Last updated: October 1, 2026
The quickest way to waste a Show HN is to post something that was never eligible: a landing page, a blog post, a waitlist. Hacker News publishes its rules in plain text, and they’re shorter and stricter than most launch advice suggests. This guide is based on HN’s own Show HN guidelines, its general guidelines and its FAQ, as they read on October 1, 2026. Anything that comes from elsewhere is labeled as unofficial.
The quick answer
- Show HN is for something you built that other people can try. Blog posts, sign-up pages, newsletters and lists are off-topic, and you submit them as regular links instead.
- Your title starts with Show HN and describes the thing plainly. No hype, no capitals, no exclamation marks.
- Never ask for upvotes or comments. HN says it penalizes or bans submissions, accounts and sites that do.
- Write your own text. The guidelines say not to put generated text in posts, and not to automate posting.
In this guide
- What Show HN is
- The official rules in plain English
- Does your project qualify?
- Titles and the first comment
- How ranking works, and what nobody outside HN knows
- What gets posts flagged, buried or penalized
- After you post
- If you’re sharing an article instead
- FAQ
What Show HN is
Show HN is a labeled corner of Hacker News for work you’ve made, where readers can try it, give feedback and ask questions in the thread. Every Show HN appears on the shownew page. Once it clears a small points threshold, it also appears on the main Show page in the top bar. That threshold is why a post can exist yet be hard to find.
The label is a promise. You’re telling readers there’s something to try, that you built it, and that you’ll be there to talk about it. Break any of those and the community notices.
The official rules in plain English
- It must be something people can try. HN’s page says things people can run on their computers or hold in their hands. For hardware, a video or detailed article works. For a book, a sample chapter is fine.
- It must be yours, and you must be around. The project has to be something you worked on personally and can discuss in the thread.
- It should be non-trivial. The current page tells people not to post quickly generated one-offs and to share something personal and interesting, explaining how and why.
- Early is fine. It doesn’t need to be complicated or look slick, and HN says the community is comfortable with early-stage work.
- Remove barriers. Make it easy to try, ideally without signups or email forms. HN says you’ll get more feedback that way.
- Be ready first. If users can’t try it yet, wait. Landing pages and fundraisers don’t count.
- Upgrades rarely qualify. A minor release isn’t substantive enough, though a major overhaul is probably fine.
- Don’t recruit votes. Asking friends to upvote or comment is not okay on HN.
Does your project qualify?
| What you want to share | Show HN? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A working web app people can open and use | Yes | It can be tried. Skipping signups helps. |
| An open-source project people can run | Yes | It runs on their computers. |
| A blog post or tutorial | No | Reading material can’t be tried. Submit it as a regular link. |
| A landing page or waitlist | No | HN says not to post landing pages. |
| A newsletter or resource list | No | Listed as off-topic. |
| A hardware project | Yes, with a video or detailed article | It’s hard to try online. |
| A book | Yes, with a sample chapter | Readers need something to sample. |
| Version 1.3.1 of something you already posted | Generally no | Small upgrades aren’t substantive enough. |
A free tool is the kind of thing that can be tried. Our YouTube money calculator and engagement rate calculator are examples of tools a reader can use in seconds. Whether a small calculator counts as non-trivial is a judgment the HN community makes, not you, so don’t assume it will qualify.
Titles and the first comment
To post, submit a story whose title begins with Show HN. The general guidelines add rules that apply to every title: don’t use capitals or exclamation points to stand out, don’t praise your own work in the title, and leave out the site name because HN displays it after the link. They also ask people to submit the original source and avoid editorializing.
In practice, a plain description beats a pitch. These examples are illustrative, not real posts:
- Better: Show HN: A free calculator that estimates YouTube earnings by country
- Worse: Show HN: The ULTIMATE revenue tool every creator needs!!!
On the first comment: the FAQ says a text submission can’t contain a link, which stops people from putting their own comments in a privileged spot at the top. If you want to add context, submit the link and then write a regular comment. HN’s tips for presenting your work are linked from the Show HN page and worth reading first. My own suggestion, not an HN rule: say what it is, why you built it, what’s still rough, and what feedback you want.
How ranking works, and what nobody outside HN knows
The FAQ describes the basic algorithm as points divided by a power of the time since submission. It also lists other factors: user flags, anti-abuse software, software that demotes overheated discussions, account or site weighting, and moderator action. It says posts by users with more karma don’t rank higher. The exact weights aren’t published.
Some unofficial third-party playbooks claim the first hour or two decide the outcome. That may be true or not. HN doesn’t say, so treat any promised timing formula as folklore. What you can control is the post itself: whether it qualifies, whether the title is plain, and whether you answer questions.
What gets posts flagged, buried or penalized
- Soliciting votes or comments. HN says it penalizes or bans submissions, accounts and sites that break this rule, and warns that readers detect it and call it spam.
- Using HN mainly for promotion. Posting your own work part of the time is okay. The primary use of the site should be curiosity.
- Generated text and automated posting. The guidelines ask you to write posts yourself, and say comments shouldn’t be generated or AI-edited.
- Delete-and-repost. HN says deletion is for things that shouldn’t have been submitted, and it buries duplicates. A small number of reposts is okay only if the story hasn’t had significant attention in roughly the last year.
- Off-topic Show HNs. Landing pages, blog posts and waitlists posted under the label will likely be flagged by readers.
- Routine new accounts. Throwaway accounts are fine for sensitive information, but HN asks people not to create them routinely. Accounts are meant to carry an identity.
After you post
Stay in the thread. Respond to questions, and when someone criticizes the work, reply to the argument rather than the tone. The Show HN guidelines ask commenters to be respectful and curious, and a creator who is defensive tends to set the mood for everyone else. Comments close after two weeks, so the window for conversation is finite.
Measure what happens with your own analytics. Look at referral traffic from news.ycombinator.com and how those visitors behave, such as whether they try the tool or leave. Nothing on HN’s own pages promises any amount of traffic, so decide beforehand what a good outcome looks like for you.
If you’re sharing an article instead
An article can’t be a Show HN, but it can be a regular submission. Use the original title unless it’s misleading, submit the original source, and keep self-promotion to a minority of what you post. Since HN is for curiosity first, a post that teaches something tends to fit better than one that sells.
If you’re planning a wider launch, the same discipline applies elsewhere. Our guides to promoting digital products on Reddit and Reddit boards where you can sell your products cover community rules on that platform. For LinkedIn, see our lead generation on LinkedIn guide, and our list of 50 websites where you can publish your article shows other places to share writing.
FAQ
Can I post my blog post as a Show HN?
No. HN lists blog posts as off-topic for Show HN because they can’t be tried. Submit the link as a regular story instead.
Can I ask friends or followers to upvote my Show HN?
No. HN says users should vote because they find something interesting, not because someone has content to promote, and it penalizes or bans submissions, accounts and sites that break this rule.
Can I use AI to write my Show HN post or comments?
HN’s guidelines say not to put generated text in posts, and that comments shouldn’t be generated or AI-edited. They also say not to automate posting. Write it yourself.
Can I repost my Show HN if it didn’t get attention?
Only carefully. HN says a small number of reposts is okay if a story hasn’t had significant attention in the last year or so, and that it buries duplicates otherwise. Don’t delete and repost the same story.
The short version
A good Show HN is a working thing, built by you, easy to try, described in plain words, and posted by someone willing to stay for the conversation. If what you have is a page or an article, that’s fine too, but it belongs in a regular submission. Read the official pages once more before you post, since HN edits them over time.
