This workflow follows the Agent → Chat Trigger recipe pattern — see all workflows that pair these two integrations.
The workflow JSON
Copy or download the full n8n JSON below. Paste it into a new n8n workflow, add your credentials, activate. Full import guide →
{
"meta": {
"templateCredsSetupCompleted": true
},
"nodes": [
{
"id": "b6836974-0d4b-482b-8a8a-c00f229f1136",
"name": "Sticky Note",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
100,
500
],
"parameters": {
"color": 7,
"width": 150,
"height": 293,
"content": "### Replace me\nwith any other service, e.g. fetching your own data"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "c0b8b657-24b8-4c0b-bfe9-d4fe2075dbe5",
"name": "Sticky Note1",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
-180,
420
],
"parameters": {
"color": 7,
"width": 927.5,
"height": 406.875,
"content": "### Sub-workflow: Custom tool\nThis can be called by the agent above. This example fetches the top 50 posts ever on Hacker News"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "a1dab7b1-b028-44a2-ab55-d8edee62e261",
"name": "Sticky Note2",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
-180,
-120
],
"parameters": {
"color": 7,
"width": 927.5,
"height": 486.5625,
"content": "### Main workflow: AI agent using custom tool\nTry it out by clicking 'Chat' and entering 'What is the 5th most popular post ever on Hacker News?'"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "84d91346-6b1d-4808-a6b3-ce212cd122d0",
"name": "Sticky Note3",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote",
"position": [
-340,
-20
],
"parameters": {
"width": 185.9375,
"height": 218,
"content": "## Try me out\n\nClick the 'Chat' button and enter:\n\n_What is the 5th most popular post ever on Hacker News?_"
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "50c7208d-d2dc-4380-9f81-6d7f4dee40b3",
"name": "When chat message received",
"type": "@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.chatTrigger",
"position": [
-40,
20
],
"parameters": {
"options": {}
},
"typeVersion": 1.1
},
{
"id": "6170523b-ac2d-4541-9186-0f2932829a36",
"name": "Custom tool to call the wf below1",
"type": "@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.toolWorkflow",
"position": [
480,
220
],
"parameters": {
"name": "hn_tool",
"workflowId": {
"__rl": true,
"mode": "id",
"value": "={{ $workflow.id }}"
},
"description": "Returns a list of the most popular posts ever on Hacker News, in json format",
"workflowInputs": {
"value": {},
"schema": [],
"mappingMode": "defineBelow",
"matchingColumns": [],
"attemptToConvertTypes": false,
"convertFieldsToString": false
}
},
"typeVersion": 2
},
{
"id": "3f40434e-4055-4d8f-be26-051da2911aa1",
"name": "When Executed by Another Workflow",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.executeWorkflowTrigger",
"position": [
-120,
640
],
"parameters": {
"inputSource": "passthrough"
},
"typeVersion": 1.1
},
{
"id": "4a6cf195-6862-4007-b791-d021583a771e",
"name": "Hacker News",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.hackerNews",
"position": [
120,
640
],
"parameters": {
"limit": 50,
"resource": "all",
"additionalFields": {}
},
"typeVersion": 1
},
{
"id": "03095e43-0d6e-47c0-8936-dceb2fb0dfb1",
"name": "Clean up data",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.set",
"position": [
340,
640
],
"parameters": {
"options": {},
"assignments": {
"assignments": [
{
"id": "171d5a66-fc72-42ab-9f6c-0c137f6b3415",
"name": "title",
"type": "string",
"value": "={{ $json._highlightResult.title.value }}"
},
{
"id": "e6662f7e-8e44-43d6-8e8b-6162bfec34bc",
"name": "points",
"type": "string",
"value": "={{ $json.points }}"
},
{
"id": "7415a9f0-7cd4-4bad-bbcf-1903520af155",
"name": "url",
"type": "string",
"value": "={{ $json.url }}"
},
{
"id": "8b0c67a6-89b0-40de-85f2-b80c9298d81f",
"name": "created_at",
"type": "string",
"value": "={{ $json.created_at }}"
},
{
"id": "b7847fbb-4428-4a5b-980e-08e6069b0ac4",
"name": "author",
"type": "string",
"value": "={{ $json.author }}"
}
]
}
},
"typeVersion": 3.4
},
{
"id": "50ee96c0-36d6-4774-b5cf-b653f5b56868",
"name": "Stringify",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.code",
"position": [
560,
640
],
"parameters": {
"jsCode": "return {\n 'response': JSON.stringify($input.all().map(x => x.json))\n}"
},
"typeVersion": 2
},
{
"id": "ba221fc3-5249-4295-b64e-2c7370c6dad4",
"name": "AI Agent",
"type": "@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent",
"position": [
260,
20
],
"parameters": {
"options": {}
},
"typeVersion": 1.8
},
{
"id": "e8c45847-cc26-47b3-898c-8063b9c4b3a9",
"name": "OpenAI Chat Model",
"type": "@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmChatOpenAi",
"position": [
220,
200
],
"parameters": {
"model": {
"__rl": true,
"mode": "list",
"value": "gpt-4o-mini"
},
"options": {}
},
"credentials": {
"openAiApi": {
"name": "<your credential>"
}
},
"typeVersion": 1.2
}
],
"connections": {
"Hacker News": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Clean up data",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Clean up data": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Stringify",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"OpenAI Chat Model": {
"ai_languageModel": [
[
{
"node": "AI Agent",
"type": "ai_languageModel",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"When chat message received": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "AI Agent",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"Custom tool to call the wf below1": {
"ai_tool": [
[
{
"node": "AI Agent",
"type": "ai_tool",
"index": 0
}
]
]
},
"When Executed by Another Workflow": {
"main": [
[
{
"node": "Hacker News",
"type": "main",
"index": 0
}
]
]
}
}
}
Credentials you'll need
Each integration node will prompt for credentials when you import. We strip credential IDs before publishing — you'll add your own.
openAiApi
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How this works
This workflow enables you to query Hacker News directly through a chat interface, delivering real-time summaries and insights on top stories, discussions, or specific topics without leaving your conversation. It's ideal for developers, journalists, or tech enthusiasts who want quick access to the latest from the Hacker News API integrated seamlessly with OpenAI's chat capabilities for natural language processing. The key step involves the chat trigger capturing your message, which then routes to an AI agent that fetches and refines Hacker News data before responding intelligently.
Use this workflow when you need conversational access to Hacker News updates during brainstorming sessions or research, such as asking for trending posts on AI advancements. Avoid it for high-volume data scraping or non-chat environments, where direct API calls might suffice. Common variations include adding filters for user-specific stories or integrating with email notifications for daily digests.
About this workflow
Executeworkflow Hackernews. Uses stickyNote, chatTrigger, toolWorkflow, executeWorkflowTrigger. Chat trigger; 12 nodes.
Source: https://github.com/Zie619/n8n-workflows — original creator credit. Request a take-down →
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