How to write a Show HN post that gets read

Show HN is the part of Hacker News (HN) where people share things they've made. A good one puts your work in front of developers and founders who will try it, tell you what's broken and sometimes keep using it. A weak one drops off the new page within the hour.

The difference is mostly in following HN's own rules, which are short and specific, and in being there when people reply. This guide sticks to HN's Show HN guidelines, its site guidelines, its FAQ and Show HN tips from dang, one of HN's moderators. Where something is common practice rather than an HN rule, it says so.

One rule before anything else: write it yourself. HN's guidelines say "Please don't put generated text in HN posts", and in 2026 dang added to his tips: "Write your text by hand. Don't use an LLM to generate any of it (not even a tiny bit, including to edit or spruce it up)."

What counts as a Show HN

HN's definition is one line: "Show HN is for something you've made that other people can play with." The guidelines then draw the line clearly:

Three more conditions matter:

• It's yours. "The project must be something you've worked on personally and which you're around to discuss."
• It's non-trivial. "Share something that is deeply personal and interesting to you. Explain how and why."
• It can be early. "A Show HN needn't be complicated or look slick. The community is comfortable with work that's at an early stage."

If what you have is a write-up of how you built something, HN says to "make a regular submission instead".

Is it ready?

The guidelines are direct: "If your work isn't ready for users to try out, please don't do a Show HN. Once it's ready, come back and do it then." Before you post, check:

1. Someone can try it in a couple of minutes. HN asks you to make it easy, "ideally without barriers such as signups or emails". dang adds that "HN users get ornery if you make them jump through hoops". If your product needs an account, a demo login, a guest mode or a sandbox is the usual fix. For something hard to try online, dang suggests "a video, for example, or a detailed post with photos".
2. It works on the first visit. Try it in a fresh browser and on a phone.
3. You know what isn't done. You'll be asked.
4. You have the time. Block out the hours after posting.

Get your account ready

• Use a personal username. "Don't have your username be that of your company or project. It creates a feeling of using HN for promotion". Something that shows "you're here as a human, not a brand" is enough; it needn't be your real name.
• Add an email address to your profile, so the moderators can contact you, "and also so we can send you a repost invite".
• Take part, not just launch. HN's guidelines say "It's ok to post your own stuff part of the time, but the primary use of the site should be for curiosity." New accounts show with green usernames, so commenting where you know something before launch day is good practice.

Writing the title

Rules from HN:

• The title must begin with "Show HN".
• "Please don't do things to make titles stand out, like using uppercase or exclamation points, or saying how great an article is."
• dang's tips: "Drop any language that sounds like marketing or sales. On HN, that is an instant turnoff."
• HN's submit form caps titles at 80 characters, "Show HN: " included.

The common format is Show HN: Name – what it does, in plain words. That's a convention, not an HN rule, but it answers the first question every reader has: what is this?

Link or text?

HN's submit form has a URL field and a text field. Use both:

1. Put the thing itself in the URL field: the live demo, the repository or the download page. That's the clickable link at the top of the thread. A landing page with a waitlist doesn't count.
2. Put your introduction in the text field. dang says your text "should show up at the top of the Show HN submission, but if for some reason it doesn't, add it as a first comment to the thread".
3. Don't rely on links in the text. HN's formatting guide says "Urls become links, except in the text field of a submission". Put extra links in a comment.
4. Write plain text. HN supports very little formatting: blank lines separate paragraphs, asterisks make italics, and text indented by two or more spaces shows as code.

Writing the text

dang's tips say what the text should do:

• Give "the backstory of how you came to work on this", and explain "what's different about it". That "tends to seed discussion in a good direction".
• Include "a clear statement of what your project is or does. If you don't, the discussion will consist of 'I can't tell what this is'."
• "Include links to any previous HN threads that are relevant. Readers like those."
• "Use factual, direct language. Personal stories and technical details are great."

A template that covers all of that. Fill it in by hand, in your own voice:

I'm [name]. I built [Name], which [what it does, for whom, in one sentence].

Why: [the problem you had; what you tried first and why it fell short].

What it does today: [two or three concrete things a user can do].

How it's built: [stack, interesting technical choices, trade-offs you made].

What's not done: [known gaps and rough edges; pricing, if it's paid].

How to try it: [no sign-up needed / demo login / what to click first].

I'd like feedback on [one or two specific questions].

Keep it short enough to read in a minute. Specific beats polished: one honest limitation and one technical detail you're proud of start better conversations than a feature list.

When to post

HN doesn't publish a best time to post. What its FAQ does say is how ranking works in outline: "The basic algorithm divides points by a power of the time since a story was submitted." Other factors include "user flags, anti-abuse software, software which demotes overheated discussions, account or site weighting, and moderator action". Every Show HN appears on the /shownew page, and "once it clears a small points threshold, it will appear on the show page".

So the first hours matter, and the one timing rule that follows from HN's own docs is to post when you can stay. Advice about particular weekdays or hours comes from other people's launches, not from HN, so treat it as practice: pick a time when your likely readers are awake and you're free for the rest of the day.

Be there to answer

The Show HN guidelines expect you "around to discuss" your project. In practice:

1. Reply to every real question, quickly and specifically. Technical questions deserve technical answers.
2. Say "I don't know yet" when it's true, and "good point, I'll fix that" when it is.
3. Write your replies yourself. HN's guidelines: "Don't post generated text or AI-edited text. HN is for conversation between humans."

What not to do:

• Don't ask anyone to upvote or comment. The Show HN guidelines say asking friends to upvote or comment is "not ok on HN". The FAQ says "We penalize or ban submissions, accounts, and sites that break this rule", and that HN readers "will detect it, flag it, and use unkind words like 'spam'".
• No booster comments. dang: "Make sure your friends and users do not add booster comments in the thread."
• Don't delete and repost if the first hour is slow. "Deletion is for things that shouldn't have been submitted in the first place."

Handling criticism

HN asks commenters on Show HN to "be respectful" and adds: "When something isn't good, you needn't pretend that it is, but don't be gratuitously negative." So expect frank feedback, mostly well meant. How to handle it:

1. Assume good faith. HN's guidelines ask everyone to "respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize".
2. Ask before defending. "What were you trying to do when it broke?" gets you more than an explanation.
3. Concede what's true, and say what you'll change.
4. Disagree once, with facts, without snark. "Be kind. Don't be snarky."
5. Leave the votes alone. The guidelines ask people not to comment on voting, and not to post "insinuations about astroturfing, shilling, brigading". If you think something's wrong with your thread, email [email protected] instead of posting about it.

If it sinks

A Show HN that gets few votes isn't proof the work is bad. Posts can leave the new page before many people see them. Here's what HN's own pages allow:

1. A small number of reposts. The FAQ: "If a story has not had significant attention in the last year or so, a small number of reposts is ok. Otherwise we bury reposts as duplicates." Use the gap to improve the title, the text or the first-run experience.
2. The second-chance pool. dang describes it: moderators and reviewers look through overlooked submissions and software "lobs it randomly onto the lower part of the front page". You can suggest one at [email protected]: "It's fine if it's your own article, but we like it better when it's just something you ran across". Moderators also sometimes email submitters to invite a repost, which is why your profile needs an email address.
3. A later Show HN for a real new version. dang: "You can post a new release as a Show HN only if the new version is significantly different." Link to the previous Show HN and explain what changed. He suggests this "should probably only happen once or twice a year".
4. A regular submission. A write-up of how you built it can't be a Show HN, but it can be a normal story, within the guideline to post your own stuff only "part of the time".

Show HN checklist

How the BeforeQuery AI Marketer helps

The hard part of a Show HN is deciding what to lead with: the problem, what people get out of it, or how you built it. The Hacker News Agent in the BeforeQuery AI Marketer helps with that decision. When you ask, it writes three versions of a Show HN post, one for each angle: the problem, the outcome and the approach. It works from your company documents, which the AI Marketer writes when it reads your website, and from your own writing instructions (Settings → Writing instructions).

Use the versions to compare angles and check you've covered what HN readers ask about. Then write the post you submit in your own words: HN asks for text you wrote yourself, and dang asks people not to use an LLM even to edit it. You submit it from your own HN account.

If Reddit is part of your launch too, the Reddit Agent finds threads where you can genuinely help, and our Reddit guide covers the rules there. You can sign up free.

Frequently asked questions

Can I do a Show HN if people need to sign up?

HN asks you to make your project easy to try, "ideally without barriers such as signups or emails", and it rules out sign-up pages and landing pages as Show HNs. If your product needs an account, offer a demo login, a guest mode, a sandbox or a video of it working. If nobody can try it yet, HN asks you to wait and post once it's ready.

Can I ask friends or colleagues to upvote my Show HN?

No. The Show HN guidelines say asking friends to upvote or comment is not ok on HN, and the FAQ says HN penalises or bans submissions, accounts and sites that break this rule. Tell people who'd genuinely want to try it, but don't ask anyone to vote or comment.

Can I use AI to write my Show HN?

HN's guidelines ask people not to put generated text in HN posts and not to post generated or AI-edited comments, and dang's Show HN tips ask you not to use an LLM for any of the text, even to edit it. You can use AI to build your product and to think, but write the post and your replies yourself.

What is the best time to post on Hacker News?

HN doesn't publish one. Its FAQ says ranking divides points by a power of the time since submission, along with other factors such as flags and moderator action, so the first hours count. Choose a time when you can stay and answer comments for the rest of the day; any "best hour" you read about is practice from other people's launches, not an HN rule.

Can I repost a Show HN that got no attention?

HN's FAQ says a small number of reposts is fine if a story hasn't had significant attention in about the last year, but asks you not to delete and repost. Moderators also run a second-chance pool for overlooked submissions and sometimes email submitters to invite a repost, so add an email address to your profile. A later Show HN should be for a significantly new version, linking to the earlier one.

Should my Show HN be a link or a text post?

Both. Put the place where people can try your project in the URL field so it is clickable, and write your introduction in the text field, which appears at the top of the thread. Links typed into the text field aren't clickable, so put extra links in a comment. If your text doesn't show at the top, dang suggests posting it as the first comment.

Sources

• Hacker News: Show HN guidelines
• Hacker News Guidelines
• Hacker News FAQ
• Hacker News: Formatting options
• dang's tips for Show HN posts (updated 2026)
• dang: HN's second-chance pool
• Hacker News source code, title length limit (news.arc)