Show HN: Hntui – A TUI for Hacker News

Hntui introduces a dedicated terminal interface for accessing Hacker News content, specifically targeting engineers who prefer command-line workflows. The application aggregates all six standard feeds, including Top, New, Best, Ask, Show, and Jobs, into a single navigable view. Users can traverse story lists and dive into comment subtrees using familiar Vim motions like j, k, gg, and G or by utilizing mouse interactions for clicking and scrolling.

Deployment is designed to be minimal, offering precompiled binaries for macOS Apple Silicon and Linux architectures that require no external dependencies. Alternatively, developers can install the tool globally using Bun version 1.2 or newer, which is also necessary for running the code in development mode. The installer script places a self-contained executable in the local bin directory, while the package manager approach facilitates easier updates through standard commands.

Functionality extends beyond simple reading to include state management features such as saving posts for later review and persisting this list across sessions. The application stores these user preferences in a local JSON configuration file and automatically migrates data from previous iterations of the project. Visual customization is limited to two distinct themes, one dark with orange accents and one light that attempts to replicate the original website's color scheme.

The tool depends entirely on the public Hacker News Firebase API for data retrieval, meaning its availability is tied to the stability of that external service. While the developer notes successful testing on macOS with Ghostty, support for Linux and Windows relies on the underlying OpenTUI library without explicit verification in the provided text. Text selection requires specific modifier keys like Option or Shift because the application intercepts standard mouse events to handle its own interface logic.