Show HN is one of the few launch channels where a product with no audience can reach thousands of developers in an afternoon. It is also one of the strictest: the rules are short, the readers notice when they are broken, and a post that goes wrong is hard to repeat.
This guide goes through what Hacker News itself says, in its Show HN rules, its guidelines and its FAQ, all read on October 8, 2026, and turns it into what to do before, during and after the post. Where we add advice of our own, we say so.
What does Show HN mean?
Show HN stands for Show Hacker News. It is a post whose title begins with "Show HN", and the rules define it as being "for something you've made that other people can play with". Posts in this format get their own list on the site, so they can find readers without reaching the front page.
The HN FAQ adds that "Show HN is for sharing your personal work and has special rules". Those rules sit on a page of their own, separate from the general guidelines, and both apply.
Does your project qualify for Show HN?
Check four things before you post. Each line below comes from the Show HN page or the site guidelines.
| The rule | What to check |
|---|---|
| Something people can play with | A visitor can use it today, not join a waitlist. |
| "Something you've worked on personally" | You built it, and you will be in the thread. |
| No "landing pages or fundraisers" | The link opens the product or a working demo. |
| No "quickly-generated one-offs" | It took real work and does something new. |
What does not qualify is spelled out too: "blog posts, sign-up pages, newsletters, lists, and other reading material". A post about how you built the product is welcome on HN, just as a regular submission without the prefix. Updates are mostly out: the rules say new features and upgrades are usually not substantive enough, though "a major overhaul is probably ok".
How do you make it easy to try?
Remove every step between the click and the first result. The rules ask you to make it easy to try, "ideally without barriers such as signups or emails". Every form between the click and the product is a place where a curious reader closes the tab.
Some ways to get there, from our own launch checklists rather than the rules:
- A demo mode with sample data, so the product shows what it does before anyone creates an account.
- A guest session that keeps work in the browser and asks for an email only to save it.
- A short video or live example for things that cannot run in a browser, such as hardware or a command line tool, next to the install command.
A burst of visitors from a busy post also tests your hosting, so check that the free tier of your database and email provider will survive an afternoon of real traffic.
How do you write a Show HN title?
Plainly: the guidelines ask you not to make titles stand out with "uppercase or exclamation points", and to crop "a gratuitous number or number + adjective". Most Show HN titles follow one shape: the prefix, the name, and what it does.
Show HN: Plainstat, product analytics on one screen without cookiesSay what it does in the words a developer would use, not your marketing line. "The future of analytics" tells a reader nothing; "product analytics without cookies" tells them whether to click.
Link to the product itself, with a clean address. A link full of tracking tags reads as promotion, and visits from HN still show up under its domain whenever the browser sends a referrer.
What should the first comment say?
Submit the link, then add a comment yourself. The HN FAQ says text posts cannot carry a link, and for a link with comments advises: "just submit the link, then add a regular comment".
A good first comment answers what readers ask anyway: why you built it, how it works under the hood, what it does not do yet, and what feedback you want. Readers on HN care about the technical choices, so name the stack and the hard part.
Write it yourself, because the guidelines say "Please don't put generated text in HN posts" and, for comments, "Don't post generated text or AI-edited text." A comment that reads like a press release draws exactly the replies you do not want.
What happens after you post a Show HN?
Your post appears on the list of new Show HN posts. The FAQ says "there is a small points threshold before a post makes it to" the Show page, and from there a post with enough votes can reach the front page. Ranking "divides points by a power of the time since a story was submitted", so the first hour matters most.
Stay in the thread for the first few hours. Answer every question, thank people for criticism and say what you will change. The Show HN rules ask commenters to be kind and curious too, but the tone of a thread usually follows the maker's replies.
Do not ask anyone to vote. "Please don't ask friends to upvote or comment" is in the Show HN rules, and the FAQ says HN will "penalize or ban submissions, accounts, and sites" that solicit votes. Sharing the link with your team and asking them to upvote is exactly that.
Why was my Show HN flagged?
Because enough readers thought it broke the rules or did not belong. The FAQ defines [flagged] as "Users flagged the post as breaking the guidelines or otherwise not belonging on HN", and [dead] as a post "killed by software, user flags, or moderators".
| What you see | Usual cause | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| [flagged] | Readers saw a landing page, a sign-up wall or an ad | Read the rules again; write to the moderators if you think it was a mistake |
| [dead] | Killed by the spam filter, flags or a moderator | Do not repost; write to the moderators |
| No votes, no comments | It went by unseen in a busy hour | A small number of reposts is allowed later |
| Drops fast despite votes | Flags, anti-abuse software or a moderator, all of which the FAQ lists as ranking factors | Check the rules first, then write to the moderators |
The moderators read email at hn@ycombinator.com, which the guidelines name for questions and feedback. A short, polite note explaining what the project is tends to work better than a complaint.
Can you repost a Show HN?
Sometimes, within limits: the FAQ says "If a story has not had significant attention in the last year or so, a small number of reposts is ok." Otherwise reposts are buried as duplicates. The guidelines also say "Please don't delete and repost", so leave a quiet post up rather than removing it to try again.
A post that got a real discussion is your Show HN for that version. A major overhaul can come back, as the rules allow; a new feature cannot. If you want readers to see what changed, a technical post about how you built it is a regular submission, and it does not count against the Show HN. A thread scrolls away within a day, so give the product pages that stay up too, such as a listing on website.show that keeps linking to it.
FAQ
Do I need karma to post a Show HN?
No minimum is stated for posting; the FAQ mentions karma thresholds only for flagging, vouching and downvoting. A new account shows in green, and readers know it is new, which is one more reason to take part in other threads before your own.
Is Show HN worth it for a SaaS product?
It is for products developers or technical people would try themselves. A tool for dentists may get kind comments and no customers. For a broader view of where to launch, our comparison of launch directories and the guide to your first 100 users cover other channels.
Can I post a Show HN for a paid product?
Yes, if people can try it: the rules care whether readers can play with it, not whether it costs money. A free tier, a trial without a card or a live demo makes that possible.
Sources
- Show HN guidelines, Hacker News
- Hacker News guidelines, Hacker News
- Hacker News FAQ, Hacker News
We read all three pages on October 8, 2026. The moderators update them from time to time, so check the Show HN page on the day you post.