Mindket
English
English简体中文
Sign inSign up
StoreMCPSkillsCalculatorLearnPriceBlog
Discover
Research312Writing59Business95Legal13Finance & accounting33Marketing & SEO175Developer1,427Productivity391Education81Companions14
Help and support
Language
English简体中文

Chat agent with a Hacker News lookup run as a workflow tool

by Mindketn8n workflowDeveloper
Newversion 1 · updated
Nodes8Apps2Like

Overview

  1. On new manual Chat Message
  2. Execute Workflow Trigger
  3. OpenAI Chat Model
  4. Custom tool to call the wf below
  5. AI Agent
  6. Hacker News
  7. Clean up data
  8. Stringify
Chat agent with a Hacker News lookup run as a workflow tool, picture 1
‹2 / 2›

An n8n workflow with a chat window. An OpenAI agent answers your questions and calls a tool that runs a second flow on the same canvas, which fetches 50 items from Hacker News’s search and hands them back as text.

Chat agent with a Hacker News lookup run as a workflow tool is an n8n workflow in the Developer category, listed by Mindket. It is free. This is version 1, last updated on . Download it on this page or copy its JSON, then import it into an n8n canvas. Nothing runs until you activate it in n8n.

At a glance

Runs in
  • n8n Cloud: import the file into a new workflow there
  • Your own n8n server: the same file and steps
  • Another data source: replace the Hacker News node and keep the rest, so the same chat answers from your own list
  • A tool for other agents: build the second flow in its own workflow and point the tool at that one

Platform

n8nWorkflow automation, in n8n’s cloud or on your own server
Connects 2 apps

How it works

Trigger

Chat window

It starts when you press Chat on the canvas and send a message with:

  • A question about the Hacker News posts

Actions

  1. The AI Agent reads your question and decides whether it needs the list of posts
  2. It calls hn_tool, which runs the second flow of the same workflow
  3. Hacker News’s search returns 50 items
  4. Five fields of each item are kept: title, points, url, created_at and author
  5. The items are joined into one block of JSON text and sent back to the agent
  6. The agent answers in the chat from that text

Result

A chat answer about the 50 posts, such as which one has the most points or who wrote it

Integrations

What you need before you start.

OpenAI

Language model

Runs the AI Agent’s chat model, which decides when to call hn_tool and writes the answer from what it returns.

NeedsOpenAI API key

Hacker News

Data source

Returns 50 items from its public search, with no keyword or tag.

NeedsNothing: no account or key

Workflow check

Checked by Mindket on 13 Nov 2026

Steps
6 steps, starting when another workflow calls it or on a Manual Chat event
AI
1 step calls an AI model: AI Agent
Sign-ins
Signs in to: OpenAI and Manual Chat
API keys
No API key is left in the file
Step types
Mindket’s checker reads all 6 of its step types

Read from the workflow’s file, not from a run.

About

What it is

This n8n workflow is a chat agent that answers from a live data source through a workflow tool. You open n8n’s Chat window and ask a question. An AI Agent backed by an OpenAI chat model decides when to call a tool named hn_tool. The tool runs a second flow on the same canvas. That flow asks Hacker News’s search for 50 items, keeps five fields of each and returns them as one block of JSON text. The agent reads it and answers. Eight nodes do the work, beside four sticky notes.

Who it suits

Developers and automation builders who want to learn how to give an agent a custom tool, then swap in their own data. Skip it if you need a chatbot for the public. It runs from n8n’s own Chat window, and it has no memory node, so each question is answered alone.

Who uses it, and how
IndustryWho uses itHow they use itExample
Software developmentAutomation buildersLearn the pattern of a sub-workflow as a tool, then replace Hacker News with their own sourceA builder swaps the Hacker News node for a call to their own orders API.
Research and mediaAnalysts and writersAsk questions of a list of posts instead of reading itAn analyst asks which of the fifty items has the most points.
Community and supportCommunity managersPrototype a chat helper over an internal listA manager points the tool at a list of open tickets and asks which are oldest.
TrainingInstructorsShow a class what an agent, a tool and a sub-workflow areA trainer sends one question live and opens each node’s output in turn.

You need a little n8n: import a file, add an OpenAI credential and save the workflow before the first chat. Nothing in the file states a setup time.

Where to use it

Any n8n that can reach OpenAI and Hacker News’s search address will run it.

  • n8n Cloud: import the file into a new workflow there
  • Your own n8n server: the same file and steps
  • Another data source: replace the Hacker News node and keep the rest, so the same chat answers from your own list
  • A tool for other agents: build the second flow in its own workflow and point the tool at that one

Setup

Download saves a zip with workflow.json and Mindket’s setup notes in your downloads folder. One OpenAI key covers the whole workflow.

What you need first
NeedDetail
n8nOn n8n Cloud or on a server of your own
OpenAIAn API key for the chat model
Hacker NewsNothing: its search is public
  1. In n8n, create a workflow, open its menu, choose Import from File and pick workflow.json.
  2. Add an OpenAI credential and select it in OpenAI Chat Model.
  3. Open OpenAI Chat Model and choose a current model. The file names none, so n8n fills in gpt-5-mini. OpenAI’s deprecations page, read on 12 November 2026, gives 11 December 2026 as its shutdown date and names gpt-5.6-terra as the replacement.
  4. Save the workflow. The tool calls the workflow by its own ID, so save it before the first chat.
  5. Press Chat on the canvas and ask a question about the posts.

How to use it

Press Chat, type a question and send it. The agent calls hn_tool when it needs the list, then answers in the window. Every question starts fresh, since nothing keeps the earlier ones.

What to change for a different result
To changeWhere
Which postsThe Hacker News node: its keyword, tags and limit of 50
The fields the agent seesThe five assignments in Clean up data
What the agent knows about the toolThe name and description in Custom tool to call the wf below
How many rounds the agent may takemaxIterations in AI Agent, 10 in the file
The modelOpenAI Chat Model

Example

You ask who wrote the third item on the list and how many points it has.

The agent calls hn_tool. It gets back fifty items, each with a title, points, url, created_at and author, packed into one text. It reads the third and answers in the chat with the author and the points. Check the order first, since the search sets none of its own.

For newcomers and experts

If you are new. n8n draws a workflow as boxes joined by lines, and each box, a node, does one job. The upper group is the chat agent. The lower group is a small flow that starts at Execute Workflow Trigger. The tool node points at the workflow it sits in, so the agent can run the lower flow whenever it needs data. Save first, then chat.

For experts. The agent and its tool meet only through text, so the tool’s flow can be anything that ends in one item.

Where to look closer
NodeWhat it doesWhat to know
AI AgentVersion 1.1, a Conversational agent, with maxIterations of 10Mindket’s copy sets its Text to {{ $json.chatInput }}, which is what the chat window sends
Custom tool to call the wf belowThe Call n8n Workflow Tool, version 1, with its workflow ID set to {{ $workflow.id }}It runs the workflow it sits in, so the workflow must be saved
StringifyA Code node that returns every item as JSON text in responseThe tool hands the agent that item as text

Good to know

The order of the posts is not set, and the agent answers from fifty items only.

  • Order: the node takes the first 50 hits of a search with no keyword and no tag. A note on the canvas calls them the most popular posts ever, but the node sets no sort. Check it before you rely on a question about rank
  • Memory: the file has no memory node, so every question is answered alone
  • Billing: a question that needs the list costs at least two model calls, one to decide on the tool and one to answer from it
  • Models: the file names none, and n8n fills in gpt-5-mini, which OpenAI shuts down on 11 December 2026. Step 3 names the replacement
  • Your data: the question and the fifty items go to OpenAI. The search goes to Hacker News’s search address, hn.algolia.com
  • Where it runs: from n8n’s Chat window in the editor. Nothing in the file opens a public chat
  • A repair: the original copy left the agent’s Text at its default, which reads a field the chat window does not send. Mindket’s copy reads chatInput
  • Credentials: the JSON holds none

README and files

README

Chat agent with a Hacker News lookup run as a workflow tool

An n8n workflow with a chat window. An AI Agent answers your questions, and when it needs data it calls a tool named
hn_tool. The tool is a second flow on the same canvas: it asks Hacker News's search for 50 items, keeps five fields of
each and sends them back as text. Replace the Hacker News node with any source of your own and the same chat answers from
it.

What is inside

  • workflow.json: the workflow as n8n exports it, 8 nodes beside 4 sticky notes. It holds no credential.
  • README.md: these notes.

What we changed from the original copy

The copy Mindket started from had one gap that kept the agent from seeing your question. Mindket fixed it:

  • AI Agent left its Text field at its default. For this version of the node that default reads
    {{ $json.chat_input }}, while n8n's chat window sends the message to On new manual Chat Message as chatInput. The
    agent got an empty prompt. Its Text now reads {{ $json.chatInput }}.

The file also had no name. Mindket gave it one.

Before you start

  • An n8n instance, on n8n Cloud or your own server.
  • An OpenAI API key.
  • Hacker News needs no account or key.

Set it up

  1. In n8n, create a workflow, open its menu and choose Import from File. Pick workflow.json.
  2. Add an OpenAI credential and select it in OpenAI Chat Model.
  3. Open OpenAI Chat Model and choose a current model. The file names none, so n8n fills in gpt-5-mini. OpenAI's
    deprecations page, read on 12 November 2026, gives 11 December 2026 as that model's shutdown date and names
    gpt-5.6-terra as the replacement.
  4. Save the workflow. The tool calls the workflow by its own ID, so save it before the first chat.
  5. Press Chat on the canvas and ask a question about the posts.

How a run goes

  1. On new manual Chat Message starts a run when you send a message in the Chat window.
  2. AI Agent is an agent of the Conversational type, with maxIterations set to 10. It reads your question and decides
    whether it needs the list of posts.
  3. Custom tool to call the wf below is the tool, named hn_tool. Its workflow ID is {{ $workflow.id }}, so it runs
    the workflow it sits in, starting at Execute Workflow Trigger.
  4. Hacker News runs its search with no keyword, no tag and a limit of 50.
  5. Clean up data keeps five fields of each item: title, points, url, created_at and author.
  6. Stringify turns all the items into one JSON text and returns it as a field called response.
  7. The tool hands that item to the agent as text, and the agent answers in the chat.

Change the look

  • Which posts: the Hacker News node. Its keyword, tags and limit are where to start. The sticky note beside it says to
    replace it with any other service.
  • The fields the agent sees: the five assignments in Clean up data.
  • What the agent knows about the tool: its name and description in Custom tool to call the wf below.
  • How many rounds the agent may take: maxIterations in AI Agent.
  • The model: OpenAI Chat Model.

Good to know

  • The node sets no order of its own. It takes the first 50 hits of an empty search, and a note on the canvas calls them
    the most popular posts ever. Check the order before you rely on a question about a rank.
  • The file has no memory node, so every question is answered alone.
  • A question that needs the list costs at least two model calls, one to decide on the tool and one to answer from it.
  • Your question and the items go to OpenAI. The search goes to Hacker News's search address, hn.algolia.com.
  • It runs from n8n's Chat window in the editor. Nothing in the file opens a public chat.
  • The JSON holds no credential.
Files
NOTICE.md  658 B
README.md  4 KB
workflow.json  6 KB

3 files, 11 KB, downloaded as a zip.

What’s new

  • Version 1 · 2026-11-12

Reviews

No ratings yet

Write a review

No reviews yet.

More from Mindket

See all from Mindket

Bonsai-27B-GGUF

lmstudio-community · Kit

A GGUF conversion of the 27B Bonsai model for LM Studio, with a 3.80 GB Q1_0 language file and a 0.93 GB BF16 vision projector. Tested for text, vision and par…

New

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 EXL3 2.9 bpw

LibertAIDAI · Kit

Runs DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017 as a 2.9 bits-per-weight EXL3 quantization, a 196 GiB copy for people serving large models on their own hardware. Perplexity stay…

New

MusicGen Small

facebook · Kit

Generates short music clips from a text description or an audio prompt, in the small checkpoint of facebook's MusicGen. It suits developers and music hobbyists…

New

Similar in Developer

See all in Developer

Lexnet

alpindale · Kit

Tags every character of C source code for syntax highlighting with a tiny neural network of about 984 weights, run through a small C program. For developers an…

New

FLUX.2 Klein LoRA Studio

prithivMLmods · Kit

Try a set of LoRAs for the FLUX.2 Klein image model in a Gradio app that runs in your browser or on your own computer. Made for people who make or test AI imag…

New

anaksor-ocr

Sokheng · Kit

Reads Khmer and English text from documents, receipts and photos of signs, using a detector for text lines and a recogniser for each line. Suits developers who…

New