Platform Guide
How to Write a Winning Show HN Post on Hacker News
A successful Show HN post can drive thousands of technically sophisticated visitors and trigger press coverage. The community is unforgiving but invaluable. Here is what makes posts succeed.
Hacker News is the most technically rigorous startup community in the world. A front-page Show HN can send 5,000 to 20,000 visitors in 24 hours — almost all of them developers, founders, or highly technical decision-makers. But the community has strong norms, and posts that violate them are quickly buried.
What makes a Show HN succeed
Title format. Always start with "Show HN:" followed by your product name and a concise description. Use plain language. "Show HN: A CLI tool that generates SQL migrations from your schema diff" beats "Show HN: AI-powered database migration assistant."
The text body. The Show HN text should answer: what does it do, why did you build it, what is interesting or technically novel about it, and what are you looking for from the community. Keep it under 300 words.
Genuine technical content. The HN community upvotes posts that teach them something. If your product has an interesting technical approach, lead with that.
Honesty about limitations. Acknowledge what is not built yet. The community respects builders who are honest about their MVP stage.
Timing and submission
Submit between 7 and 10 AM Eastern Time on weekdays. Avoid Mondays and Fridays. The HN front page has highest engagement midweek mornings when US-based readers are active and starting their day.
Do not ask your friends to upvote in organized fashion — HN's algorithm detects coordinated voting and will penalize your post. Let organic engagement drive the post.
Responding to comments
- Respond to every comment in the first 2 hours — this is when velocity matters most.
- Never be defensive about criticism. Thank the commenter and address the concern directly.
- If someone finds a bug or a significant flaw, acknowledge it publicly and say what you will do about it.
- Technical questions deserve technical answers. Vague "great question, we are working on it" responses get downvoted.
What to avoid
- Marketing language and hyperbole — HN readers will call it out immediately.
- Asking for upvotes anywhere, including in your post text.
- Posting a landing page with no working product.
- Submitting the same product multiple times in a short window.
Hacker News is one of many developer channels
UpStart identifies which developer-focused platforms match your product, including Hacker News, DEV Community, GitHub, and others — with platform-specific pitch copy for each.