Hacker News comment thread summarizer extension
August 29, 2024: the extension is now available for download on the Chrome Web Store!
What is this?
A Chrome extension that summarizes individual HN comments within their thread's context, allowing you to skim Hacker News (news.ycombinator.com) comment threads faster.
Uses an OpenAI API key provided by the user.
How to install and use
- Install the extension from the Chrome Web Store (or clone this repository and install it unpacked)
- Click on the extension icon in the Chrome toolbar (might be hidden behind a puzzle icon)
- Add an OpenAI API key:
- Your API key is stored on your machine. Requests are made directly from browser tabs showing Hacker News threads.
- In principle, a malicious third-party extension could spy on those and steal your API key. Additionally, as the extension uses a very cheap model, it doesn't include built in cost controls. You're advised to use OpenAI's project usage limits as spend guardrails.
- The extension uses
gpt-4o-mini. In our testing, reading a dozen or so HN posts a day resulted in about $0.02 in OpenAI usage costs (as of August 2024).
- Navigate to any Hacker News post, and enjoy summaries for each comment!a
How to contribute
Just open a PR! I threw this together in less than an hour, and would very much welcome improvements :)