# Uncovering the Hidden API of LessWrong's RSS Feeds > Coverage of lessw-blog **Published:** February 23, 2026 **Author:** PSEEDR Editorial **Category:** risk **Content tier:** free **Accessible for free:** true **Word count:** 482 **Tags:** RSS, Data Engineering, LessWrong, Automation, OSINT **Canonical URL:** https://pseedr.com/risk/uncovering-the-hidden-api-of-lesswrongs-rss-feeds --- In a recent post, lessw-blog documents the hidden capabilities of the LessWrong RSS feed, revealing a suite of query parameters that transform a standard content stream into a powerful filtering tool. In a recent post, **lessw-blog** documents the hidden capabilities of the LessWrong RSS feed, revealing a suite of query parameters that transform a standard content stream into a powerful filtering tool for researchers and developers. While RSS is often viewed as a legacy technology, this analysis demonstrates how LessWrong has implemented a flexible, albeit largely undocumented, query layer on top of their feeds, effectively functioning as a public, read-only API. LessWrong serves as a central hub for technical discussions regarding AI alignment, rationality, and forecasting. For developers and analysts monitoring the AI safety landscape, the platform is a high-signal source. However, the default RSS feed-which includes all recently published articles-can effectively become a firehose of information, mixing high-level research with casual discussion. The inability to filter this stream has historically made it difficult to build automated monitoring systems that isolate specific signals without resorting to complex web scraping. The source highlights that the LessWrong RSS implementation supports standard HTTP query parameters to filter content before it reaches the reader's aggregator. Most notably, the post identifies a `karmaThreshold` parameter. This allows users to subscribe only to posts that have achieved a certain community score, serving as a proxy for quality or consensus. For example, a researcher could configure a feed to only deliver articles with a karma score above 50, ensuring that their attention is reserved for posts that have already passed a layer of community review. Furthermore, the post details how to segment content by author and view type. Users can subscribe specifically to the "Curated" or "Frontpage" views, or track the output of specific user IDs. This is particularly valuable for tracking the output of key thought leaders in the AI space without needing to manually check their profiles. The analysis also uncovers separate feed endpoints for comments and "shortform" content (LessWrong's equivalent of micro-blogging or quick takes). The comment feeds are surprisingly granular, supporting filtering by specific Post IDs or even Parent Comment IDs, which enables granular tracking of specific debate threads. For PSEEDR's audience of developers and data engineers, this discovery offers a lightweight method to integrate LessWrong data into broader intelligence dashboards or aggregation pipelines. By utilizing these URL parameters, one can construct highly specific monitors for AI safety discourse without the overhead of maintaining a scraper or authenticating against a formal API. We recommend reading the full post to access the specific parameter syntax and endpoint structures required to build these custom feeds. [Read the full post](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/dzF8vSdDtmWjCBBDr/secrets-of-the-lesswrong-rss-feed) ### Key Takeaways * LessWrong's RSS feed supports undocumented query parameters for granular content filtering. * Users can filter feeds by 'karmaThreshold' to receive only high-quality or community-vetted posts. * Specific views, such as 'Curated' or 'Frontpage', can be targeted via the feed URL. * Separate endpoints exist for comments and shortform content, allowing for thread-specific tracking. * These features enable the creation of custom monitoring tools without web scraping. [Read the original post at lessw-blog](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/dzF8vSdDtmWjCBBDr/secrets-of-the-lesswrong-rss-feed) --- ## Sources - https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/dzF8vSdDtmWjCBBDr/secrets-of-the-lesswrong-rss-feed