OpenClaw is the fastest growing agent harness out there, which can work 24/7 to automate almost any kind of tasks. However, its capabilities are limited to the tools it has access to. Composio allows your OpenClaw to access Hackernews with authentication management handled for you. You can execute actions on Hackernews via your favorite OpenClaw interface (Telegram, WhatsApp, TUI, etc), whichever you prefer.
Table of Contents
Connect Hackernews without Auth hassles
We manage OAuth, API Key, token refresh, and scopes, you just build.
Try for FreeIntroduction
Why use Composio?
Apart from a managed and hosted MCP server, you will get:
- Programmatic tool calling allows LLMs to write its code in a remote workbench to handle complex tool chaining. Reduces to-and-fro with LLMs for frequent tool calling.
- Handling Large tool responses out of LLM context to minimize context rot.
- Dynamic just-in-time access to 20,000 tools across 850+ other Apps for cross-app workflows. It loads the tools you need, so LLMs aren't overwhelmed by tools you don't need.
How to install Hackernews with OpenClaw
Using Composio API Key and Setup Prompt
- Go to dashboard.composio.dev/composio/~/connect/clients/openclaw
- Copy the setup prompt
- Run it in your OpenClaw chat interface.
- Authenticate Hackernews from the dashboard
- Go back to your OpenClaw interface and start asking questions.
Using OpenClaw/Composio Plugin
1. Install OpenClaw Composio plugin
2. Copy the API Key from dashboard.composio.dev
3. Setup OpenClaw Config
openclaw config set plugins.entries.composio.config.consumerKey "ck_your_key_here"4. Restart OpenClaw
openclaw gateway restart5. Go to your chat interface and start asking questions.
6. When prompted, authenticate the app and you're all set.
How It Works
The plugin connects to Composio's MCP server at https://connect.composio.dev/mcp and registers all available tools directly into the OpenClaw agent. Tools are called by name — no extra search or execute steps needed.
If a tool returns an auth error, the agent will prompt you to connect that toolkit at dashboard.composio.dev.
Configuration
{
"plugins": {
"entries": {
"composio": {
"enabled": true,
"config": {
"consumerKey": "ck_your_key_here"
}
}
}
}
}| Option | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
enabled | Enable or disable the plugin | true |
consumerKey | Your Composio consumer key (ck_...) | — |
mcpUrl | MCP server URL (advanced) | https://connect.composio.dev/mcp |
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 & Triggers
Tools
Conclusion
You've successfully integrated Hackernews with OpenClaw using Composio plugin. Now interact with Hackernews directly from your terminal, Web UI, or any messenger app using natural language commands.
Key benefits of this setup:
- Seamless integration across TUI, Web UIs, and Messenger apps like Telegram, WhatsApp, Slack, etc.
- Natural language commands for Hackernews operations
- Managed authentication through Composio
- Access to 20,000+ tools across 850+ apps for cross-app workflows
- Programmatic tool calling for complex tool chaining
Next steps:
- Try asking OpenClaw to perform various Hackernews operations
- Explore cross-app workflows by connecting more toolkits like Calendar, Slack, Notion, etc.
- Build complex automation scripts that leverage OpenClaw's 24/7 running capabilities
How to build Hackernews MCP Agent with another framework
Explore Other Toolkits
FAQ
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 OpenClaw?
Yes, you can. OpenClaw 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.
