Hacker ApprovedDepartments

Hacker News client for macOS

The most recommended of 11 hacker news clients

Fast, simple native reader for browsing Hacker News that feels uncluttered, though critics say it looks much like the web version with little UI improvement.

Fast, simple native reader for browsing Hacker News that feels uncluttered, though critics say it looks much like the web version with little UI improvement.

31 people gave an opinion

recommend it
26
criticize it
5
approval share
84%
Each figure is one person. RecommendsCriticizes

Recommended in 1 of 13 months

  1. November 2025: not recommended
  2. December 2025: not recommended
  3. January 2026: not recommended
  4. February 2026: recommended
  5. March 2026: not recommended
  6. April 2026: not recommended
  7. May 2026: not recommended
  8. June 2026: not recommended
  9. July 2026: not recommended
  10. August 2026: not recommended
  11. September 2026: not recommended
  12. October 2026: not recommended
  13. November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)

Why it doesn’t carry the badge

  • 26 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
  • 5.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
  • Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.

The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works

What people say about it

The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.

Why people recommend it

Each mark is one comment

  • Native feel and quick performance

    “Very native feel and it's quick too.”

    Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

    “The UX feels very smooth too”

    Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”
  • Simple, decluttered, useful for browsing

    “I enjoy it for browsing, switching between articles.”

    Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

    “The app is simple, useful and feels de-cluttered.”

    Comment from 21 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

    “This is really good and I can definitely see myself using it instead of visiting the website.”

    Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”
  • Compact SwiftUI code, useful to study

    “The 2k lines of Swift for a fully functional native app is impressive”

    Comment from 21 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

    “Definitely super helpful to see how it's done.”

    Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”
  • Praise for the launch

    “Sounds really cool! I'd love to check it out.”

    Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

    “Can’t wait to see what you come up with.”

    Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

    “This is really really nice! Great work!”

    Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

What people warn about

Each mark is one comment

  • Looks like web version, little improved

    “It looks exactly like the web version, without any improvements over the abysmal HN threading.”

    Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

    “i thought there would be at least some kind of an improvement in UI but its like a step back”

    Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

Other hacker news clients people recommend

The four most recommended other hacker news clients, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.

Hacker News client for macOS compared with 4 alternatives
ProductRecommendCriticizeApprovalMonthsOwnedBadge
Hacker News client for macOSThis page26584%1——
hcker.news18482%10—Approved
hckrnews.com180100%8—Approved
The Front Page160100%5—Approved
Hacker News, without AI16673%5—Approved
See all 11 hacker news clients, ranked

What people said

29 of the 41 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.

“I can't update (Hacker News menu > Check for updates…) without MacOS 15.”

MixedComment from 22 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“it makes the people who opt into updates more like testers on a "nightly" release cycle”

CriticizesComment from 21 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“getting a new sparkle update dialog everytime is getting very annoying”

CriticizesComment from 21 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“85mb is electron territory...”

CriticizesComment from 21 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“The app is simple, useful and feels de-cluttered.”

RecommendsComment from 21 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“This feature is very useful :)”

RecommendsComment from 21 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“Your HN newsreader app tries to improve the broken wheel.”

CriticizesComment from 21 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“The 2k lines of Swift for a fully functional native app is impressive”

RecommendsComment from 21 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“left arrow to open the comments is debatable, but i kind of like it”

MixedComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“I enjoy it for browsing, switching between articles.”

RecommendsComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“Can’t wait to see what you come up with.”

RecommendsComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“Sounds really cool! I'd love to check it out.”

RecommendsComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“Definitely super helpful to see how it's done.”

RecommendsComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“I think this is a cool project”

RecommendsComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“It looks exactly like the web version, without any improvements over the abysmal HN threading.”

CriticizesComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“i thought there would be at least some kind of an improvement in UI but its like a step back”

CriticizesComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“Thank you for the MIT license, I’ll be able to add my own.”

RecommendsComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“The UX feels very smooth too”

RecommendsComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“Congratulations on getting this out!”

RecommendsComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“thinking it'd navigate me to the comments”

MixedComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“This is really good and I can definitely see myself using it instead of visiting the website.”

RecommendsComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“Very nice. Commenting from it right now.”

RecommendsComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“This is really really nice! Great work!”

RecommendsComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“Great! I was just looking for a replacement for”

RecommendsComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“if you have high res monitor the fonts are too small”

MixedComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“Very native feel and it's quick too.”

RecommendsComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“tried it, already miss the `threads` tab”

MixedComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“This is a good start, but I think a better approach would be to piggyback off of ublock origin's lists.”

MixedComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

“I can't even do the default `CMD + +` to zoom in.”

MixedComment from 20 Feb 2026 in “Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI”

Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.