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Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Refined Hacker News

Interface tweaks & features to make the HN experience better

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Refined Hacker News launched in 2020; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

  1. 1

    ✨ Hacker News, but refined — Interface tweaks and features to make the HN experience better - plibither8/refined-hacker-news

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

  2. 2HN

    Hello everyone! This is a browser extension that attempts to enhance Hacker News user experience, while your data is kept secure, and private (never leaves the browser). Browsers have evolved significantly since doing a v1 back in 2010, which was one of the contributing factors, for attempting a complete re-take few months ago. Personally, I was surprised how useful it turned out to be when browsing around HN. On the linked page you can find install link(s) from web-browser stores, and demo video/screenshots of the features[1] What do you think ? [1] including, browsing content with…

    2023 · carina.app · its alternatives →

  3. 3
  4. 4

    A beautiful, clean, modern web UI for Hacker News

    2022 · modernhn.com · its alternatives →

  5. 5

    Hey HN, I made this free browser extension that modernizes the Hacker News design. I previously launched Modern for Wikipedia [1] here back in December, and it seemed like the obvious next choice to build one for HN too! So I've taken what I learned from building that, and have spent all my spare time this year building Modern for HN. I realize this won't be for everyone, but it was a fun project to work on, and I'm really happy with the result so far. Hope you like it too! Lots more planned for future updates, and suggestions welcome :) [1]…

    2022 · modernhn.com · its alternatives →

  6. 6

    HN is great for the links people share, but a big part of the value I get comes from reading the discussion around them. I realized I was always opening the article in one tab and the comments in another, constantly switching back and forth. I figured there was probably a simpler way, so I threw together this userscript to merge the two. 1. Clicking a link from Hacker News opens the article with a side panel containing the discussion. It doesn't require your credentials, is resizable, and is easy to tweak if you want to customize it. 2. If you land on an article that has previously been…

    Jul 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  7. 7HS
  8. 8

    I've been working on and off on a Chrome Extension for Hacker News, the extension focusses on improved usability rather than design. I can almost guarantee that after a day you won't want to go back to regular Hacker News. Give it a try, features include: - Improved readability - Quick inline replies from comments page - Quick profiles with social network info when hovering over usernames - Filtering of stories based on terms and phrases / domain or user - Endless scrolling - Collapsible comment threads - Social sharing for Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Buffer Forks, improvements and comments…

    2012 · chrome.google.com · its alternatives →

  9. 9

    2019 · chrome.google.com · its alternatives →

  10. 10

    Highlight new comments, mute users & tweak UI on Hacker News

    2023 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  11. 11

    It's been 2 years since the initial release [here](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36102610). The initial version was a very basic prototype which was not available anywhere beyond the GitHub repo. You had to install it as a userscript or load the extension manually. Since then, it remained simple but better, new features include: - Improved accuracy by also using comments to help gauge the topic of discussion and the right keywords. - Published as plugin for more browsers: Chrome, Firefox (including android), and more recently Microsoft Edge. - Support for narrow screens…

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  12. 12

    I have a dedicated HN tab that I come back to and reload multiple times a day to see whats new and hot. I wrote a Chrome Extension to: - quickly scan new articles since my last reload - quickly scan highly discussed articles - open actual articles and discussions in a new tab This links to the source code. The chrome extension is linked at the bottom of the github page. Note: - This extension only operates on the HN front page (https://news.ycombinator.com/news) - The first time you reload the HN front page after installing the extension all articles will get highlighted.

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

  13. 13

    Alerts, AI summaries, and easy search for Hacker News

    2025 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  14. 14
  15. 15IB
  16. 16UH
  17. 17

    How hacker news should be

    2022 · its alternatives →

  18. 18

    Focus on the really fresh and unread news in Hacker News.

    2017 · chromewebstore.google.com · its alternatives →

  19. 19

    Web Extension: Easily find Hacker News discussions about the page you're currently browsing. - pinoceniccola/what-hn-says-webext

    2020 · github.com · its alternatives →

  20. 20

    Chrome extension that injects a button to return to HN

    2021 · chromewebstore.google.com · its alternatives →

  21. 21
  22. 22

    The Hacker News front page, with a short video explainer for every story.

    23d ago · hn.watch · its alternatives →

  23. 23

    Do you ever get tired of all the noise on HN? Contribute to mathiasrw/no-noise-hacker-news development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2016 · github.com · its alternatives →

  24. 24

    A chrome extension that applies a stylesheet to Hacker News' frontpage. - guicoelho/hn-beautify

    2014 · github.com · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →