Show HN Post Templates: Titles, First Comment and Replies That Fit the Rules
A Show HN post is a submission whose title starts with “Show HN”, for something you made that other people can try. The templates here cover the title, the first comment you add yourself and a reply to the first hard question. Hacker News asks that you write the text yourself and not ask friends to upvote, so use each skeleton as a list of what to cover, then put it in your own words.
What do the Show HN guidelines actually ask for?
Everything below rests on two pages Hacker News publishes, the Show HN guidelines and the general site guidelines. We read both on 13 November 2026. They can change, so read them again before you post.
- Show HN is for something you have made that people can play with: things they can run on their computers or hold in their hands. Hardware can be shown with a video or a detailed article; a book with a sample chapter.
- Blog posts, sign-up pages, newsletters and lists are off topic for Show HN, because they cannot be tried. They go in as regular submissions.
- The project should be non-trivial, something you worked on personally and will be around to discuss. It does not need to look polished, and early-stage work is welcome.
- Make it easy to try, ideally without a sign-up or email. Landing pages and fundraisers do not qualify.
- The title begins with “Show HN”. New point releases such as “Foo 1.3.1 is out” generally are not substantive enough; a major overhaul probably is.
- Do not ask friends to upvote or comment. Do not solicit votes anywhere on the site.
- The site guidelines also ask you not to post generated text, to write your own, and not to automate posting.
That last point shapes how to use this page. The templates are checklists of what a good post contains, not text to paste. If you paste a skeleton with the brackets filled and nothing else, it will read as exactly that.
Is your product a Show HN or a regular submission?
| What you have | Show HN? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A CLI or library anyone can install | Yes | It can be run, and the repository is the thing to try |
| A web app with a working demo and no sign-up | Yes | People can try it immediately, which the guidelines prefer |
| A web app where every feature needs an email sign-up | Risky | Ideally no barrier; add a demo mode or test login in the first comment |
| A landing page with a waitlist | No | A sign-up page cannot be tried; use a regular submission only if the content is interesting in itself |
| A blog post about how you built it | No, regular submission | Reading material is not a Show HN, though the post may do well on its own |
| A minor version bump | Generally no | Point releases are not substantive enough |
| A hardware project | Yes, with proof | Post a video or a detailed article |
If your product is a hosted web app with no free way in, think about a demo account before you post, not after the first comment says “can’t try without signing up”.
Title patterns
The common shape is “Show HN: Name – what it does”, with the dash or colon doing the splitting. The site guidelines ask for titles without capital-letter emphasis, exclamation marks or claims about how good the thing is, and to drop a site name that HN displays anyway. Keep it short enough for the submit form, which enforces a length limit.
Show HN: [Name] – [what it does, in plain nouns] Show HN: [Name] – [what it does] for [specific audience] Show HN: [Name] – [thing] written in [language], runs [where] Show HN: [Name] – [existing manual task] as a [CLI / library / web page] Show HN: [Name] – [what it does], [one real constraint, such as no server or no sign-up]
What these share is a noun phrase the reader can picture. “Show HN: Pocketdiff – a command-line tool that compares two JSON files by meaning, not by text” is an invented example that says what, how it is used and why it is different. It has no adjective doing the work, and nothing about how great it is.
The first comment
Add a comment under your own submission soon after it is posted. The audience is technical, patient with detail and fast to notice padding. Lead with what the thing is and how to try it, not with a story about your journey. Say what you built it with only if it explains a choice.
Hi HN, I'm [name]. [Product] is [one-sentence description]. I made it because [real reason, ideally a workflow that annoyed you for months]. The part I found interesting to build was [one technical or design problem], which I solved by [approach]. It is [language/stack], and [where the source is, if open]. Try it: [URL, preferably with no sign-up]. [If there is a barrier: test login or demo link.] What it does not do: [limit 1], [limit 2]. That is on purpose / that is next, because [reason]. I'm around for questions, and especially curious about [specific technical question].
Notice that the skeleton answers the three things a skeptical reader asks first: what is it, can I try it, and what is wrong with it. Put the honest limits in yourself. If a commenter finds them first, it looks like you were hiding them.
How do you reply to the first critical comment?
The guidelines ask commenters to be curious and to suggest alternatives rather than say “you’re doing it wrong”, and the same standard applies to you. Do not argue about whether the project should exist. Answer the technical content, concede what is correct and move on.
Fair point on [the specific thing they said]. [Concede the part that is true, in one sentence.] The reason I went with [choice] was [reason]. I haven't tested [the case they raise], so I can't say how it behaves there. [Or: it handles it like this: one fact.] If you have an example where it breaks, I'd like to see it: [how to share it].
Do not reply to every comment in the same minute with a wall of text. One short, specific answer to each is plenty.
What gets a Show HN ignored, flagged or buried?
- A title with superlatives, capital letters or an exclamation mark, which the site guidelines discourage.
- A landing page or sign-up wall presented as a product, rather than something people can try.
- Sending friends or a group chat to vote or comment. The guidelines call this not ok.
- Using the site only to promote. The guidelines say the primary use of Hacker News should be curiosity, and that posting your own work part of the time is fine, so read and comment on other things too.
- Deleting and reposting after a quiet start; the guidelines say not to do this.
If your product is not a fit, the same work still pays off elsewhere. The Show HN playbook goes through timing and follow-up, the glossary entry for Show HN covers the term, and you can launch your product free on this board in a few minutes while you wait. Developers building for other developers may also want the developer tool ideas for reference, and the Show HN alternatives page lists other places to go.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use AI to write my Show HN post?
The Hacker News guidelines read on 13 November 2026 ask users not to put generated text in posts and to write their own. Using a tool to check spelling is one thing, but the post and first comment should be your own words. A skeleton like the ones here is for structure only.
Does a Show HN need to be open source?
No. The Show HN guidelines ask for something people can try and that you made and can discuss. Closed-source products qualify if they are non-trivial and easy to try. Open source helps readers judge the work, but it is not a requirement, and you should say plainly which one yours is.
What if my product requires a sign-up?
The guidelines ask for ideally no barriers like sign-ups or emails, because you get more feedback that way. If you need accounts, add a demo mode, a shared test login or a short video, and describe it in your first comment before anyone has to ask.
Should I post it again if the first Show HN gets no attention?
Do not delete and repost; the guidelines ask you not to. If the project changes substantially, a later Show HN for a major overhaul may be fine. Otherwise, take the feedback you did get, improve the product, and share it in other communities that fit.
Written by Post your build ideas with AI assistance and edited for this site. Where a page names another product, the facts came from that product’s own pages on the date shown above; terms change, so check them before you rely on them. About the publisher.