Preparing a Show HN Post That Follows the Rules

Hacker News is a discussion site with a long memory and a sharp eye. For makers of small technical projects, its Show HN section is one of the places where a project can be seen by an audience that understands what it takes to build things. It is also a place where a careless post can be taken apart in public.

Whether to post is up to you. This guide is for the case where you have decided to, and want to follow the site's own rules, present your work honestly and handle a thread with grace. Everything here is drawn from the site's published guidelines, which you should read yourself before you post, because they can change.

What a Show HN is

The Show HN guidelines state that Show HN is for something you have made that other people can play with, where users can try it out, give feedback and ask questions in the thread.

They are specific about what fits.

• On topic: things people can run on their computers or hold in their hands. For hardware, a video or detailed article is acceptable. For books, a sample chapter is fine.
• Off topic: blog posts, sign-up pages, newsletters, lists and other reading material. Those cannot be tried, so they are not Show HNs. The guidelines suggest making a regular submission instead.

The project should be non-trivial. The guidelines say not to post quickly generated one-offs and to share something that is deeply personal and interesting to you, explaining how and why. It must be something you have worked on personally and are around to discuss.

Is your project ready?

Run through a short checklist at the bench.

Can people try it? The guidelines ask you to make it easy, ideally without barriers such as sign-ups or emails, because you will get more feedback that way. If your project is not ready for users to try, they say not to do a Show HN and to come back when it is.

Is it yours? You should be able to say what you made and what you used.

Is it more than a landing page? A page that only promises something does not qualify, and the guidelines say not to post landing pages or fundraisers.

Is it substantial? New features and upgrades, such as a minor version number, are generally not substantive enough, while a major overhaul is probably fine.

Will you be there? A Show HN thread runs for hours. You need to be around to answer.

Is it honest? Every claim you make will be tested.

If any answer is no, wait. There is no deadline, and a better-prepared post will do better.

Prepare the project

Before posting, tidy the experience a stranger will have.

• A working link that loads quickly and does not require a login for a first try. If an account is truly needed, provide a demo or a quick route.
• A clear first screen, saying what it is.
• A README or short page with what it does, how it works and how to run it.
• Known limits, written plainly.
• A way to report problems.
• Safeguards. Rate limits, cost caps if you call paid services and a plan for a surge of visitors.
• Privacy. Say what you store.
• Open licence and source, if relevant, with a clear licence file.

Test it on a clean browser and a phone. Ask a friend to try it, silently, and watch where they stumble.

Write the title

The title is your first and most visible words. The guidelines say a title should begin with "Show HN". Beyond that, the general guidelines for the site ask for plain, unhyped titles.

Do:

• Start with "Show HN:" followed by the name or the plain description.
• Say what it is: "Show HN: A command-line tool that converts recipes into shopping lists".
• Keep it short and specific.
• Use sentence case.

Avoid:

• Capital letters or exclamation marks to stand out. The guidelines ask people not to do things to make titles stand out, such as using uppercase or saying how great something is.
• Superlatives: "best", "fastest", "revolutionary".
• Gratuitous numbers or lists in the style of clickbait.
• Marketing language.

Try several titles, and read each aloud. Pick the one a curious stranger would click without feeling sold to.

Write the first comment

On Hacker News, makers commonly add a first comment to their own submission, explaining the project. The guidelines point to tips on how to present your work, and the spirit is clear: explain how and why you made it.

A good first comment is short and human. A structure to follow:

1. What it is, in a sentence or two.
2. Why you made it. The itch, the story.
3. How it works, at a level that invites discussion: the interesting technical choices.
4. What is rough or unfinished. Name two or three limits.
5. What you would like feedback on. A specific question is easier to answer than "thoughts?".
6. How to try it, with the link again.

Write it yourself. The site's guidelines say not to post generated text or AI-edited text, because Hacker News is for conversation between humans. Keep your own voice, flaws included.

Avoid:

• Long marketing copy.
• Claims you cannot support.
• Defensive pre-emptions: "Before you say it's just a..."
• Begging for votes.

Do not solicit votes or comments

The Show HN guidelines say plainly: please do not ask friends to upvote or comment, and that it is not okay on the site. The wider guidelines say not to solicit upvotes, comments or submissions, and that users should vote and comment when they run across something they personally find interesting, not for promotion.

Practical meaning:

• Do not message friends asking them to vote.
• Do not post links in chat groups with "go upvote".
• Do not use extra accounts.
• Do tell friends it exists, if you like, and let them decide whether to engage on their own.

Votes obtained that way are both against the rules and, typically, easy to spot. A post that rises because real people liked it is worth far more.

Timing and one chance

Think about when to post, but not too long. A reasonable approach is to choose a time when you can be present for several hours and not be interrupted. Time zones matter for who will see it.

The guidelines say not to delete and repost. Deletion is for things that should not have been submitted in the first place. So treat a post as a single attempt for that version of the project. If it does not take off, learn and improve. If you later have something substantially new, such as a major overhaul, a fresh submission may be appropriate, but read the rules first.

Also, do not post to ask or tell the site something. The guidelines ask you to send such messages by email to the address they give.

Be present, and be kind

A thread is a conversation. The guidelines on comments are worth taking to heart.

• Be respectful. Anyone sharing work is making a contribution, however modest.
• Ask questions out of curiosity. Don't cross-examine.
• Suggest alternatives instead of saying people are doing it wrong.
• When someone is learning, help them learn more.
• When something isn't good, you needn't pretend it is, but don't be gratuitously negative.

That applies to you and to those replying to you. Expect a mix: encouraging comments, technical questions, comparisons with existing tools, blunt criticism and the occasional shallow dismissal. Reply to the strongest interpretation of what people say. Assume good faith.

How to reply

• Thank people for trying it.
• Answer questions directly. Short answers are fine.
• Admit mistakes. "Good catch, I'll fix that" does a lot.
• Do not argue about whether the project should exist.
• Do not reply to trolling. The guidelines suggest flagging egregious comments and not feeding them.
• Link to code or docs for technical detail.
• Do not post generated answers. Write your own.

Stay for the whole thread

The first few hours matter most. Keep a tab open and reply as comments arrive. Make notes of bugs and requests in your logbook, and fix quick ones during the day if you can, saying so.

After the thread

When the discussion quietens:

1. Make a list of the bugs and requests raised.
2. Fix the real problems first.
3. Thank people, perhaps with an update in the thread if it is still open.
4. Write down what you learned.
5. Look at your traffic. Tag your links, if you can, to see how many visits came from the post. Google's analytics help explains campaign tags.
6. Add the best feedback to your page, with permission for any quotes.
7. Rest.

Do not expect a flood of customers. For many projects, the value of a Show HN is the quality of the feedback and a few meaningful connections.

What if it does not take off

Most submissions get little attention. That does not mean the project is poor. Visibility on a busy site depends on timing and luck as well as quality.

• Do not repost the same thing.
• Do not take it personally.
• Ask yourself whether the project could be easier to try or easier to understand.
• Share it in other places that suit it, honouring their rules.
• Keep building.

A short pre-post checklist

• I have read the current Show HN and general guidelines.
• My project can be tried without barriers.
• It is non-trivial and mine.
• The title starts with Show HN and is plain.
• My first comment is written by me, honest and specific.
• I will not ask anyone to vote or comment.
• I will be present for several hours.
• I have safeguards against surges and costs.
• I know what I will do afterwards.

On this site

A listing on the submit page gives your project a public page that you can link to from any post, and the launches page shows how other makers present theirs. The categories page helps you find a shelf, the contact page gets you through to support and the blog has more guides for makers.

The short version

Show HN is for something people can try, made by you, non-trivial and ready. Read the guidelines, make the project easy to try, write a plain title beginning with Show HN, write your own honest first comment, never ask for votes or comments, do not delete and repost, be present and kind in the thread and use the feedback. Follow the rules, tell the truth and let the project speak.