A Show HN post can put a product in front of thousands of technical readers in a day, and it costs nothing. It can also end in a few points and a handful of sharp comments. Most of the difference is decided before you post: whether people can try the product without friction, whether the post explains what you built in plain prose, and whether you are there to answer questions. This guide sets out Hacker News' own rules, a readiness check, an outline for the post and the first comment, a launch-day plan and a log that separates attention from customer evidence. It is useful without a Soloop account.
The short answer
Post a Show HN when people can try what you built, ideally without signing up, and when you can spend the day answering questions. Write the title and text yourself, in plain language, and say what it does, how you built it and what it costs. Do not ask anyone to upvote or comment.
Treat the launch as one test of one channel. Before you post, decide what you will count as a result: trials, replies from people who match your buyer, or conversations booked, not points.
Something people can try: software they can run, or hardware shown in a video or detailed article. Blog posts, sign-up pages, newsletters and lists do not qualify.
Show HN rulesYou must have built it yourself and be around to discuss it.
Show HN rulesDo not ask friends to upvote or comment; HN says submissions and accounts that solicit votes are penalized or banned.
HN FAQHN's guidelines ask users not to post generated or AI-edited text.
HN guidelinesShow HN or Launch HN?
Hacker News has two launch formats. Most founders can only use Show HN; Launch HN is reserved for Y Combinator companies. Its writing advice still applies to everyone.
| Dimension | Show HN | Launch HN |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Anyone sharing something they built and can discuss. | YC startups only, one per company, approved by the HN team. |
| Title | Starts with "Show HN:". | "Launch HN: <company> (YC batch) – <tag line>", 80 characters or fewer. |
| How it appears | On /newest and /shownew right away; on /show after a small points threshold. | Scheduled with the HN team; the post states the company is YC-funded. |
| Requirement | Ready for people to try; landing pages and fundraisers do not qualify. | Readers should be able to access the product; a waitlist is usually too early. |
Readiness check before you post
Each item maps to a rule or a common reason launches stall. If any of the first four is false, fix it first; you usually get one good chance, because HN buries reposts of stories that already had significant attention in about the last year.
- A visitor can try the product on launch day without a sales call, and ideally without creating an account, or there is a demo or video if live access is impossible.
- Pricing is visible, and any requirement such as an install, an API key or an onboarding call is stated up front.
- The product works under a traffic spike: the signup, demo and payment paths have been tested from a fresh browser.
- You can stay online for at least the first several hours to answer comments yourself.
- You can say in one sentence what it does, who it is for and why it was hard to build.
- You know which outcome you are measuring and where it is recorded, such as trials in your database or replies in your inbox.
- Your account has a history of ordinary participation; HN marks new accounts with a green username.
Outline for the title, text and first comment
Use this outline to plan; write the words yourself. HN's Launch HN advice is the most detailed public guidance on tone: write as one builder to another, in prose, without superlatives or marketing language.
- Title: "Show HN: [Product] – [what it does, in plain words]". No hype, exclamation marks or version numbers.
- Opening: who you are and, in one clear sentence, what the product does. Do not just repeat the title.
- The problem: why it matters and why it is hard, with a specific situation you ran into.
- How it works: the technical approach and the trade-offs you made. Assume readers are smart; explain any jargon.
- What is different: compared with what people use today, stated modestly and specifically.
- Access and price: the link, what works without signing up, what it costs and how you plan to make money.
- Close: ask a specific question you want help with, such as what would stop someone from using it.
Example of an outline (fictional)
Tallyroom is a fictional product used only to show the outline filled in. It is not a customer, and no result is implied.
| Dimension | What to write | Example notes |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Show HN: [Product] – [what it does] | Show HN: Tallyroom – split shared bills from a photo of the receipt (67 characters) |
| Opening | Who you are; one sentence on what it does | Solo developer; reads a receipt photo and splits it by item between people in a group |
| Hard part | Why it is difficult | Receipts mix taxes, tips and discounts per line; matching them to items is the hard part |
| Access | What works without signup | Try it with a sample receipt; saving a group needs an email |
| Price | Cost and plan | Free for 3 groups; $4 a month after; thinking about a one-time price instead |
| Question | What you want to learn | How do you split bills today, and what would make you switch? |
Launch-day plan
HN ranks stories by points divided by a power of the time since submission, adjusted by flags, anti-abuse software and moderators. Early discussion matters because the post ages quickly. Third-party guides disagree about the best day and hour, so pick a time when you can be present rather than chasing a slot.
- Before posting: open the product in a private window, run the signup and payment paths once and check that analytics record a visit.
- Post the submission yourself, then add a short first comment with the backstory and the technical details that did not fit in the text, if you did not include them already.
- For the next several hours, reply to every substantive comment directly. Start replies to criticism by agreeing with something true in it.
- Fix small bugs while the thread is live and say so in a reply; do not edit away earlier criticism.
- Do not share the link with a request to upvote, and do not let friends post praise. HN calls booster comments the worst mistake you can make there.
- End of day: export the numbers you planned to measure before you look at the points.
What gets a Show HN flagged or ignored
- Linking to a waitlist, a landing page, a newsletter or a fundraiser instead of something to try.
- A title or text that reads like an advertisement, with superlatives or feature lists.
- Asking for upvotes, or friends and colleagues posting supportive comments.
- Comments or replies generated or edited by AI; HN's guidelines ask for your own words.
- Deleting a weak post and submitting it again; HN asks users not to delete and repost.
- Disappearing after posting, or arguing with critics instead of answering them.
After the launch: log evidence, not points
Points and visits show attention. Whether the launch found customers shows up later, in who tried the product, came back and talked to you. Record each stage separately so one strong day does not hide a weak funnel. The figures below are fictional.
| Dimension | Count | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Visits from HN | 1,240 | Attention only. Compare with your usual traffic, not with other launches. |
| Tried the product | 86 (6.9% of visits) | Whether the post set the right expectation and access was easy. |
| Used it on a real bill | 11 (12.8% of trials) | First evidence of value, from people with the problem. |
| Came back within 7 days | 4 (36.4% of real users) | The first sign of a habit rather than curiosity. |
| Conversations | 3 | Calls or long email threads with people who match your buyer. |
Where Soloop fits
Soloop does not post to Hacker News, and you should write your HN post and replies yourself. According to the Soloop manual, it can help before and after: research how similar products were received in public discussions, with source links, so you can prepare honest answers to likely objections; make small changes to your product in a sandbox, such as a demo mode that works without signup; and send individual follow-up emails through a connected Gmail account to people who signed up or asked to hear more.
A bounded first request: My product is [URL] for [role]. Find public discussions of similar products, with sources, and list the five objections people raised most often. Do not write any Hacker News text.
Check the current connections and steps in your workspace, because they can change.
Sources, limitations and refresh
Rules and advice come from Hacker News' Show HN rules, Launch HN page, guidelines and FAQ, read on October 23, 2026. Third-party launch guides were reviewed for timing advice, which conflicts and is not cited as fact. The readiness check, outline, launch-day plan and log are editorial guidance and do not predict points, traffic or customers.
This guide will be reviewed by December 15, 2026, or sooner if Hacker News changes its rules.
What qualifies, readiness, easy access, title format, no solicited votes.
Hacker NewsYC-only format; writing, tone, access and comment advice.
Hacker NewsSelf-promotion limits, own-words rule, ranking, reposts and new accounts.
Hacker NewsThe Soloop manual describes research, build and Gmail tasks; it has no Hacker News feature.
Soloop product manual