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Generate AI summaries from Hacker News to Slack with OpenRouter

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Generate AI summaries from Hacker News to Slack with OpenRouter preview
Open on n8n.io

Important notice

This workflow is provided as-is. Please review and test before using in production.

1. Workflow Overview

Who's it for This template is for teams that want to stay updated on industry trends, tech news, or competitor mentions without manually browsing news sites. It's ideal for marketing, development, ...

Best for

  • Market Research automation workflows
  • AI Summarization automation workflows
  • intermediate n8n builders looking for reusable templates

Tools used

n8n-nodes-base.scheduletrigger, n8n-nodes-base.slack, n8n-nodes-base.set, @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent, @n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmchatopenrouter, n8n-nodes-base.hackernews, n8n-nodes-base.stickynote

Source and attribution

This workflow is cataloged by N8N Workflows and links back to its original n8n.io source page by Yusei Miyakoshi.

Original n8n.io source

1.1 Workflow description

Title
Generate AI summaries from Hacker News to Slack with OpenRouter
Workflow name
Generate AI summaries from Hacker News to Slack with OpenRouter

Who's it for

This template is for teams that want to stay updated on industry trends, tech news, or competitor mentions without manually browsing news sites. It's ideal for marketing, development, and research teams who use Slack as their central hub for automated, timely information.

What it does / How it works

This workflow runs on a daily schedule (default 9 AM), fetches the top articles from Hacker News for a specific keyword you define (e.g., 'AI'), and uses an AI agent with OpenRouter to generate a concise, 3-bullet point summary in Japanese for each article. The final formatted summary, including the article title, is then posted to a designated Slack channel. The entire process is guided by descriptive sticky notes on the canvas, explaining each configuration step.

How to set up

  1. In the Configure Your Settings node, change the default keyword AI to your topic of interest and update the slack_channel to your target channel name.
  2. Click the OpenRouter Chat Model node and select your OpenRouter API key from the Credentials dropdown. If you haven't connected it yet, you will need to create a new credential.
  3. Click the Send Summary to Slack node and connect your Slack account using OAuth2 credentials.
  4. (Optional) Adjust the schedule in the Trigger Daily at 9 AM node to change how often the workflow runs.
  5. Activate the workflow.

Requirements

  • An n8n instance (Cloud or self-hosted).
  • A Slack account and workspace.
  • An OpenRouter API key stored in your n8n credentials.
  • If self-hosting, ensure the LangChain nodes are enabled.

How to customize the workflow

  • Change the News Source: Replace the Hacker News node with an RSS Feed Read node or another news integration to pull articles from different sources.
  • Modify the AI Prompt: In the Summarize Article with AI node, you can edit the system message to change the summary language, length, or tone.
  • Use a Different AI Model: Swap the OpenRouter node for an OpenAI, Anthropic, or any other supported chat model.
  • Track Multiple Keywords: Modify the workflow to loop through a list of keywords in the Configure Your Settings node to monitor several topics at once.

1.2 Logical Blocks

This catalog entry is organized from the workflow JSON. The node-level section below shows the executable blocks available for review before importing the template.

2. Block-by-Block Analysis

Block 1 - Trigger Daily at 9 AM

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.scheduleTrigger - scheduleTrigger
Config choices
Version 1.2

Block 2 - Send Summary to Slack

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.slack - slack
Config choices
Version 2

Block 3 - Format Message for Slack

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.set - set
Config choices
Version 3.4

Block 4 - Summarize Article with AI

Type / Role
@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.agent - agent
Config choices
Version 2.2

Block 5 - OpenRouter Chat Model

Type / Role
@n8n/n8n-nodes-langchain.lmChatOpenRouter - lmChatOpenRouter
Config choices
Version 1

Block 6 - Get many items

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.hackerNews - hackerNews
Config choices
Version 1

Block 7 - Configure Your Settings

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.set - set
Config choices
Version 3.4

Block 8 - Sticky Note

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 9 - Sticky Note1

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 10 - Sticky Note2

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 11 - Sticky Note3

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

Block 12 - Sticky Note4

Type / Role
n8n-nodes-base.stickyNote - stickyNote
Config choices
Version 1

3. Summary Table

Workflow Generate AI summaries from Hacker News to Slack with OpenRouter
Complexity intermediate
Nodes 12
Categories Market Research, AI Summarization
Author Yusei Miyakoshi
Published 16 Oct 2025

4. Reproducing the Workflow from Scratch

  1. 1. Download the workflow JSON

    Use the JSON export at /data/workflows/9774/9774.json as the source template for this automation.

  2. 2. Import the template into n8n

    Open n8n, import the downloaded JSON, and review each node before activating the workflow.

  3. 3. Configure credentials and variables

    Replace placeholder credentials, API keys, webhook URLs, account IDs, and environment-specific values with your own settings.

  4. 4. Test with sample data

    Run the workflow manually or in a staging workspace, inspect node output, and confirm downstream systems receive the expected data.

  5. 5. Activate and monitor

    Enable the workflow only after testing, then monitor executions, errors, and rate limits during the first production runs.

5. General Notes & Resources

Review imported nodes carefully before activation. This catalog entry is intended to help you inspect the workflow structure, understand required services, and find related templates faster.

Node names, credentials, schedules, webhook paths, and external service limits may need adjustment for your workspace.

Frequently asked questions

What does Generate AI summaries from Hacker News to Slack with OpenRouter do?

Who's it for This template is for teams that want to stay updated on industry trends, tech news, or competitor mentions without manually browsing news sites. It's ideal for marketing, development, ...

What do I need before importing this workflow?

Review the workflow JSON, configure any required credentials in n8n, and test the automation in a safe workspace before using it in production.

Can I customize this workflow?

Yes. Use the block-by-block analysis and the downloadable JSON to inspect each node, then adjust credentials, prompts, schedules, filters, or destinations for your Market Research, AI Summarization use case.