vox-pop

The shift tells a story: **2017 was a flame war. 2026 is domain-specific pragmatism.**

---

**Standard search** — flat results from all platforms:

```bash
vox-pop search "should I learn Rust or Go" --limit 3

### hackernews (45 found)
> "I am a full stack TypeScript dev looking to broaden my skill set..."
  — hackernews | +78 points | 42 replies | by throwaway_dev
  Source: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41907717

### 4chan /g/ (12 found)
> "Rust is a mass psychosis. Go is boring but you'll actually ship..."
  — 4chan /g/ | 129 replies | by Anonymous

### reddit (8 found)
> "After 2 years with both: Rust for systems, Go for services..."
  — reddit | +234 points | 87 replies | by senior_dev_42

import asyncio
from vox_pop.core import search_multiple, format_context, get_default_providers

async def main():
    results = await search_multiple(
        "best laptop for programming",
        providers=get_default_providers(),
    )
    print(format_context(results))

asyncio.run(main())

User query: "i was looking into a solid laptop for linux
             something from hp, what would a savvy person pick"
                                    │
    ┌───────────────────────────────▼──────────────────────────────┐
    │  Tier 1: MCP Hints                                          │
    │  Calling LLM provides routing_hints directly                │
    │  (skips all other tiers)                                    │
    ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
    │  Tier 2: LLM Query Rewrite          ← like Perplexity      │
    │  Cheap LLM call rewrites query to search-optimized form     │
    │  "hp laptop linux compatibility" + routes to communities    │
    │  Supports: Anthropic, OpenAI, Ollama (local/free)           │
    ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
    │  Tier 3: Semantic Embeddings         ← free, no API key     │
    │  FastEmbed (33MB model) understands meaning, not keywords   │
    │  Dynamic catalog: 77 4chan boards + 180 SE sites + static   │
    │  "contradictory spell behaviour" → SE:rpg, r/DnD, /tg/     │
    ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
    │  Tier 4: Broad Defaults                                     │
    │  Search popular destinations everywhere                     │
    └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                    │
                                    ▼
    Routes to: r/buildapc, r/linux, r/hardware │ /g/
               SE:hardwarerecs, SE:askubuntu │ lemmy:linux@lemmy.ml

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=...   # Uses Claude Haiku (~$0.0003/query)
OPENAI_API_KEY=...      # Uses GPT-4o Mini
OLLAMA_HOST=...         # Uses local Ollama (free)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vox-pop": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "vox_pop.server"]
    }
  }
}

routing_hints: "reddit:MechanicalKeyboards,4chan:g,stackexchange:hardwarerecs"

claude plugin add /path/to/vox-pop

> "What do people think about living in Berlin?"    → activates
> "Should I use Next.js or Remix?"                  → activates
> "Best gym routine for beginners?"                 → activates
> "What's the capital of France?"                   → does not activate

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Layer 3: Claude Code / MCP Client                       │
│  Auto-triggering skill + /vox-search                     │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Layer 2: MCP Server                                     │
│  search_opinions · perspectives · threads · list         │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Layer 1: Python Library                                 │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  Smart Router (4-tier)                             │  │
│  │  MCP hints → LLM rewrite → FastEmbed → broad      │  │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  9 Providers with fallback chains                  │  │
│  │  HN · Reddit · 4chan · SE · Telegram               │  │
│  │  Lobsters · Lemmy · LessWrong · XenForo Forums     │  │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  Dynamic Catalog                                   │  │
│  │  77 4chan boards + 180 SE sites fetched from APIs   │  │
│  │  + 120 static destinations · cached to disk         │  │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

pip install vox-pop

vox-pop search "should I learn Rust or Go"

vox-pop search "rust vs go" --perspective --platforms hackernews,reddit