GitHub Repository

A Tampermonkey/Greasemonkey userscript that transforms Hacker News into a visual card grid with og:image thumbnails and a split-pane article/comments reader.

1 starsJavaScript

HN Grid View cross-browser userscript inspired by the macOS HN client

Name: HN Grid View cross-browser userscript inspired by the macOS HN client
Availability: InStock
Author: Qahlel

by Qahlel·Feb 22, 2026·1 point·0 comments

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AI Analysis

●●SolidShip ItSlick

Split-pane HN reader works in browser, but Nitter and dozens of HN clients exist.

Strengths

•Lazy-loaded thumbnails with CSP-safe injection via GM_addElement avoid repeated fetches
•Split-pane layout eliminates tab-switching for reading articles and comments together
•Single-file userscript ships today with zero build step; works across Chrome/Firefox/Safari

Weaknesses

•X-Frame-Options blocking prevents inline rendering for some sites; requires fallback link
•Relies on og:image availability; many news sites return generic or missing metadata

Post Description

As a Windows/Linux user without access to macOS, I came across this post yesterday — Show HN: A native macOS client for Hacker News, built with SwiftUI ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47088166 ) — and found myself envious of the experience it offered: card-based layout, split-pane reading, and a cleaner way to browse stories.

So I worked with Claude to replicate the key features as a Tampermonkey/Greasemonkey userscript. Here's what it does:

- Replaces the default HN listing with a responsive card grid - Fetches og:image thumbnails lazily as you scroll (falls back to favicon + domain) - Split-pane reader: article on the left, HN comments on the right — no tab-switching - Draggable divider to resize the two panes - Swap button to flip article/comments sides - Inline article rendering that inlines external stylesheets to work around CSP restrictions - Algolia-powered search bar - One-click toggle back to the classic list view - Persistent thumbnail cache via sessionStorage

Screenshot: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Qahlel/Hacker-News-Grid-Vi...

Repo: https://github.com/Qahlel/Hacker-News-Grid-View-Userscript

Script: https://github.com/Qahlel/Hacker-News-Grid-View-Userscript/b...

Happy to hear feedback — particularly around sites that block iframe embedding or break the inline stylesheet loader.