Developer community research tool. Searches Reddit, Hacker News, and GitHub Discussions for recent developer conversations on any topic.
Marketing content that references "what developers think" usually comes from guessing. DevPulse replaces guessing with data. It pulls real conversations from where developers actually talk (Reddit, HN, GitHub) and surfaces sentiment, pain points, and trends.
I built this as part of JakeOS, my AI-augmented marketing operating system, to fuel content research, competitive intelligence, and Reddit seeding monitoring at LayerLens.
pip install -r requirements.txt
# Basic search
python3 devpulse.py "AI evaluation tools"
# Deep scan with 60-day window
python3 devpulse.py "LLM benchmarking" --depth deep --days 60
# Reddit-only, last 2 weeks
python3 devpulse.py "Claude vs GPT" --sources reddit --days 14
# JSON output for programmatic use
python3 devpulse.py "vector databases" --output jsonpython3 devpulse.py "topic" [options]
Options:
--depth Search depth: quick, default, deep (default: default)
--days Time window in days (default: 30)
--sources Comma-separated: reddit, hackernews, github (default: all)
--output Output format: text, json (default: text)
| Source | API | Auth Required | What It Searches |
|---|---|---|---|
| ScrapeCreators API (paid) or Reddit OAuth (free) | Yes* | Posts + top comments across auto-discovered subreddits | |
| Hacker News | Algolia API (free) | No | Stories filtered by date, points threshold, with comment threads |
| GitHub | REST Search API | Optional (higher rate limits) | Issues, PRs, and repos by stars and creation date |
* Reddit shut down unauthenticated public .json access in 2026 (requests now return HTTP 403). DevPulse needs either a free Reddit OAuth app (REDDIT_CLIENT_ID/REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET) or a ScrapeCreators key for the Reddit source. Hacker News and GitHub still work with no keys.
Query Input
|
v
Query Normalization (extract core subject, expand synonyms)
|
v
Multi-Phase Search
- Global search across all sources
- Targeted subreddit/domain discovery from initial results
- Concurrent requests across sources
|
v
Relevance Scoring
- Token overlap with stopword filtering
- Synonym expansion (ai -> artificial+intelligence, eval -> evaluation)
- Phrase bonuses for exact matches
- Low-signal word detection
|
v
Deduplication + Date Filtering + Engagement Sorting
|
v
Comment Enrichment (top posts get comment threads, depth > "quick")
|
v
Structured Output (text report or JSON)
| Depth | Search Breadth | Comment Enrichment | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
quick |
Single-pass search | None | Fast pulse check |
default |
Multi-pass with subreddit discovery | Top 3 comments per post | General research |
deep |
Exhaustive multi-pass | Full comment threads | Deep competitive intel |
Create ~/.config/devpulse/.env (optional):
# Enhanced Reddit access (optional, richest data)
SCRAPECREATORS_API_KEY=your-key-here
# Free authenticated Reddit access (recommended).
# Reddit blocks unauthenticated .json (HTTP 403) as of mid-2026, so without
# either these or a ScrapeCreators key, the Reddit source returns nothing.
# Create a free "script" app at https://www.reddit.com/prefs/apps
REDDIT_CLIENT_ID=your-client-id
REDDIT_CLIENT_SECRET=your-client-secret
# Higher GitHub rate limits (optional, 10 req/min without)
GITHUB_TOKEN=your-token-here- Content research: Find what developers actually care about before writing
- Competitive intelligence: Monitor mentions of competitors across communities
- Trend spotting: Identify emerging topics before they hit mainstream
- Reddit seeding: Track how your posts and mentions spread
- Product research: Discover pain points and feature requests in your domain
DevPulse is one component of JakeOS, an AI-augmented operating system for solo marketing. Other components include AI Marketing Skills and Buffer MCP.
MIT