Do all stories have videos?

Yes — every story listed on the front page has both a 'video' link (the explainer) and an 'article' link (the original source).

HN.watch — Hacker News, but every story comes with a video explainer

HN.watch is a Hacker News front page clone where every story comes with a short video explainer. Instead of only scanning headlines, you click a story title to watch a video summary, or follow the 'article' link to the original source. The site mirrors news.ycombinator.com and shows the usual story metadata — points, submitter, age, and comment counts — plus a last-synced timestamp in the header. Built by Scrimba, the site states it is not affiliated with Y Combinator, and its footer notes it uses no cookies and no tracking scripts, collecting only anonymous daily aggregates.

Key Features

Video explainer per story

Attaches a short video explainer to every Hacker News front page story; click a title to watch it

Live HN front page mirror

Mirrors news.ycombinator.com and displays the last sync time, e.g. 'synced 4 min ago'

Full story metadata

Every story row shows points, submitter username, post age, and comment count

Video + article dual links

Each story offers both a 'video' link (the explainer) and an 'article' link to the original source

Privacy-first by design

No cookies, no tracking scripts; only anonymous daily aggregates are collected

Sharing options

Copy the link, share as an HN comment, or share on X

How It Works

1. Browse the mirrored front page

The homepage lists the current Hacker News front page, with a header showing when it last synced (e.g. 'synced 4 min ago').

2. Click a title to watch

Selecting a story plays its short video explainer; a separate 'article' link takes you to the original source.

3. Share if useful

Each story can be copied as a link, shared as an HN comment, or shared on X.

Pros & Cons

Pros

Video explainers give you the gist of a story before committing to the full article
Mirrors the live Hacker News front page with a visible last-synced timestamp
No cookies or tracking scripts — only anonymous daily aggregates
Browser-based with no visible sign-up or account requirement
Direct link to the original article alongside every video

Cons

FAQ

What does HN.watch do?

It shows the Hacker News front page with a short video explainer attached to every story. You click a story title to watch the video, or follow the 'article' link to open the original source.

Who makes HN.watch?

It's built by Scrimba, and the site explicitly notes it is not affiliated with Y Combinator — stories simply mirror news.ycombinator.com.

Is HN.watch free to use?

No pricing, plans, or accounts are mentioned anywhere on the site; you simply visit hn.watch and click a story to watch its explainer.

How up to date are the stories?

Stories mirror news.ycombinator.com, and the header displays the last sync time (the homepage showed 'synced 4 min ago').

HN.watch