Hacker Smacker
Hacker Smacker collects writing from supporters and critics of Hacker News in one publication.
About Hacker Smacker
Hacker Smacker is a browser extension for Hacker News that adds orbs next to each author's name to mark them as friend or foe. When people you mark as friends also use Hacker Smacker, you can see their friends and foes while scanning comment threads. It is inspired by Slashdot's friend/foe system and offers versions for Chrome/Edge, Firefox, and Safari, including manual installation files.
Key features
- Adds orbs next to Hacker News author names for friend or foe marking
- Shows friends' friends and foes if those friends use Hacker Smacker
- Helps scan long comment threads to find selected commenters
- Offers extensions for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari
- Supports manual installation from downloaded extension files
Best for: People who read long Hacker News threads and want visual markers for preferred authors.
Good for
- Shows markings from friends who also use the tool
- Available for Chrome/Edge, Firefox, and Safari
- Provides manual install option for supported browsers
Watch out for
- Friend-of-friend markings require marked users to also use Hacker Smacker
Hacker Smacker at a glance
- Official website
- hackersmacker.org
- Category
- News & Media › News Aggregators
- Type
- Publication
- Platforms
- iOS, Web
- Language
- English
- Last checked
- Oct 5, 2026 · Online when checked
- Listed
- Oct 5, 2026
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Hacker Smacker FAQ
How do I mark an author?
Use the orbs next to the author's name to choose friend or foe.
How do I see someone else's friends and foes?
Friend them in Hacker Smacker; if they also use it, their friends and foes become visible to you.
How do I install it manually?
Download the file for your browser, then for Chrome/Edge unzip and load unpacked in chrome://extensions, for Firefox load as temporary add-on in about:debugging, and for Safari double-click the downloaded file to install.
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