5 tools. 0 can modify or destroy data without limits.
Read-only server. Low risk, but rate limits prevent runaway API costs.
Last updated:
Free to start. No card required.
Full per-tool breakdown → Model it in the token calculator →
Even read-only tools carry cost. An agent in a retry loop can make thousands of API calls per minute, exhausting rate limits and running up bills.
{
"hn_best": {
"limits": [
{
"counter": "hn_best_per_minute",
"window": "minute",
"max": 60,
"scope": "grant"
}
]
}
} Controls API costs and prevents retry loops from exhausting upstream rate limits.
The Hacker News MCP server is primarily read-only with 5 read tools. While it cannot modify data, an agent in a retry loop can make thousands of API calls per minute, exhausting rate limits and running up costs. Rate limiting is still recommended.
5 tools across 1 categories: Read. 5 are read-only. 0 can modify, create, or delete data.
Register the Hacker News MCP server in PolicyLayer, apply the suggested rules above (adjust the limits to your use case), and point your AI client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL instead of the server directly. Your agents keep the same tools; PolicyLayer evaluates every call against policy before it executes. Nothing to install, live in minutes.
Deterministic rules across all 5 Hacker News MCP tools. Per-identity grants. Full audit log. Live in minutes. Nothing to install.
Free to start. No card required.
4,600+ MCP servers and 31,000+ tools scanned and risk-classified.