Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Hacker News VS Scriptable

Compare Hacker News VS Scriptable and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Hacker News logo Hacker News

Hacker News is a social news website focusing on computer science and entrepreneurship. It is run by Paul Graham's investment fund and startup incubator, Y Combinator.

Scriptable logo Scriptable

Automate iOS using JavaScript
  • Hacker News Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-23
  • Scriptable Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-19

Hacker News features and specs

  • Quality Content
    Hacker News focuses on high-quality, tech-centric content which is often insightful and valuable for those in the tech industry.
  • Community
    The community consists largely of professionals and enthusiasts in tech, providing a knowledgeable and skilled user base for discussions.
  • Upvote System
    The upvote system helps in promoting the most relevant and useful posts, ensuring users see content that is often vetted by the community.
  • Minimalist Design
    The simple, text-based design minimizes distractions and focuses on content and discussions without unnecessary clutter.
  • Diverse Topics
    While mainly focused on technology, Hacker News also covers a variety of subjects including entrepreneurship, science, and more.

Possible disadvantages of Hacker News

  • Echo Chamber Effect
    Given its focused and like-minded community, there is a risk of homogeneous opinions and lack of diverse viewpoints.
  • Moderation Issues
    The manual moderation can sometimes be inconsistent, leading to frustrations around which posts or comments get removed or promoted.
  • Signal-to-Noise Ratio
    Despite the upvote system, some low-quality or irrelevant content can still surface, diluting the overall information quality.
  • Niche Audience
    Its strong focus on tech topics can alienate those who are not as tech-savvy or interested, limiting broader appeal.
  • Limited Features
    The platform offers very basic functionality compared to other modern forums, which might deter users who prefer more advanced features.

Scriptable features and specs

  • Custom Automation
    Scriptable allows users to create custom iOS scripts using JavaScript, enabling automation of tasks and integration with various apps.
  • Extensive API Access
    The app provides extensive access to iOS APIs, allowing users to interact with system functions like calendar, reminders, and files.
  • Widget Support
    Scriptable supports the creation of custom widgets on the iOS home screen, offering personalized information and functionality.
  • Community and Examples
    There is a strong community around Scriptable, with ample examples and shared scripts that help new users get started quickly.
  • No Need for Developer Account
    Users do not need a paid Apple developer account to use Scriptable, making it accessible to a wide range of users.

Possible disadvantages of Scriptable

  • Learning Curve
    While powerful, Scriptable requires users to have some programming knowledge, which can be a barrier for beginners.
  • Limited to JavaScript
    The app only supports JavaScript for scripting, which may not be ideal for users familiar with other programming languages.
  • iOS-only
    Scriptable is exclusively available for iOS, limiting its use to Apple devices and excluding Android or Windows users.
  • Complexity for Simple Tasks
    For users looking to automate very simple tasks, Scriptable might be seen as overly complex compared to dedicated automation apps.
  • Performance Limitations
    Scripts running on mobile devices might face performance limitations, particularly for computation-heavy tasks.

Analysis of Hacker News

Overall verdict

  • Good

Why this product is good

  • Hacker News is a popular platform for tech enthusiasts and professionals to discuss and share information on a wide variety of topics, mainly related to technology, startups, and computer science. It's known for its intelligent community and high-quality discussions, which can provide valuable insights and knowledge.

Recommended for

  • Tech enthusiasts
  • Startup founders
  • Developers
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Investors
  • Anyone interested in technology and innovation

Hacker News videos

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Scriptable videos

Daily Review Using iOS Shortcut and Scriptable

More videos:

  • Review - LIVE: Let's talk about Scriptable Objects - Should you use them?

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Hacker News and Scriptable)
Social Networks
100 100%
0% 0
Automation
0 0%
100% 100
Social News
100 100%
0% 0
Web Service Automation
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Hacker News and Scriptable

Hacker News Reviews

Best Forums for Developers to Join in 2025
Hacker News is a great place to learn how to code. You'll find many interesting articles about new projects in the open-source community. You can also see what's happening with your favorite programming language or framework daily.
Source: www.notchup.com
Make sure to list your SaaS on these marketplaces to get users
I would highly recommend if you have a SaaS, try to list it here as news this will surely get a good amount of traffic to your SaaS. Hacker News is simple and is maintained by Ycombinator which is a gold mine for startups to get started.
Source: medium.com
15 Best Reddit Alternatives in 2024: Find Your New Online Community
Hacker News, run by Y Combinator, is a popular platform for technology enthusiasts and entrepreneurs.
Great Products for Finding Startupย Jobs
Hacker Newsโ€”Not a job board, per se, but the HN Whoโ€™s Hiring post at the start of every month has dozens of engineering-focused job posts. HN also regularly pushes select YC jobs to the front page.
Source: medium.com
18 Best Sites for Finding a Startup Job
Hacker News has a job board that lists jobs exclusively at various startups. Obviously, as Hackers News is associated with Y Combinator, most of the listed startup jobs are at companies that have gone through the acceleratorโ€™s program.
Source: tech.co

Scriptable Reviews

We have no reviews of Scriptable yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Hacker News seems to be a lot more popular than Scriptable. While we know about 715 links to Hacker News, we've tracked only 27 mentions of Scriptable. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Hacker News mentions (715)

  • OpenClaw for Dummies
    `# HEARTBEAT.md On each run: 1. Visit: - Product Hunt (https://www.producthunt.com/) - Hacker News (https://news.ycombinator.com/) 2. Use the skill `tessl__social-source-calibration` before summarising findings from socially noisy sites. 3. Look for: - Newly released or trending AI developer tools - Projects, libraries, or platforms (not general news) 4. For each relevant find: - Name -... - Source: dev.to / 3 days ago
  • [BA-006] Extracting structured data with browser automation
    From playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright Def extract_data(url: str, selector: str): with sync_playwright() as p: browser = p.chromium.launch() page = browser.new_page() page.goto(url) page.wait_for_selector(selector) items = page.locator(selector).all_text_contents() browser.close() return items Titles =... - Source: dev.to / 6 days ago
  • Add Website Screenshots to Your App with a Single GET Request
    Const res = await fetch( "https://siteintel.p.rapidapi.com/v1/screenshot?url=" + encodeURIComponent("https://news.ycombinator.com"), { headers: { "X-RapidAPI-Key": process.env.RAPIDAPI_KEY, "X-RapidAPI-Host": "siteintel.p.rapidapi.com", }, } ); If (!res.ok) throw new Error(`screenshot failed: ${res.status}`); Const buf = Buffer.from(await res.arrayBuffer()); Await... - Source: dev.to / 9 days ago
  • Firecrawl Skill for Hermes: Transform Any Website into Clean Markdown
    "Scrape https://news.ycombinator.com and summarize the top stories". - Source: dev.to / 22 days ago
  • OTTO: Give your AI agent a real browser without running a browser farm
    # universal primitives Otto extract-content https://news.ycombinator.com # โ†’ markdown # tab open / close / navigate / query # extract_text / extract_markdown / extract_clean_html / screenshot # site-scoped command bundles, e.g. Otto commands list --site reddit.com # โ†’ getPosts, getUserInfo, sendChatMessage, commentOnPost, ... - Source: dev.to / 27 days ago
View more

Scriptable mentions (27)

  • BITCOIN G2A SCAM
    r/Scriptable is for Scriptable, an automation app for iOS, not scripts in general. Source: about 3 years ago
  • Trying to Automate Calls ands Answering within Microsoft Teams
    This sub is for the Scriptable app which uses Javascript. You can check your script with folks over at r/PowerShell. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Loader Script thing in Roblox Studio
    Hi! This subreddit is for Scriptable, an app for iOS automation using JavaScript. Itโ€™s not for general-purpose scripting topics like Roblox Studio. I hope another community that focuses on what youโ€™re looking for is able to point you in the right direction! Source: over 3 years ago
  • Right way to retrieve a specific element from Data Jar
    If you know some Javascript, Scriptable would be a good use for this. From the same developer as Data Jar. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Shortcut to open Apollo AS a certain user
    This is one of things on my Apollo wish list too. As well as being able to post via Shortcuts. Although I was able to do the latter using Scriptable. Source: over 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Hacker News and Scriptable, you can also consider the following products

License-Token.com - Monetize your source code while still keeping it open.

ifttt - IFTTT puts the internet to work for you. Create simple connections between the products you use every day.

Reddit - Reddit gives you the best of the internet in one place. Get a constantly updating feed of breaking news, fun stories, pics, memes, and videos just for you.

n8n.io - Free and open fair-code licensed node based Workflow Automation Tool. Easily automate tasks across different services.

Lobsters - Lobsters is a technology-focused link-aggregation site.

Microsoft Power Automate - Microsoft Power Automate is an automation platform that integrates DPA, RPA, and process mining. It lets you automate your organization at scale using low-code and AI.