Hacker ApprovedDepartments

Refined Hacker News

Shares rank 55 of 70 browser extensions by recommenders

People recommend it as a free add-on that makes Hacker News easier to read and navigate. Critics say the underlying code is weak and the project has not been updated in years.

People recommend it as a free add-on that makes Hacker News easier to read and navigate. Critics say the underlying code is weak and the project has not been updated in years.

7 people gave an opinion

recommend it
6
criticize it
1
approval share
86%
Each figure is one person. RecommendsCriticizes

Recommended in 3 of 13 months

  1. November 2025: not recommended
  2. December 2025: not recommended
  3. January 2026: recommended
  4. February 2026: not recommended
  5. March 2026: not recommended
  6. April 2026: recommended
  7. May 2026: not recommended
  8. June 2026: not recommended
  9. July 2026: not recommended
  10. August 2026: 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

  • 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
  • 6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
  • Recommended in 3 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

  • Great product overall

    “Great product, but the underlying code was meh, and the author abandoned it.”

    Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Orange Juice – Small UX improvements that make HN much easier to read”

    “Personally I am really happy by HN refined though so kudos to @plibither8”

    Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Orange Juice – Small UX improvements that make HN much easier to read”
  • Good base to fork

    “Let https://github.com/plibither8/refined-hacker-news be your inspiration.”

    Comment from 21 Jan 2026 in “Stories removed from the Hacker News Front Page, updated in real time”

    “Fork https://github.com/plibither8/refined-hacker-news and enhance!”

    Comment from 21 Aug 2026 in “Ask HN: Why is HN missing a "go to top" link on long posts?”

What people warn about

Each mark is one comment

  • Underlying code is poor

    “Great product, but the underlying code was meh, and the author abandoned it.”

    Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Orange Juice – Small UX improvements that make HN much easier to read”

    “the underlying code was meh, and the author abandoned it”

    Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Orange Juice – Small UX improvements that make HN much easier to read”
  • Abandoned, not updated in years

    “Great product, but the underlying code was meh, and the author abandoned it.”

    Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Orange Juice – Small UX improvements that make HN much easier to read”

    “the underlying code was meh, and the author abandoned it”

    Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Orange Juice – Small UX improvements that make HN much easier to read”

    “which hasn't received an update in 4 years”

    Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Orange Juice – Small UX improvements that make HN much easier to read”

Other browser extensions people recommend

The four most recommended other browser extensions, 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.

Refined Hacker News compared with 4 alternatives
ProductRecommendCriticizeApprovalMonthsOwnedBadge
SponsorBlock137497%13—Approved
Firefox Multi-Account Containers761385%107.5 yrs3 ownersApproved
NoScript611185%1210 yrs4 ownersApproved
Claude in Chrome534256%9——
Refined Hacker NewsThis page6186%3——
See all 70 browser extensions, ranked

What people said

All 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.

“Fork https://github.com/plibither8/refined-hacker-news and enhance!”

RecommendsComment from 21 Aug 2026 in “Ask HN: Why is HN missing a "go to top" link on long posts?”

“Refined didn't do it fully, mine covers a lot more edge cases.”

CriticizesComment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Orange Juice – Small UX improvements that make HN much easier to read”

“One thing I miss is the orange mark identifying the OP of a post.”

MixedComment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Orange Juice – Small UX improvements that make HN much easier to read”

“Great product, but the underlying code was meh, and the author abandoned it.”

MixedComment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Orange Juice – Small UX improvements that make HN much easier to read”

“which hasn't received an update in 4 years”

CriticizesComment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Orange Juice – Small UX improvements that make HN much easier to read”

“the underlying code was meh, and the author abandoned it”

MixedComment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Orange Juice – Small UX improvements that make HN much easier to read”

“Personally I am really happy by HN refined though so kudos to @plibither8”

RecommendsComment from 8 Apr 2026 in “Show HN: Orange Juice – Small UX improvements that make HN much easier to read”

“the refined HN extension has had this feature for a long time”

RecommendsComment from 7 Apr 2026 in “Sam Altman May Control Our Future – Can He Be Trusted?”

“Let https://github.com/plibither8/refined-hacker-news be your inspiration.”

RecommendsComment from 21 Jan 2026 in “Stories removed from the Hacker News Front Page, updated in real time”

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