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Show HN: Hacker News desktop app made with Electron and Node

167 points| jingweno | 10 years ago |github.com | reply

73 comments

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[+] danso|10 years ago|reply
I don't care how massive the app is compared to just web browsing...it's always great when people show off not just the product, but the open source code. Thanks!
[+] jingweno|10 years ago|reply
Glad you like we open source it :)
[+] qyv|10 years ago|reply
Not particularly directed at OP, I haven't tried or even downloaded the app. But am I the only one that when I see 'Node' and 'Desktop' in a headline immediately think 'this may be really nice but it is just gonna be to big for what it does'? And, as a followup, what is the appeal of using Node for desktop dev?
[+] outworlder|10 years ago|reply
You are not the only one. But not because of Node (which is not that big) but because of Electron.

That said, the big issue is that we don't (yet) get to share Electron installs. If all desktop applications had to bundle all their dependencies, including what the OS already provides to them, they would be just as big.

Electron apps themselves aren't that big. Even Atom.

[+] danneu|10 years ago|reply
You get to use a similar kit that you're already using for webdev.

For example, the only time I've maintained a proficiency in both a webdev stack and a native kit was when I was paid to work on both full-time.

Node's main appeal to me is a similar consolidation: using one language. At least until I find out I'm immortal.

[+] sarc|10 years ago|reply
The advantages would include shared tooling, a cross-platform GUI, and the ability for end-users to modify the code.

Regarding size, it appears to be around 100 MB, so you could have 20971 separate installations of it before filling up a 2 TB drive.

Memory usage could be an issue, but whether that matters will depend on your audience the app. In this case, the aim is toward HN, so it doesn't seem like an issue.

[+] chrisdevereux|10 years ago|reply
Smaller apps would probably benefit from an electron-like system that just uses the inbuilt system browser. I'm not aware of any such projects, though.
[+] giancarlostoro|10 years ago|reply
I really like it, runs well under openSUSE (you have to download the repo and follow the instructions under "Development" in the readme). Hope to see it's functionality expand further.

Edit:

One thing I would change is maybe make the overall border a more noticeable darker color, I keep getting confused as to where the borders are for when resizing it, and maybe a way of dragging and dropping the window (that is more obvious if it is there, I haven't figured out how to move the window without using what I assume to be KDE specific features).

[+] lokywin|10 years ago|reply
Thanks giancarlostoro. That is great feedback. Let's gather more responses from others, and we will make the change. We want this to be super easy to you to use.
[+] lokywin|10 years ago|reply
btw, I am glad it works well for you under openSUSE. You have made a excellent example for others to start using it, w/o waiting for a build for a specific platform. We will get there. We are working a build for Windows version.
[+] achairapart|10 years ago|reply
Looks cool. But... 100+Mb for a notification app?
[+] Artemis2|10 years ago|reply
That's Node (V8) and Electron (Chromium and all its dependencies) for you.
[+] dattl|10 years ago|reply
How is it 100 MB? RAM or disk space?
[+] jingweno|10 years ago|reply
Yeah, unfortunately the app bundled with a Chrome. But, the upside is it's implemented in HTML/CSS/JavaScript and it's hackable :)
[+] mobiuscog|10 years ago|reply
> Download the latest build for your platform from releases.

Cool !!

Oh.. Mac only right now.

[+] sigmonsays|10 years ago|reply
there is some irony here... by saying this and then "We are working on Windows and Linux versions. " is not exactly fair. The entire purpose of electron is to "Build cross platform desktop apps with web technologies" so by stating that and failing to release other platforms is quite silly
[+] adamzerner|10 years ago|reply
That's a pretty cool idea... but do people really want more HN? My impression is that most people want to read it once or twice a day, but are driven to it more often than that as attempts at procrastination. So this seems like it'd be a net loss for most users.
[+] jingweno|10 years ago|reply
That's exactly the idea of Hacker Menu. You could check the news anytime by just clicking it, but it's not distracting
[+] e12e|10 years ago|reply
From: https://hackermenu.io/ "Do you have the habit of jumping to comments before reading an article? We got you covered. Comment is just one click away. So is vote."

I did a quick browse and search of the source on github for "comment", "vote" and "login". How do you handle logging in/submitting comments/votes? Just present the regular hn login inside the app, and use the hn site?

I thought there was some TOS/gentlman's agreement that APIs only had read access to stories, and one needed/should use the hn page for comments/votes? Perhaps I'm mistaken?

I suppose there's no rule against making a custom browser though -- while a bit heavy handed, I suppose there's really no difference between wrapping node+electron and enhancing the UI/UX with greasmonkey -- I suppose the main issue is to behave closely enough to a regular web visitor, so as not to put undue strain on the service, not demand that every visitor actually uses a general purpose browser...?

[+] ksmithbaylor|10 years ago|reply
Just downloaded! I love it. The only thing I was going to say was I wish it had the ability to resize the window and save the size for each time it opened...then I realized you were one step ahead of me and had done exactly that! Very impressive, and a fantastic example of React and Electron. I'm definitely bookmarking this to come back and learn from the codebase later.
[+] tommyd|10 years ago|reply
Looks great - in all honesty I probably won't use it day to day as I waste enough time checking HN, although perhaps it would be a less distracting way to check it. Source code looks nice and clean, look forward to digging into it!
[+] wsterling|10 years ago|reply
Because I need to get less work done? It does look great.
[+] lokywin|10 years ago|reply
Haha. I find myself keep watching the menu bar for updates, then click on the news item. Glad you think it looks good. Feedbacks are welcomed.
[+] sarc|10 years ago|reply
In case it's helpful,

  hacker-menu$ node install
  module.js:338
      throw err;
            ^
  Error: Cannot find module 'hacker-menu/install'
      at Function.Module._resolveFilename (module.js:336:15)
      at Function.Module._load (module.js:278:25)
      at Function.Module.runMain (module.js:501:10)
      at startup (node.js:129:16)
      at node.js:814:3
[+] danneu|10 years ago|reply 

    > node install
It's `npm install`
[+] binaryanomaly|10 years ago|reply
Great app. Would be cool if it could be installed via homebrew and use an existing node installation.

Anyway, keep up the good work ;)

[+] SeanAnderson|10 years ago|reply
Can the non-Mac users have some screenshots? I dug around the GitHub repo and the website, but didn't see any.
[+] mrmondo|10 years ago|reply
Well done on making this, but I have to say that I'm sure I'm not the only person that's not interested in installing node on their desktop.
[+] denzil_correa|10 years ago|reply
I have installed this and I agree with other users here - I like it. I can check it whenever I want to and it's non obtrusive.
[+] jedireza|10 years ago|reply
Thanks! I'd like to dismiss and/or mark as read for stories I'm not interested in.
[+] lokywin|10 years ago|reply
Thanks for sharing your thought. We talked about this and are going to implement it.
[+] tedmiston|10 years ago|reply
This is really great. I like that it remembers read stories, even across sessions.
[+] RvdMeer|10 years ago|reply
Can you add the 'save to pocket' as well, that would great.
[+] juhq|10 years ago|reply
Ugh provide high quality screenshots, both on project readme in github and on the website as well.

Currently the website has skewed image of the thing and then cropped round images of the thing.

[+] cpursley|10 years ago|reply
Ugh, quit complaining and put in a pull request. It's open source and a side-project, after all.