pages. It delivers high-quality screenshots on demand for automation, monitoring, or reporting. - [Apiverve](https://composio.dev/toolkits/apiverve) - Apiverve delivers a suite of powerful APIs that simplify integration for developers. It's designed for reliability and scalability so you can build faster, smarter applications without the integration headache. - [Appcircle](https://composio.dev/toolkits/appcircle) - Appcircle is an enterprise-grade mobile CI/CD platform for building, testing, and publishing mobile apps. It streamlines mobile DevOps so teams ship faster and with more confidence. - [Appdrag](https://composio.dev/toolkits/appdrag) - Appdrag is a cloud platform for building websites, APIs, and databases with drag-and-drop tools and code editing. It accelerates development and iteration by combining hosting, database management, and low-code features in one place. - [Appveyor](https://composio.dev/toolkits/appveyor) - AppVeyor is a cloud-based continuous integration service for building, testing, and deploying applications. It helps developers automate and streamline their software delivery pipelines. - [Backendless](https://composio.dev/toolkits/backendless) - Backendless is a backend-as-a-service platform for mobile and web apps, offering database, file storage, user authentication, and APIs. It helps developers ship scalable applications faster without managing server infrastructure. - [Baserow](https://composio.dev/toolkits/baserow) - Baserow is an open-source no-code database platform for building collaborative data apps. It makes it easy for teams to organize data and automate workflows without writing code. - [Bench](https://composio.dev/toolkits/bench) - Bench is a benchmarking tool for automated performance measurement and analysis. It helps you quickly evaluate, compare, and track your systems or workflows. - [Better stack](https://composio.dev/toolkits/better_stack) - Better Stack is a monitoring, logging, and incident management solution for apps and services. It helps teams ensure application reliability and performance with real-time insights. - [Bitbucket](https://composio.dev/toolkits/bitbucket) - Bitbucket is a Git-based code hosting and collaboration platform for teams. It enables secure repository management and streamlined code reviews. - [Blazemeter](https://composio.dev/toolkits/blazemeter) - Blazemeter is a continuous testing platform for web and mobile app performance. It empowers teams to automate and analyze large-scale tests with ease. - [Blocknative](https://composio.dev/toolkits/blocknative) - Blocknative delivers real-time mempool monitoring and transaction management for public blockchains. Instantly track pending transactions and optimize blockchain interactions with live data. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What are the differences in Tool Router MCP and Hackernews MCP? With a standalone Hackernews MCP server, the agents and LLMs can only access a fixed set of Hackernews tools tied to that server. However, with the Composio Tool Router, agents can dynamically load tools from Hackernews and many other apps based on the task at hand, all through a single MCP endpoint. ### Can I use Tool Router MCP with Mastra AI? Yes, you can. Mastra AI fully supports MCP integration. You get structured tool calling, message history handling, and model orchestration while Tool Router takes care of discovering and serving the right Hackernews tools. ### Can I manage the permissions and scopes for Hackernews while using Tool Router? Yes, absolutely. You can configure which Hackernews scopes and actions are allowed when connecting your account to Composio. You can also bring your own OAuth credentials or API configuration so you keep full control over what the agent can do. ### How safe is my data with Composio Tool Router? All sensitive data such as tokens, keys, and configuration is fully encrypted at rest and in transit. Composio is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant and follows strict security practices so your Hackernews data and credentials are handled as safely as possible. --- [See all toolkits](https://composio.dev/toolkits) ยท [Composio docs](https://docs.composio.dev/llms.txt)