Listen to Hacker News
CastReader reads Hacker News submissions and comment threads aloud — skipping points, timestamps, and reply counts so you hear what was said, not the UI around it.
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(Collapsed — CastReader reads top-level first, you expand for more)
只读评论正文 — 跳过分数, 时间戳, 回复数
How CastReader Works with Hacker News
Built for news.ycombinator.com's dense comment trees
Listen Button Per Comment
🔊 Read Any Single Comment
A small Listen button appears next to every HN comment. Click to hear just that one. CastReader also has a 'read the whole thread' mode — it walks down the comment tree in display order, so you get the conversation as you'd read it.
Metadata Skipped
Reads the Body, Not '142 Points · 2h'
HN comments are surrounded by metadata — points, timestamps, flag/hide links, reply counts. CastReader's HN extractor reads only the comment body. You don't hear 'one hundred forty-two points, two hours ago' before every post.
Code Blocks Handled
Code Gets Announced, Not Spelled Out
HN comments often include code snippets or shell commands in monospace blocks. CastReader announces 'code block' and moves on — you don't hear every bracket, semicolon, and flag character spelled out. The surrounding explanation reads naturally.
Works on Story Pages and Comment Pages
Any HN URL, Any Browser
Works on news.ycombinator.com front page, item pages, user pages, and Ask HN / Show HN / Who's Hiring posts. Same one-click Listen button everywhere. Commute-friendly: send long thread audio to your phone via the Send to Phone feature.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about listening to HN with CastReader
Does Hacker News have a read-aloud feature?
No. HN's minimalist interface has no built-in text-to-speech. CastReader adds a 🔊 Listen button next to every submission and comment so you can hear any thread read aloud for free.
Can it read a whole HN thread in order?
Yes. Click Listen on the top-level comment and CastReader walks the comment tree in display order, reading each comment body in turn. Collapsed threads stay collapsed — you control what gets read by expanding the parts you want.
Does it skip 'points · hours ago'?
Yes. CastReader's HN extractor identifies only the comment body text. Metadata — points, timestamps, flag/hide links, reply counts — is skipped automatically. You don't hear '142 points, 2 hours ago' before every comment.
What about code blocks and inline `monospace`?
Code blocks are announced ('code block') and skipped so you don't hear every bracket. Inline monospace (single backticks) is read as normal text. Commands like `grep` or `awk` are pronounced roughly the way you'd say them aloud.
Does it work on third-party HN clients?
CastReader is tuned for news.ycombinator.com specifically. On third-party HN clients (hckrnews.com, HN readers) the generic extractor usually works, but extraction quality depends on how the client structures its HTML.
Can I send HN threads to my phone?
Yes. CastReader's Send to Phone feature works on any HN page. Start playback in your browser, click Send to Phone, and the audio streams to your phone via a Telegram bot link — great for long threads during a commute.
Is it free?
Completely free. No API key, no usage limits, no account required. Install the Chrome extension and start listening.
Also Try
Listen to Reddit
Same comment-thread read-aloud, for Reddit discussions
Listen to GitHub
READMEs, issues, PR reviews — developer reading on audio
Listen to Stack Overflow
Questions and accepted answers read aloud
Listen to Substack
Long-form developer newsletters read aloud
Listen to arXiv
Academic papers read aloud — abstract + sections
Send to Phone
One tap sends thread audio to your phone
Start Listening Now
Completely free. No signup. No limits. Install and start listening to Hacker News threads.