Launch playbooks: how to launch your product for free
Each playbook covers one launch: a product type such as a Chrome extension or an AI app, a kind of maker such as a student or a solo founder, a stage such as the first hundred users, or a channel such as Show HN. They cost nothing to follow. Every one ends at the same place, a public page you can launch free in one email.
Launch an AI product for free
AI products have a trust problem and a cost problem, and the playbooks cover both.
How to Launch an AI App for Free: Cost Caps, Proof and a First Week
A free launch plan for an AI app: cap your model bill, show real outputs before sign-up, choose the right places and read the first week.
How to Launch an AI Agent for Free: Permissions, Demos and Trust
A free launch plan for an AI agent that takes actions: scope its permissions, record a clean run, pick where agent builders look and measure trust.
How to Launch an AI Chatbot for Free: Grounding, Handoff and a Test Set
How to launch a website or support chatbot for free: ground its answers, plan the handoff to a human, build a question test set and find first sites.
How to Launch a Custom GPT for Free (and What to Check First)
How to launch a custom GPT for free while its platform is changing: confirm what you can still publish, keep the value portable and own the page.
How to Launch an MCP Server for Free: Registry, README and First Users
How to launch an MCP server for free: publish the package, list it in the official registry, write a README people can paste and learn from first users.
How to Launch a Telegram Bot for Free: Deep Links, Limits and Discovery
How to launch a Telegram bot for free: no store review, so the work is discovery. Deep links per source, group privacy mode, send limits and a plan.
How to Launch a Discord Bot for Free: Intents, Verification and Servers
How to launch a Discord bot for free: design around slash commands, know when privileged intents need review, verify for the App Directory.
How to Launch a Slack App for Free: Direct Install First, Marketplace Later
How to launch a Slack app for free: install by direct link first, reach the Marketplace usage minimum, pass its review points and write a listing.
Launch a software product for free
Web apps, SaaS and the apps people install.
How to Launch a SaaS for Free: From First Sign-Up to First Payment
A free launch plan for a SaaS: what must work before you charge, trial or free plan, where software buyers look and how to read activation.
How to Launch a Micro SaaS for Free as a One-Person Business
How a solo maker launches a micro SaaS for free: pick one niche and one job, find buyers where they complain, price flat and limit your support load.
How to Launch a B2B SaaS for Free: Design Partners and Buyer Questions
How to launch a B2B SaaS for free: win three design partners, answer security questions, use integration marketplaces and a public page.
How to Launch a Web App for Free: No Store, So the Page Does the Work
How to launch a web app for free with no store review: ship behind flags, let people try it before sign-up, preview links well and test the first visit.
How to Launch a Mobile App for Free: Choosing a Store and Sequencing Both
What free really means for a mobile app launch, which store to ship first, how to use test tracks as a rehearsal and a web-first route if money is zero.
How to Launch an iOS App: App Review, TestFlight and Free Promotion
Launch an iPhone app with free promotion: the App Review guidelines that reject new apps, how to use TestFlight and what to prepare for reviewers.
How to Launch an Android App: The 12-Tester Rule, Tracks and Verification
Launch an Android app on Google Play: the closed-test rule for personal accounts, the four test tracks, identity checks and Android developer verification.
How to Launch a Mac App for Free: Notarization or the Mac App Store
Launch a Mac app: choose direct download with notarization or the Mac App Store, then promote it for free where Mac users browse for software.
How to Launch a Windows App for Free: Store, winget and SmartScreen
Launch a Windows app with no store fee: Microsoft Store registration, a winget manifest, signing against SmartScreen warnings and a download page.
How to Launch a Productivity App for Free Against People’s Habits
A free launch plan for a productivity app: target the moment people switch tools, make the first ten minutes an import and judge success by habit.
How to Launch a No-Code App for Free: Plan Limits, Domains and Lock-In
Launch an app built with a no-code tool: check plan limits, custom domain and branding rules, keep a data export and plan an exit before you promote.
How to Launch a Marketplace for Free: Solving the Two-Sided Start
How to launch a two-sided marketplace for free: choose which side to win first, narrow the first market, make early matches by hand and add payments later.
How to Launch a Small Web Tool for Free: One Page, One Query, One Job
Launch a calculator, converter or generator as a free web tool: choose the search query, give a result in seconds, make it shareable and mark it up.
Launch an extension or plugin for free
Products that live inside someone else's platform and are found through its store.
How to Launch a Chrome Extension for Free: Plan Around the Store Review
Launch a Chrome extension without ad spend: the Web Store review, unlisted testing, listing images, a 21-day timeline and where to announce it.
Launch a VS Code Extension for Free: Marketplace, Open VSX and the Token Change
Publish a VS Code extension to the Marketplace and Open VSX at no cost: the README that sells it, a ten-day plan, and the credential change to plan for.
How to Launch a Figma Plugin for Free: Two Review Clocks and a Calendar
A Figma plugin passes Figma’s review before the Community lists it. Plan the data security form, the images and the paid-or-free choice, then announce it.
Launch a Shopify App for Free: Pass Review First, Then Find Merchants
Launching a Shopify app starts with the App Store review: billing rules, a development store test, review notes and what to do while you wait.
Launch a WordPress Plugin for Free: Write for the Plugin Review Team
Submit a plugin to the WordPress.org directory: the one-to-ten-day manual review, the three usual rejections, GPL and name rules, and a launch plan.
Launch a Raycast Extension for Free: Your Launch Is a Pull Request
A Raycast Store launch is a pull request to the extensions repository. Fix the package.json, icon and naming checks, then plan a two-week schedule.
How to Launch an Obsidian Plugin for Free: GitHub Release, Directory, Forum
Submit an Obsidian plugin through the community directory: the GitHub release, manifest rules, automated review feedback and where to announce.
Launch a developer product for free
Code other developers install, import or call.
Launch a Developer Tool for Free: Pick the Shape, Then the Channel
Launch a developer tool without ad spend: choose its shape, pass the five-minute first-run test, use Show HN and developer-only boards, and measure.
Launch a CLI Tool for Free: Install Routes, Package Managers and the Terminal Clip
A CLI tool is launched through its install line. Compare Homebrew, winget, Scoop and language registries, then follow a four-week free launch plan.
Launch an API for Free: The First Call, the Docs and the Public APIs List
Launching an API means launching its documentation. The sixty-second first call, an OpenAPI file, the public-apis list rules, and a 30-day free plan.
Launch an Open-Source Project for Free: Licence, Health Files and First Contributors
Open-source launch steps: pick a licence, add the community files GitHub checks for, use topics and good first issues, and announce without spam.
Launch a Python Library for Free: PyPI, TestPyPI and Trusted Publishing
Release a Python library on PyPI at no cost: rehearse on TestPyPI, publish without a stored token, write a README that runs, and reach Python readers.
Launch a React Component Library for Free: npm, Storybook and the shadcn Registry
A component library sells through its live demo. Choose npm or a copy-paste registry, build a Storybook site, publish with provenance and announce.
Launch a GitHub Action for Free: Marketplace Rules, Version Tags and Trust
A GitHub Action goes to the Marketplace with no GitHub review. Meet the listing rules, choose a tag strategy, earn trust with secrets, and announce.
Launch a Starter Kit or Boilerplate for Free: Sell the Decisions, Prove the Time Saved
A starter kit sells decisions already made. Pick free, open-core or paid, time a clean clone to a running app, show the stack choices, and promise upkeep.
Launch games, content and goods for free
Products that are not software in the usual sense, or are sold as files.
Launch an Indie Game for Free: Work Out the Date, Then Fill the Wait
Steam’s paperwork, 21-day wait and coming-soon rule set an indie game’s earliest release date. Work it out, then use itch.io, a demo and Next Fest.
Launch a Browser Game for Free: The Link Is the Whole Launch
A browser game launches as a link anyone can open. Compare your own domain, itch.io, CrazyGames and Poki, pass the ten-second test, and plan two weeks.
Launch a Newsletter for Free: Bank Issues, Set Up Email Properly, Find Readers
A newsletter launch is a promise of the next three issues. Bank them, set up sender authentication and unsubscribe, and find first readers.
Launch a Notion Template for Free: The Creator Waitlist and a Plan B
Notion’s Marketplace has a creator waitlist that can take months. Prepare the template, fill in the form, and launch through your own link meanwhile.
Launch a Website Template for Free: Sell the Live Preview, Pick the Marketplace
A website template sells through its live preview. Match it to a marketplace, check the licences, pass the silent buyer checks and plan three free weeks.
Launch a UI Kit for Free: Structure the File, Show Finished Screens, Choose Free or Paid
A UI kit sells on how it behaves when someone duplicates it. Structure components, show finished screens, settle the licence and publish.
Launch a Digital Product for Free: Pick the Seller of Record, Write the Licence, Give a Sample
A digital product is a file someone buys. Choose who sells it and handles tax, write the licence and refund line, give a free sample and plan two weeks.
Launch a Hardware Product for Free: Build in Public, Clear Compliance, Take Orders Last
A hardware launch is measured in months. Show the build, clear CE and other compliance, use Hackaday.io and Tindie, and take orders only when you can ship.
Playbooks by who you are
The same product launches differently depending on your time, money and audience.
Launch Playbook for Solo Founders: One Person, One Channel at a Time
A free launch plan for one person: how to budget your hours, pick a single channel, answer comments while you build, and which launch chores to skip.
Launch Playbook for Students: Ship Between Lectures With No Budget
How a student can launch a project for free around a semester calendar: when to ship, how to turn coursework into a product, and where to find first users.
Launch Playbook for First-Time Founders: Learn More Than You Spend
A first launch is for learning. This free plan shows what to ask before you build more, the mistakes first launches repeat, and a fourteen-day sequence.
Launch Playbook for Non-Technical Founders: Launch Without Writing Code
How a founder who cannot code launches for free: three ways to get a working product, what to do when something breaks, and a six-week schedule.
Launch Playbook for Designers: Let the Work Carry the Product
A free launch plan for designers who ship a product: build one set of visual assets, pick places that show images, and avoid mistaking polish for demand.
Launch Playbook for Bootstrapped Founders: Every Spend Must Pay Back
A launch plan for founders funding the product themselves: a spend test, how runway sets your calendar, when to charge and which free channels come first.
Launch Playbook for Open-Source Maintainers: Users First, Then Contributors
How a maintainer launches a project for free: make the repository the product page, prepare for the inflow of issues, and announce around a tagged release.
Launch Playbook for Indie Game Developers: Build the Wait Before the Release
How an indie game developer launches for free: the store review clock, a playable demo, footage that sells in seconds, and a twelve-week runway to release.
Launch Playbook for Freelancers: A Product Beside Client Work
How a freelancer launches a product for free without hurting client work: where the hours come from, a client request as the idea, and contract traps.
Launch Playbook for Agencies: Ship an In-House Product Without Losing Clients
How an agency can launch its own product for free: name an owner, decide whose audience you serve, choose a brand, and run a five-week plan with roles.
Launch Playbook for Employees With a Side Project: Evenings, Contracts and Quiet Launches
Launching a side project while employed: check your contract first, keep work and product apart, use evenings well, and choose how public to be.
Launch Playbook for Vibe Coders: Ship Fast, Check Before You Publish
A launch plan for apps built with AI coding tools: an evening audit before you go public, how to talk about AI-built work and how to stand out from clones.
Launch Playbook for Teen Makers: Share Your Project Safely and for Free
A launch plan for makers under 18: what to check before you post, how to protect your identity, why to avoid collecting data, and a school-week schedule.
Launch Playbook for Career Changers: Make a Launch Double as Proof
How a career changer launches a product for free and turns it into evidence for a new field: pick a project from your old career, document it, and show it.
Playbooks by stage and situation
Where you are in the launch decides what to do next.
Launch With No Budget: A Zero-Cost Stack and an Honest Time Budget
How to launch a product with no money at all: the zero-cost stack, which free launch routes hide a cost in time, and where the first coin should go.
Launch Before You Have Revenue: Signals to Chase Until the First Payment
What to measure, when to show a price and how long to stay free when a product has no revenue yet: a ladder of signals from curiosity to a first payment.
Launch in a Weekend: Build and Publish a Tiny Product in 48 Hours
Build and publish a small product between Friday evening and Sunday night: what fits in 48 hours, a clock-by-clock plan, the cut list and Monday’s job.
Launch in Seven Days: A Day-by-Day Plan for a Product That Already Works
A seven-day launch for a working product: what to do each day, a note for ten people you know, one public launch on day five and a day-seven review.
Thirty-Day Launch Plan: Four Weeks, Three Gates and One Number Each Week
A free 30-day launch plan built on gates: one number to record each week, decisions at days ten, twenty and thirty, a review template and a channel cap.
Ninety-Day Launch Roadmap: Find Them, Keep Them, Repeat What Works
A ninety-day roadmap in three phases for a small product: find the people who care, make them stay, then repeat what works, with milestones and quit rules.
Relaunch a Product: When It Is Earned, What to Change and How to Say It
When a relaunch is worth doing, the four questions that decide it, what must be new, how to word it honestly and how launch sites treat repeats.
What to Do After a Failed Launch: Diagnose the Funnel Before You Decide
Little response to your launch? Find where the funnel broke, what to do in the first 48 hours and how to decide whether to fix, redirect or stop.
How to Get Your First 100 Users With No Ad Budget and No Audience
A plan for your first 100 users: define what counts as a user, work three sources, tag every link, and fix onboarding before you chase more visitors.
How to Get Your First Paying Customer: Ask Early, Ask Directly
Turn free users into a first paying customer: who to ask, how to name a price, how to take payment without building billing, and which numbers to track.
Launch Day Hour by Hour: What to Do Before, During and After You Post
A launch day schedule for one maker: the night-before checks, a timed sequence of posts and replies, and decision rules for bugs, silence and tired hands.
From Waitlist to Launch: How to Turn Sign-Ups Into Active Users
A plan for converting a waitlist: what to ask at sign-up, a dated email sequence, invite batches, and the three conversion numbers worth measuring.
Soft Launch vs Big Launch: How to Choose and a Plan for Each
Soft launch or big launch? A comparison table, decision rules for each kind of product, a three-week soft plan, a one-week big plan and exit criteria.
How to Run a Private Beta Before You Launch Publicly
Run a private beta that finds real problems: who to recruit, how many testers per wave, what to measure, how app betas work, and how to end it cleanly.
How to Launch a V2 of Your Product Without Losing Your First Users
Launching a v2: decide if it deserves an announcement, tell existing users first, protect those who rely on v1, re-announce within each place’s rules.
Playbooks by channel
One place to announce, done properly.
How to Launch on Show HN: The Rules, the Post and the Comment Thread
How a Show HN works: what Hacker News accepts, how to title and introduce your project, how ranking shapes timing, answering comments and what is flagged.
How to Launch on Reddit Without Getting Removed or Banned
Reddit has no single launch rulebook: each community sets its own. How to read the rules, write a post that survives, time it, reply and avoid removal.
How to Launch a Product on X When You Have Few Followers
Launching on X means a post, a thread or a clip, not a listing. Build the launch post, use replies instead of reach, test link placement and avoid spam.
How to Launch a Product on LinkedIn Without Sounding Like an Ad
A LinkedIn launch is a personal post with a story, read by people who know your work. What to write, when it fits and what its policies rule out.
How to Launch on Indie Hackers: Posts That Get Real Replies
Indie Hackers rewards specific stories from builders. Decide if its members are users or advisors, write a post that earns replies, and follow up.
How to Launch With a DEV Article: Write Something Worth Reading First
DEV Community posts must have substance, not just a link. How to pick an article type, set up front matter and tags, disclose AI use and measure results.
How to Launch With a Demo Video: Script, Cuts, Hosting and Measurement
Plan a launch demo video: when to skip it, a script that shows the result first, three cuts from one recording, hosting, chapters and what to measure.
How to Get Your Product Featured in Other People’s Newsletters
Newsletter outreach for a launch: pick newsletters by reader match, write a pitch an editor can use, follow up once and measure each issue.
How to Launch in Slack, Discord and Forum Communities Without Being Muted
How to introduce a product in Slack groups, Discord servers and niche forums: find them, earn a place, ask the admin and post once without spam.
How to Launch With Cold Outreach: Messages to Strangers That Get Replies
Cold outreach for a launch: choose people with a visible need, write a short message with one small ask, send in batches and follow the rules.
Launch With SEO From Day One: What to Set Up and What to Expect
SEO for a new product: check that people search for your problem, make pages indexable, write one page per question, avoid link spam, read Search Console.
Press and Blog Outreach for a Small Launch: Angles, Pitches and Access
Press and blog outreach for a small launch: find an angle that is news, choose the right writer, pitch briefly, offer access with no strings.
How to Submit to Launch Directories: Prepare Once, Check Each Site, Track Results
Submit to launch directories without wasting weeks: build one listing pack, check each site first, pace your submissions and track visits per listing.
More free launch help
- Where to launch: The real places that fit each kind of product.
- Checklists and templates: Checklists, copy-and-edit templates and listing specs.
- Glossary: Plain-English definitions of launch terms.
- Answers: Direct answers to the questions makers ask.
- Resources: Dated reference pages built to be cited.
- Launch platform alternatives and comparisons: Product Hunt, Uneed, Peerlist and the rest, side by side.
- App idea lists and build guides: from finding an idea to shipping it.
Ready to publish? Launch your product here for free: one email, no account, no queue.