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Fetch a Hacker News discussion from a Slack reaction

Mark a Slack message for follow-up and get the Hacker News item context in the run report.

Trigger

Message Reaction Added

Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.

Action

Get Hackernews Item

Get a specific item from hacker news using its id. limits response size to prevent context overflow.

Why this helps

A story worth investigating gets a quick reaction in chat, then disappears before anyone captures its key context.

  • Use a lightweight reaction to signal a follow-up.
  • Retrieve a specific item for closer review.
  • Keep story context attached to an existing Slack conversation.

Setup

Build it in a few focused steps.

  • 1Connect Slack and Hackernews to Notis once through the portal.
  • 2Create an automation through the portal or ask Notis to set it up in plain language.
  • 3In one instruction, ask Notis to fetch and summarize a Hacker News item when a Slack message with its link or item ID receives your chosen reaction.
  • 4Select Message Reaction Added and choose where run reports should appear.
  • 5Test by reacting to a Slack message that contains a real Hacker News link.

Questions about this workflow

What should the Slack message contain?

Include a Hacker News link or item ID so Notis can identify which discussion to fetch.

Can the reaction be used as a follow-up signal?

Yes. Describe the reaction and intended behavior in the instruction, then choose Message Reaction Added as the trigger.

When this happens · Trigger

Do this · Action

Supported Triggers and Actions

Notis builds workflows that link Slack to Hackernews. A trigger fires from one place; an action lands in another.

Slack triggers

Hackernews actions

Recurring trigger

Notis starts this workflow on a schedule, such as daily, weekly, or during business hours.

TriggerScheduled

Get Hackernews Frontpage

Get the frontpage posts of hacker news.

ActionInstant

Webhook trigger

Notis starts this workflow when an external tool or custom backend sends an HTTP request.

TriggerInstant

Get Hackernews Item

Get a specific item from hacker news using its id. limits response size to prevent context overflow.

ActionInstant

New Channel Created Trigger

Triggered when a new channel is created in Slack.

TriggerInstant

Get Latest Hackernews Posts

Get the latest posts from hacker news based on optional filters. results can be limited using the size parameter.

ActionInstant

Channel Message Received

Triggered when a message is posted in a Slack channel (public, private, or multi-party IM). Does NOT match direct messages.

TriggerInstant

Get Hackernews Today Posts

Get today's posts from hacker news.

ActionInstant

Direct Message Received

Triggered when a new direct message (DM) is sent to a user in Slack. Catches all DMs across all DM channels.

TriggerInstant

Get Hackernews User

Get a specific user from hacker news using their username.

ActionInstant

Message Reaction Added

Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.

TriggerInstant

Search Hackernews Posts

Get relevant posts from hacker news based on a full-text query and optional filters. results can be limited using the size parameter.

ActionInstant

Message Reaction Removed

Triggered when a reaction is removed from a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.

TriggerInstant

Reaction Added Trigger

DEPRECATED: use `SLACK_MESSAGE_REACTION_ADDED` instead. Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack.

TriggerInstant

Connect any two apps with Notis in the middle.

Slack and Hackernews, or any other combination from 1,000+ integrations.

When this happens · Trigger

Do this · Action

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