- 3 Likes
- 43 Installs
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Get email notifications any time an author you follow posts in Hacker News.
This app is a scheduled TypeScript function that will poll Hacker News for any new posts by authors you want to follow. You can fork & customize any piece of it.

Architecture
@rodrigotello.hnFollowApp
is a TypeScript function that returns a function that polls Hacker News. We save that returned function in your Val Town account as hnFollow
and schedule it to run every hour.
Below is a simplified view of call stack for this app, starting with installing it at the top, polling the Hacker News Agolia API down the lefthand side, and formatting the email to send you down the righthand side.

Forking
You can fork & edit any of these functions. You'll need to start by forking @rodrigotello.hnFollowApp
, and then you can replace any calls to functions you want to change with calls to your own forked version.
Prior art
It's been tricky to strike the right balance between a personal script and a ready-to-use app. This is the 5th iteration of hnFollow. It has been:
- a tutorial
- a better tutorial
- a standalone app: HNFollow
- a forkable val:
@stevekrouse.hnFollowPollJob