{"slug": "octal", "name": "Octal", "category": "media", "category_name": "Media and creative", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 6, "warners": 1, "score": 2.353, "rising": -0.98, "first": "2026-04-05", "latest": "2026-06-28", "why": "", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 2, "compare": 0, "warn": 1}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "", "kind": "", "icon": false, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Octal"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 779360736, "item_id": 48710046, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48710046", "by": "murats", "date": "2026-06-28", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I\u2019m happy with Octal", "excerpt": "I\u2019m happy with Octal, but this looks neat enough that I\u2019ll give it a try.", "context": "", "use_case": "reading Hacker News", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Hacker Times \u2013 HN Reader"}, {"id": 763467328, "item_id": 47716708, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47716708", "by": "e40", "date": "2026-04-10", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Octal on iOS is the best.", "excerpt": "Octal on iOS is the best. Been using it for years and I have never found a better reader for hn.", "context": "", "use_case": "Reading Hacker News on iOS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Orange Juice \u2013 Small UX improvements that make HN much easier to read"}, {"id": 762494944, "item_id": 47655934, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47655934", "by": "MostlyFragile", "date": "2026-04-05", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Octal which does everything I would need.", "excerpt": "I use Octal which does everything I would need. Night mode, Pleasant UI, and lightweight", "context": "", "use_case": "Hacker News client", "switched_from": "", "story": "Why doesn't HN have a mobile app?"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 763011456, "item_id": 47688216, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47688216", "by": "gdmka", "date": "2026-04-08", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "even on Octal, in heated debates on HN it becomes extremely difficult to read nested comment threads", "excerpt": "The main problem with why mobile apps aren't very convenient is that even on Octal, in heated debates on HN it becomes extremely difficult to read nested comment threads. Personally, I lack focus when a parent comment generates a comment tree with deep nesting on the web, let alone on mobile clients. What's really missing is a userscript like on imageboards where under each comment there's a link showing who replied ", "context": "", "use_case": "reading HN on mobile", "switched_from": "", "story": "Why doesn't HN have a mobile app?"}]}], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["hacker news reader on ios", "reading hacker news", "reading hacker news on ios", "reading hn on mobile", "hacker news client"], "compared": [], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48610816", "title": "Ember, a native iOS Hacker News reader I built around accessibility", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47648962", "title": "Why doesn't HN have a mobile app?", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48706219", "title": "Show HN: Hacker Times \u2013 HN Reader", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47694036", "title": "Show HN: Orange Juice \u2013 Small UX improvements that make HN much easier to read", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {"recommend": 2, "warn": 1}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"neutral": 2, "recommend": 1}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "versions": [], "version_unnamed": 0, "family_ref": null, "runs_on": null, "lines": [], "quotes": [{"id": 779360736, "item_id": 48710046, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48710046", "by": "murats", "date": "2026-06-28", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I\u2019m happy with Octal", "excerpt": "I\u2019m happy with Octal, but this looks neat enough that I\u2019ll give it a try.", "context": "", "use_case": "reading Hacker News", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Hacker Times \u2013 HN Reader"}, {"id": 777790912, "item_id": 48611932, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48611932", "by": "ofcrpls", "date": "2026-06-20", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I've been using Octal on iOS", "excerpt": "I've been using Octal on iOS and https://github.com/IronsideXXVI/Hacker-News on Mac that was showcased here 4 months ago. Got to give you kudos for the Accessibility enablement though - while some of it is baked-in support, it\u2019s worth appreciating your work in whittling down whatever else can be supported. Here is a comparison for the two on Mac, if you're interested. https://gq6o9uxicyzuw8es6qxe78bnml9wc3re.pastehtm", "context": "", "use_case": "Hacker News reader on iOS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ember, a native iOS Hacker News reader I built around accessibility"}, {"id": 777783520, "item_id": 48611470, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48611470", "by": "charrondev", "date": "2026-06-20", "version": null, "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I\u2019ve been using [Octal]", "excerpt": "I love to see an open source implementation. I\u2019ve been using [Octal](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/octal-for-hacker-news/id1308885491) for a while now but it\u2019s not open source. Would you be opposed to a pull request adding login/posting support? I think the way it works in Octal is webview for login, snatching the cookies out of the webview, then using the same posting endpoints as the website with the cookie.", "context": "", "use_case": "Hacker News reader on iOS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ember, a native iOS Hacker News reader I built around accessibility"}, {"id": 763467328, "item_id": 47716708, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47716708", "by": "e40", "date": "2026-04-10", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Octal on iOS is the best.", "excerpt": "Octal on iOS is the best. Been using it for years and I have never found a better reader for hn.", "context": "", "use_case": "Reading Hacker News on iOS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Orange Juice \u2013 Small UX improvements that make HN much easier to read"}, {"id": 763011456, "item_id": 47688216, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47688216", "by": "gdmka", "date": "2026-04-08", "version": null, "stance": "warn", "quote": "even on Octal, in heated debates on HN it becomes extremely difficult to read nested comment threads", "excerpt": "The main problem with why mobile apps aren't very convenient is that even on Octal, in heated debates on HN it becomes extremely difficult to read nested comment threads. Personally, I lack focus when a parent comment generates a comment tree with deep nesting on the web, let alone on mobile clients. What's really missing is a userscript like on imageboards where under each comment there's a link showing who replied ", "context": "", "use_case": "reading HN on mobile", "switched_from": "", "story": "Why doesn't HN have a mobile app?"}, {"id": 762494944, "item_id": 47655934, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47655934", "by": "MostlyFragile", "date": "2026-04-05", "version": null, "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Octal which does everything I would need.", "excerpt": "I use Octal which does everything I would need. Night mode, Pleasant UI, and lightweight", "context": "", "use_case": "Hacker News client", "switched_from": "", "story": "Why doesn't HN have a mobile app?"}]}