Hacker News launch
Also called: Show HN, launching on Hacker News, HN launch, posting on Hacker News
Definition
A Hacker News launch is sharing a product on Hacker News, usually as a Show HN post: a submission titled 'Show HN' for something you made that people can try, discuss and give feedback on.
Hacker News (HN) is a link and discussion site run by Y Combinator, with a technical, skeptical audience. Launching there usually means a Show HN post: you share something you built and stay in the thread to answer questions.
How it works
The Show HN guidelines are short and strict:
- It must be something people can try. Things people can run on their computers or hold in their hands. For hardware, a video or detailed article is fine; for books, a sample chapter.
- Off topic: blog posts, sign-up pages, newsletters, lists, landing pages and fundraisers. Those go as regular submissions, or not at all.
- You must have built it and be around to discuss it.
- Remove barriers. HN asks you to make it easy to try, ideally without signups or emails. If it is not ready for users, wait.
- Format: title starts with "Show HN". Every Show HN appears on the "shownew" page, and after it clears a small points threshold it appears on the Show page.
- No vote rings. "Please don't ask friends to upvote or comment" is in the rules.
The general HN guidelines add: do not use HN primarily for promotion, do not post generated text, and do not automate posting.
Why it matters
A Show HN that resonates can bring thousands of technical early adopters, sharp feedback and sometimes press and backlinks in a day. It suits developer tools, open-source projects and product-led products people can try in minutes. It suits polished marketing pages much less. For a launch built around a single day of upvotes and a maker community, see Product Hunt launch.
The comment thread is the real value. HN users will find bugs, question your pricing and compare you with alternatives. Founders who reply calmly and specifically, and fix things during the day, tend to come out ahead.
How it compares with Reddit
HN and Reddit share a culture of distrust toward marketing, and the same things work on both: show the real thing, answer questions directly, be honest about limits, never manufacture votes.
The differences:
- HN is one front page; Reddit is thousands of communities, each with its own rules.
- A Show HN is a single launch moment. Reddit threads asking for tools like yours appear every week and keep ranking on Google for years, so Reddit suits ongoing participation more than one-off launches.
- Coordinated voting is banned on both. On Reddit it is vote manipulation and gets accounts suspended.
A sensible sequence for a technical product: launch on HN when it is genuinely ready to try, then keep showing up in the subreddits where your users ask for help. See Reddit for startups.
Common mistakes
- Posting a landing page. The guidelines exclude it.
- Asking friends to upvote. Explicitly against the rules.
- Disappearing after posting. HN expects the maker to be in the thread.
Frequently asked questions
What is Show HN?
A type of Hacker News submission for something you made that people can try. The title starts with "Show HN" and the maker stays to discuss it.
Can I post a landing page or waitlist on Show HN?
No. The guidelines list sign-up pages and landing pages as off topic. Wait until people can use it.
What is the difference between a Product Hunt launch and a Show HN?
Product Hunt is built for launches and runs a daily cycle with makers promoting their day. Show HN is a smaller, stricter format on a general tech news site, focused on things people can try right away.