Where to Launch a Developer Tool: Launchpads, Newsletters and Forums Developers Read
Launch a developer tool where developers already evaluate tools: DevHunt for a free permanent listing, the Console newsletter for an editor’s review, Show HN for direct technical feedback and a write-up on DEV or Hashnode for search traffic. Each has rules that punish promotion without substance. Make the tool tryable without a sales call, document it first and expect every claim in your post to be tested in the comments.
What is different about launching to developers?
Developers sort tools by one question: can I try it in ten minutes without asking anyone? The places that serve them have turned that into rules. Console’s selection page asks whether a single developer can sign up without speaking to anyone, and Hacker News asks for work that can be tried without sign-ups or emails. A tool that hides behind a demo request fails both, however good it is.
So the work before launching is mostly removing friction: a quickstart that works, a command you can paste, public docs, a changelog that shows you are still shipping. Everything on this page was read from the platforms’ own pages on 13 November 2026, except where an entry says we could not.
Which places should a developer tool use?
They are ordered by how much control you have over the outcome, from the one you can do today to the one an editor decides.
01 DevHunt
An open-source launchpad that accepts developer tools only, with a new batch each week.
- Free route
- A free permanent page; the link on a free listing is nofollow
- Paid step
- Picking a launch week, per its FAQ
- Voting
- Developers sign in with GitHub or Google to vote or comment
- Accepted
- Open source, APIs and SDKs, CLIs, testing, monitoring, DevOps, databases, auth, AI agents and MCP servers among others
The FAQ states that tools that are not for developers, adult tools and services that sell fake engagement are refused. If your product sits on the line, such as a no-code builder, read the accepted list before you submit.
Winners are featured in its weekly newsletter and get a badge. Because a weekly batch means a week of competition, the free listing is the safer first step. See the DevHunt alternatives if you want comparable places.
02 Console (console.dev)
A free weekly newsletter that reviews developer tools and beta releases.
- Selection
- Reviews 2–3 tools per issue and judges them on a published list of questions
- How to suggest
- Email the address given on its criteria page
- Betas
- Lists early-access and beta releases, defined by a version below 1.0 or a clear label
Its criteria include whether the tool is built specifically for developers, whether it fits into a regular development flow, whether it has good documentation, whether it is fast, and whether it has a negative effect on security or privacy. Run that list on your own tool before you write the email.
It does not do sponsored reviews, according to its sponsor note, so the only route is being interesting. Send two lines and a link, not a press kit.
03 Show HN
Hacker News’s section for things you made that other people can try.
- Cost
- Free; an account is needed
- Rule
- Non-trivial, made by you, and you stay to discuss; sign-up pages and newsletters are off topic
- Risk
- A post can go unseen; nothing on the page sells a better position
Developer tools are the natural fit, because the audience can judge them by reading the source or running a command. The guidelines say the work need not be slick and early-stage projects are welcome.
Write your first comment as a short technical explanation of why you built it and what is unusual inside. The Show HN launch playbook and the Show HN post templates go further.
04 Lobsters
An invitation-only computing link aggregator with strict self-promotion norms.
- Access
- By invitation; the quickest route is to talk to someone you recognise from the site
- Self-promotion
- A rule of thumb of under a quarter of your stories and comments; new users cannot submit self-promo for their first 70 days
This is not a place to announce a launch on day one. It is a place where, after you have taken part for a while, a post about something you built can land with a thoughtful audience.
If someone else posts something you wrote, its guide says to reach out in the chat for an invitation. The invitation tree is public, so every account shows who vouched for it.
05 DEV and Hashnode
Two developer publishing platforms where a technical write-up can live under your name.
- DEV
- A community of software developers, built on the open-source Forem
- Hashnode
- Lets you start a blog on your own domain; its homepage says it is free to start
A tutorial that solves a problem with your tool inside it is more useful than a launch post, and it keeps working in search after the week passes. Pick a concrete job, such as “migrate logs from X to Y in ten minutes”.
Hashnode offers the same route with a blog on a domain you own. Read each site’s rules on self-promotion before you post, since we did not review them in detail.
06 Post your build ideas (our board)
A free launch board with a developer tools category, no account and no queue.
- Role
- A permanent public page with threaded comments
- Weakness
- Small and new; no newsletter and no promise of reach
It does one job the others do not: it goes live as soon as you click the emailed link, with no weekly batch or editor. That makes it a fine first public page to link from your README.
The developer tool ideas on the board are also worth reading to see which gaps other builders have named, and the developer tool ideas guide goes deeper.
In what order should a developer tool launch?
- Get the quickstart and docs public, and ship a changelog entry the same week.
- Create the free DevHunt page and the free launch page, so there are two permanent URLs.
- Write one technical article for DEV or Hashnode and link it from the README.
- Suggest the tool to Console with two lines and the docs link.
- Post a Show HN on a day you can stay at your desk, and answer every comment.
Skip anything that asks for payment to boost visibility before you have measured a free place’s traffic; the launch directory traffic calculator helps. The developer tool playbook has the dated version, and Product Hunt alternatives for developer tools covers the rest.
Frequently asked questions
Is DevHunt free for developer tools?
Listing a tool on DevHunt is free, and each tool gets a permanent page, though the link on a free listing is nofollow. Its FAQ says choosing a launch week is a paid step that also brings a dofollow link and a newsletter spot. Read its current FAQ before you decide, since terms can change.
Can I send my tool to the Console newsletter?
Yes. Console’s selection page says to email the details to the address it gives and that the team will take a look. It features two or three tools an issue and publishes the questions it uses to choose, so check your tool against them before you write. It also says it does not do sponsored reviews.
Why do developer launches fail on Hacker News?
Usually because the post is a sign-up page, the project is trivial or the author does not join the discussion. The Show HN guidelines name those as off-topic or discouraged. A tool that can be tried without registration, with a plain explanation of how it works, gets better feedback than a polished landing page.
Post your build ideas publishes this page and runs a free launch board that competes with some of the sites it names. Facts about other sites came from their own pages on the date shown above; terms, queues and prices change, so confirm on their sites before you decide. About the publisher.