Open-source alternative to YC-controller HN, featuring curated tech news, discussions, and community-driven content.

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Refetch was born from a simple yet powerful idea: create a modern, open-source alternative to Hacker News that combines the best of community-driven curation with intelligent AI-powered content discovery. Free from YC-control, open and transparent, doesn't favor anyone.

🔥 Top Posts Today (Tuesday, September 16, 2025)

Auto-updated with the highest-scoring community content

🥇 Unraveling the Mystery of 'Leopard Spots' on Mars: A New Hint of Life? 📊 Votes: 0 | ⏰ 7 minutes ago | 🔗 Original

🥈 Condor Technology's 'Cuzco' RISC-V CPU to Revolutionize Datacenters 📊 Votes: 0 | ⏰ 14 hours ago | 🔗 Original

🥉 AOMedia's Next-Gen Video Codec AV2 Set for Year-End Launch 📊 Votes: 0 | ⏰ 13 hours ago | 🔗 Original

⭐ Active NPM Supply Chain Attack: Tinycolor and 40 Packages Compromised 📊 Votes: 0 | ⏰ 7 hours ago | 🔗 Original

⭐ In-Depth Review: macOS 26 Tahoe 📊 Votes: 0 | ⏰ 14 hours ago | 🔗 Original

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Last updated: 2025-09-16T08:00:21.416Z

What We're Building

• 🤖 AI-Powered Discovery: Our intelligent scout functions automatically discover high-quality tech content from leading sources so you can be lazy and enjoy
• 🎯 Quality Curation: Advanced algorithms analyze and rank content based on relevance, quality, and community value
• 🌍 Global Reach: Multilingual support with AI-powered translations in 12+ languages
• 🔒 Privacy-First: Built on Appwrite's secure, self-hostable backend infrastructure
• 📱 Modern UX: Modern, responsive interface built with Next.js 15 and Tailwind CSS, the opposite of HN
• 🚀 Open Source: 100% open source, community-driven

Why Refetch?

While Hacker News has been the go-to platform for tech discussions for years, we believe there's room for innovation. Refetch brings:

• Better Content Discovery: AI algorithms that surface the most relevant tech news
• Enhanced User Experience: Modern, mobile-first design that works everywhere
• Community Empowerment: Open source codebase that anyone can contribute to
• Transparent Algorithms: Clear, documented ranking systems you can understand and improve

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🏗️ Architecture Overview

Refetch is built with a modern, scalable architecture that prioritizes performance, maintainability, and developer experience.

Frontend Stack

• Next.js 15: React framework with App Router, Server Components, and streaming
• TypeScript: Full type safety across the entire codebase
• Tailwind CSS: Utility-first CSS framework with custom design system

Backend Infrastructure

• Appwrite: Complete backend-as-a-service platform
  • Databases: Collections for posts, comments, users, and votes
  • Authentication: User management with JWT tokens
  • Functions: Serverless functions for content processing
  • Sites: Next.js hosting with built-in CDN and DDoS protection

AI-Powered Features

• Content Scout: Automatically discovers tech articles from 20+ sources
• Content Enhancement: AI analysis for quality scoring, categorization, and optimization
• Smart Ranking: Multi-factor algorithm considering time, quality, and community engagement
• Multilingual Support: AI-powered translations and language detection

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📁 Project Structure

refetch/
├── app/                    # Next.js App Router pages
│   ├── (main)/            # Main application routes
│   ├── api/               # API endpoints
│   ├── auth/              # Authentication flows
│   └── globals.css        # Global styles
├── components/             # Reusable React components
│   ├── ui/                # Base UI components (Radix + Tailwind)
│   └── [feature]/         # Feature-specific components
├── contexts/               # React contexts (auth, theme)
├── functions/              # Appwrite serverless functions
│   ├── scout/             # Content discovery automation
│   ├── enhancement/       # AI content analysis
│   ├── algorithm/         # Ranking algorithm
│   ├── topic-stats/       # Topic ranking (scheduled)
│   └── readme/            # Syncs top posts into GitHub README
├── hooks/                  # Custom React hooks
├── lib/                    # Utility libraries and configurations
├── extensions/             # Browser extensions
└── styles/                 # Additional styling

Key Directories Explained

• app/: Next.js 15 App Router with server and client components
• components/ui/: Reusable UI components built on Radix UI primitives
• functions/: Appwrite serverless functions for backend processing
• lib/: Core utilities, Appwrite client, and type definitions
• extensions/: Chrome extension for seamless Refetch integration

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🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• pnpm (recommended) or npm
• Appwrite instance (self-hosted or cloud)

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/refetch-io/refetch.git
   cd refetch

2. Install dependencies

   pnpm install

3. Set up environment variables

   cp env.example .env.local

   Edit .env.local using Environment variables as a checklist. A starter template also lives in env.example.

4. Run the development server

   pnpm dev

5. Open your browser Navigate to http://localhost:3000

Environment variables

Where to set them

• Next.js (local / hosting): .env.local or .env. Only NEXT_PUBLIC_* values are exposed to the browser; keep secrets without that prefix.
• Appwrite Functions: set variables in the Console (this repo’s appwrite:setup creates functions but does not push env). Define shared keys once as global (project) variables so every function inherits them; use per-function variables only to override or add keys.
• Mirror the same values for web vs functions where two names exist (APPWRITE_ENDPOINT and NEXT_PUBLIC_APPWRITE_ENDPOINT, same for project ID) so nothing drifts.

Table IDs use the legacy name *_COLLECTION_ID but refer to Appwrite Tables table IDs.

1. Appwrite connection (global)

Use the same endpoint and project everywhere; some paths read APPWRITE_*, others NEXT_PUBLIC_APPWRITE_*.

Variable	Description
APPWRITE_ENDPOINT	REST API base (e.g. https://cloud.appwrite.io/v1). Used by Functions and the Readme function.
NEXT_PUBLIC_APPWRITE_ENDPOINT	Same URL; required for the Next app and several functions.
APPWRITE_PROJECT_ID	Project ID (Functions / Readme).
NEXT_PUBLIC_APPWRITE_PROJECT_ID	Same ID; required for the Next app and several functions.
APPWRITE_API_KEY	Server API key (never NEXT_PUBLIC_*). Needs table access for the site and appropriate scopes per function.

2. Appwrite data IDs (global)

Variable	Description
APPWRITE_DATABASE_ID	Tables DB database ID.
APPWRITE_POSTS_COLLECTION_ID	posts table.
APPWRITE_COMMENTS_COLLECTION_ID	comments table.
APPWRITE_VOTES_COLLECTION_ID	votes table.
APPWRITE_DAILY_TOPICS_COLLECTION_ID	daily_topics table (topic stats).
APPWRITE_TOPICS_COLLECTION_ID	topics table (topic stats).

3. OpenAI (global for AI functions)

Variable	Description
OPENAI_API_KEY	Scout and Enhancement.
OPENAI_MODEL	OpenAI chat model for Enhancement; set as a global project variable (optional; default gpt-4o-mini).

4. Scout-only (sources)

Set at project level if you only run Scout, or override on the Scout function.

Actor identity, LLM batching, scraping delays, and per-run limits are constants in functions/scout/index.js (not environment variables).

Variable	Description
SCOUT_TARGET_WEBSITES	Comma-separated site roots to crawl (can be very long).

5. Readme function only

Safe to set globally if unused elsewhere.

Variable	Description
README_ORIGIN	Public origin for links in generated README.md (default https://refetch.io).
README_GITHUB_TOKEN	PAT with contents: write (or equivalent) to update README.md.
README_GITHUB_OWNER	Owner (user or org).
README_GITHUB_REPO	Repository name.
README_GITHUB_BRANCH	Branch to commit on (default main).

Bootstrap (scripts/appwrite-setup.mjs): npm run build runs this first (package.json); it uses the same Appwrite connection and data IDs as §1–2 to create or update the database, tables, indexes, and function shells (not deployments or function env).

Which functions need which groups

Function	Groups
Scout	1, 2, 3, 4
Enhancement	1, 2, 3 (OPENAI_MODEL optional; set globally)
Algorithm	1, 2 (posts only)
Topic stats	1, 2 (incl. daily_topics + topics)
Readme	1, 2 (posts only), 5
Next.js app + app/api	1 (NEXT_PUBLIC_* + APPWRITE_API_KEY), 2

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🤝 Contributing

Refetch was initially 100% vibe-coded, but we're excited to welcome contributions from humans too!

We believe in the power of community-driven development and welcome all types of contributions:

How to Contribute

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch

   git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature

3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly
5. Submit a pull request

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🔧 Appwrite Functions

Refetch uses several Appwrite serverless functions for automated content processing:

Scout Function

Automatically discovers high-quality tech content from 20+ sources including TechCrunch, The Verge, Ars Technica, and more.

Enhancement Function

AI-powered content analysis that generates metadata, quality scores, and multilingual translations.

Algorithm Function

Sophisticated ranking algorithm that considers time decay, quality metrics, and community engagement.

Topic stats function

Scheduled job that aggregates post data into daily_topics and topics tables (see Environment variables).

Readme function

Commits an auto-generated “top posts” section into this repository’s README.md using the GitHub API.

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📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

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Made with ❤️ for the Refetch community