Rank 1 · BLP 77
Hacker News
The highest ceiling, and the bluntest room in tech.
Hacker News is not a launch board. It is a news community with a Show HN convention for things you made. There is no hunter, no thumbnail, and no way to rally a private Slack without getting flagged. The entire bet is whether the artifact is interesting to skeptical engineers.
When a Show HN lands, the traffic is technical, high-intent, and often brutal in the comments. Threads that stay on the front page can send more qualified visitors than a Product Hunt #1, and the discussion itself frequently ranks for the product name for years.
Write like an engineer explaining a side project. Show something people can try. Stay in the thread all day. If your product cannot survive “why not just use X?”, do not post yet.
A room, not a submit form
Should you launch on Hacker News?
Launch here only if you can take the local rules and stay in the thread.
Hacker News rewards presence more than a scheduled card. A cold account will not invent a crowd here. Post only if you already belong, or pick a fairer board first. Audience: Engineers, founders, researchers, and technically literate operators.
Do not stack this with another comment-heavy launch on the same morning. Show HN, Reddit, X, and Product Hunt all want the same hours.
When: A different day from Product Hunt. After the one-liner has survived a smaller room.
Launch here if
- Developer tools, infrastructure, and open source
- Products with an interesting build story
- Founders willing to defend design decisions in public
Skip if
- Marketing-speak launches and “we’re excited to announce” posts
- Consumer apps with no technical depth
- Anything that looks like a growth hack
This page answers Hacker News only. For an ordered stack by stage, buyer, and goal, use the shortlist recommender or the four-week sequence.
Launch window
When to show up
No clock. A Show HN is a thread, not a slot.
Post when you can live in comments for hours. Never the same morning as Product Hunt, Reddit, or X.
What money buys
Free vs paid
Listed cost
Free
Nofollow in most cases; SEO value is the thread ranking, not the link juice. The thread is permanent and often ranks in search for years.
Ship kit
Do this before you press submit on Hacker News.
- 01A Show HN title that is the product, not a slogan
- 02A tryable demo, repo, or docs in the first line
- 03Hours free to answer blunt comments
- 04A different calendar day from Product Hunt
Stack with
Same launch month, different job — not a second hunter day.
Not the same morning
These rooms all want you in the comments. Pick one.
Ask AI
Opens your assistant with a ready-made prompt about Hacker News
How to submit
01
Make it tryable
Guidelines expect something people can use. A demo, a public repo, or a working signup beats a waitlist screenshot.
02
Write a dry title
Show HN: Name – one clause of what it does. No superlatives, no emoji, no “game-changing.”
03
Explain the work in the first comment
What you built, why, what is still rough, and what you want feedback on. Sound like a person, not a brand.
04
Stay in the comments
Answer technical objections. Do not argue with the community. Flagged threads die fast if the maker is absent or salesy.
Tips
- Do not cross-post a Product Hunt link as the Show HN URL. Link the product.
- If you have launched before, mention what changed. HN rewards the work, not the announcement.
- A failed Show HN is still useful product research. Read the objections before you try again.
- Never ask friends to upvote. Coordinated voting is the fastest way to get penalized.
Questions people ask
Compare with
Sources and limits
Traffic and authority figures are planning ranges from public 2025–2026 reports, not platform-official guarantees. Scores last reviewed September 2026. Rules and prices change — confirm on the vendor site before you pay.