# How to launch on Hacker News with a Show HN that survives the comments

You get one clean shot at Show HN. Use it for something people can try, write a title and first comment that set expectations, and make your site ready. Here is the plan that avoids flags and makes the day worth it.

Updated 2026-09-14 · Source: https://porteur.ai/guides/launch-on-hacker-news

## What Show HN is for, and what gets flagged

Show HN is for something you made that people can try. That is the bar. A working demo, a running app, an interactive prototype.

- Your title starts with "Show HN:" and links to the thing itself, not a blog or a sign-up wall.
- You, the maker, post the first comment that explains what it is and why you made it.
- Landing pages, sign-up pages, newsletters and reading material are out, because you cannot try them.
- New posts go to /new and /show. Votes and comments can move them to the front page. Moderators also run a second-chance pool for good posts that got missed.
- Traffic from the front page is large and brief. Comments are candid. That is the point.

> Do not ask friends or a community to upvote. Voting rings are detected and penalised.

## When to post your Show HN

Post when you can stay online to answer. That is the only timing rule that always holds for a small team.

Watch the /show page for a day. Note how fast items move. Aim for a slot when you can respond for several hours without a meeting in the way.

Do not sit on it for months while polishing. Ship what can be tried in a browser without a card. Fix the rest live in the thread.

## Write the title that earns a click

Keep it literal. Name the thing and what it does. Skip claims and adjectives. You have about 60 characters to stay readable in lists.

- Format: "Show HN: <thing>: <what it does>" without fluff. Example: "Show HN: Cronly, schedule HTTP jobs with a URL".
- If it is tiny, say tiny. If it is a rewrite, say rewrite. Clarity earns clicks.
- Avoid brand bait. Do not stuff "AI" unless it is central to the thing users will try.
- Link to the running thing. If you must explain more, put it in your first comment, not the title.

## Write the first comment that sets the frame

Your first comment is your chance to steer the thread. It answers the why, the how, and what feedback you want. It says what to try first.

- Open with one line on the problem and who it is for. Example: "We built Cronly for devs who need simple HTTP jobs without infra".
- State what can be tried now, without a card. List one or two concrete actions. Example: "Hit /demo to create a job and see a run log".
- Give technical context in plain words. Stack, constraints, and a link to docs or /guides/getting-started if you have one.
- Acknowledge prior art. Name a couple of alternatives and where you differ.
- Price, if relevant. Be honest if you do not know yet. Example: "Free now. Likely a $10 hobby tier later".
- Ask for one kind of feedback. Example: "Is the retry model clear?" or "What would stop you trying this at work?"
- Set expectations for response speed. Example: "Two of us are here all day. We will push fixes live".

Keep the tone calm. Do not rebut every doubt. Treat harsh comments as free product research you did not have to book.

## Make the site ready to be tried now

Your page should load fast, work without a card, and show price and limits with no hunt. A Show HN dies on friction. Remove it before you post.

- A path with no card: let a visitor press one button and see value. Example: "/demo" seeds data and opens the dashboard.
- A guest token: give an expiring account that resets hourly. No email, no OAuth, no CAPTCHA.
- A fast first paint: aim for 2.5 seconds Largest Contentful Paint, 0.1 Cumulative Layout Shift and 200 ms Interaction to Next Paint.
- Cut third party scripts. Drop heatmaps and chat for the day. Keep only what the page needs to function.
- Static assets: compress images, use modern formats, lazy load below the fold. Keep your hero under 150 kB.
- Honest pricing: a "Pricing" link in the top nav. A simple page with plans, limits and one sentence per feature. No dark patterns.
- Status and limits: a small "/status" link. Rate limits and any downtime today go there.
- Docs: a short "/guides/getting-started" and one API example if you have an API. Keep it copy and paste ready.

A fixed page looks like this: yourproduct.com loads in one paint, the primary action is visible, and "/pricing" and "/demo" are in the header on both mobile and desktop.

## Submission, steps that reduce risk

1. **Check the thing can be tried** From a clean browser on mobile and desktop, reach value in one click from "/" or "/demo" with no sign-in.
2. **Draft the title and the first comment** Paste both in a note. Keep the title under 60 characters if you can. Ask for one kind of feedback.
3. **Strip blockers** Remove paywalls, cookie popups where you can, and "book a demo" as the only path. Leave pricing public.
4. **Load test the basics** Run a small test. Can it take a few hundred concurrent reads? Cache the demo. Rate limit writes politely.
5. **Set up observability for the day** Keep logs open. Add lightweight uptime alerts. Turn on request logging around "/demo" and the top routes.
6. **Decide where to send feedback** Create "/feedback" with an email and a GitHub Discussions link or an issue template. Link it in your first comment.
7. **Submit to Show HN** Use the Show submission form. Title starts with "Show HN:". Link to the thing itself. Post your first comment right after.

## Answering criticism in the thread

You will get a mix: praise, bugs, and strong opinions. Treat each as a prompt to clarify or to ship a change. Keep your replies short.

- Bug report: thank, confirm, ship a fix if safe, then reply with the commit or the change note.
- Feature request: ask for a concrete job story. Note it, do not promise dates in public.
- Security concern: acknowledge, move details to email, and post a brief public note when resolved.
- Prior art callout: recognise it. Explain your angle without slighting the other tool.
- Harsh tone: skip the tone, answer the substance. Do not ask for upvotes or for people to "be nice".
- Edits: if you change something material, add a short update comment. Example: "Update: pricing page now live at /pricing".

## What the day looks like, and how to handle it

If you reach the front page, the spike is steep and brief. Prepare for hours of traffic, signups if you allow them, and a flood of edge cases.

- Keep the app up by degrading gently. Turn off non-essential jobs. Serve cached demo states if the origin is slow.
- Have a short "We are rate limiting writes due to HN traffic" banner ready. Use it only if needed.
- Track the top entry routes. Example: "/demo" and "/pricing". Watch their error rates in real time.
- Answer in batches. Ten short, concrete replies beat one long defence.
- Do not change the core proposition mid-thread. Ship small fixes. Save broad repositioning for later.
- When traffic falls, post a single summary comment of changes you shipped during the day.

## What remains after the spike

The thread can rank on your name and on "<your product> alternatives" type searches. Assistants also read Hacker News threads as of 2026. Treat it like a durable mention, not just a burst.

- Link the thread from "/press" or "/changelog". Future users and assistants will find context there.
- Turn common questions into a "FAQ" on "/guides/getting-started". Link to it when the same question comes up again.
- Add internal links from your blog or docs to the thread only where it helps a reader. Do not force it.
- If you were missed, a moderator repost from the second-chance pool can happen. Keep the site ready so the second shot works.
- Plan week two. Email people who asked for a ping when a fix ships. Post a short recap on your blog with real changes and numbers you are happy to share.

## Surround the Show HN with listings that compound

Use the same week to claim durable listings where buyers and assistants look. Each has its own rules. Respect them, or skip them.

- Product Hunt: a one day launch ranked by upvotes. Makers add a tagline, description, media and a first comment. Asking directly for upvotes is against guidelines. The listing keeps ranking for your name.
- BetaList: lists pre-launch and recent launches that take signups. Queue can be weeks unless you pay to expedite. It wants early-stage products and a clear one-liner.
- Indie Hackers: a founder community. Posts that share numbers and lessons get read. Launch posts go in the right place. Bare promotion gets removed.
- G2 and Capterra: free vendor profiles. Verified user reviews are the currency. Category pages rank on "best X software" and "X reviews" and are read by buyers and assistants. Capterra listings feed GetApp and Software Advice. Both offer paid placement and badges from reviews. Incentives for reviews must follow their rules.
- AlternativeTo: anyone can submit an app. Alternatives are ordered by user likes. Pages rank on "X alternatives" and are cited by assistants.
- Reddit: each subreddit sets rules. Many ban self-promo. Some have weekly share threads like r/SideProject. Founders who answer questions for months, disclose, and post in the allowed thread are welcome.
- AI product directories: category pages rank on "best AI tool for X" and assistants read them. Links are often nofollow. Value is presence on the lists.
- Small launch sites: Uneed, MicroLaunch, Dev Hunt, Launching Next, Peerlist launches, Fazier, SaaSHub. Each gives a listing, a vote, and a link to you.

Treat these as audiences and mentions, not as link building. Google spam policies treat low value directories and paid links that pass ranking as spam. Earn the click with a clear one-liner and a working link to your thing.

## Questions

### What does Show HN mean?

It means you are showing something you made to the Hacker News community. It must be something people can try now. You add a first comment with context.

### Can I post a landing page as a Show HN?

No. The guidelines exclude landing pages, sign-up pages, newsletters and reading material, because you cannot try them. Link to the running thing or a demo.

### Do I need a perfect product before I post?

No. You need a tryable slice. Show HN rewards clarity and honesty. Ship a version users can click and learn from. Fix issues live in the thread.

### How do I handle negative comments?

Answer the substance, not the tone. Thank bug reports, acknowledge prior art, and ship safe fixes. Skip arguments. Use one update comment to summarise changes.

### What if my post gets missed?

Moderators run a second-chance pool that can repost good submissions that slipped by. Keep your site ready. A quiet repost can work if the product is solid.

### Should I promote my post to friends?

Do not ask for upvotes. Voting rings are detected and penalised. Share the link for feedback if you like, but never ask or hint for votes.

## Read next

- [Launching on Product Hunt: a checklist that fits a week](https://porteur.ai/guides/launch-on-product-hunt): What a Product Hunt launch is worth, how to prepare in a week, what to do on the day, and what to fix after to turn visitors into users.
- [How to get listed on BetaList](https://porteur.ai/guides/get-listed-on-betalist): Who BetaList is for, how to submit, how to write your one‑liner, what to expect, and the pages to have ready before your listing goes live.
- [How to launch on Indie Hackers, and why the numbers post works](https://porteur.ai/guides/launch-on-indie-hackers): Launch on Indie Hackers with a story and figures, not a pitch. Set up your product page, write the numbers post, get feedback, and keep momentum.
- [Startup directories worth an hour of your time](https://porteur.ai/guides/startup-directories): Where to submit your startup, what each place gives you, how to fill twenty forms in an hour, and which sites to skip.
- [How to get listed on G2 and Capterra, and get the first reviews](https://porteur.ai/guides/get-listed-on-g2-and-capterra): Set up G2 and Capterra, pick categories, get real reviews within the rules, use badges, and know what paid placement buys and does not.
- [How ChatGPT search picks and cites sources](https://porteur.ai/guides/how-chatgpt-search-cites-sources): See how ChatGPT search finds pages and cites them, what your page needs to be picked, and how to check if your site is named.
- [How to write a launch post people read to the end](https://porteur.ai/guides/how-to-write-a-launch-post): Use one structure that works on Hacker News, Product Hunt, Indie Hackers and your newsletter. With a worked example and the lines to cut.
- [YMYL](https://porteur.ai/glossary/ymyl): YMYL means “Your Money or Your Life”, topics where Google weighs trust most: health, finance, safety, legal, civic news. Here is how it affects you.

Planning a Show HN, paste your URL and get a free check in about thirty seconds that reads your site, the searches around it and rivals, and shows three findings; you can connect Search Console and analytics later in Porteur. Free check: https://porteur.ai/