get_front_page

Retrieve stories currently on the Hacker News front page. Returns up to 30 stories.

Server HackerNews MCP Server sam3690/hackernews_mcp
Category Read
Risk class Low
Parameters 00 required

What get_front_page does on HackerNews MCP Server

AI agents call get_front_page to retrieve information from HackerNews MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

Why get_front_page needs a policy

This tool fetches and returns publicly available Hacker News front page content. It performs no mutations, deletions, executions, or financial operations. The blast radius of misuse is minimal—an agent could retrieve data repeatedly but cannot modify, delete, or execute anything. Confidence is high because the description is clear and unambiguous.

From the tool's definition Tool name 'get_front_page' and description 'Retrieve stories currently on the Hacker News front page' indicate a read-only retrieval operation with no side effects.

Questions about get_front_page

What does the get_front_page tool do? +

Retrieve stories currently on the Hacker News front page. Returns up to 30 stories. It is categorised as a Read tool in the HackerNews MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on get_front_page? +

Register the HackerNews MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for get_front_page: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches HackerNews MCP Server. Nothing to install.

What risk level is get_front_page? +

get_front_page is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.

Can I rate-limit get_front_page? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the get_front_page rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.

How do I block get_front_page completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for get_front_page. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.

What MCP server provides get_front_page? +

get_front_page is provided by the HackerNews MCP Server MCP server (sam3690/hackernews_mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

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