Show HN

Post open-source projects to Hacker News as "Show HN" submissions via browser automation.

Overview

"Show HN" is Hacker News's format for sharing things you've made. It's one of the best free channels to reach developers and early adopters. A well-crafted Show HN post can drive significant traffic and GitHub stars.

Requirements

Browser automation tools (Playwright MCP or Claude-in-Chrome)
User must be logged into Hacker News in the browser

Workflow

Step 1: Gather Project Info

Read the project's README and repo metadata to extract:

Project name
One-line description — what it does, in plain language
GitHub URL (this becomes the submission URL)
Key differentiator — what makes it interesting or unique

If the user hasn't specified which project, check the current working directory for a git repo.

Step 2: Craft the Title

Show HN titles follow a strict format:

Show HN: <Project Name> – <Short description>

Rules:

Must start with "Show HN:"
Total length must be 80 characters or fewer (HN truncates longer titles)
Use an em dash (–) or hyphen (-) to separate name from description
Be specific about what it does, not why it's great
No ALL CAPS, no clickbait, no exclamation marks

Good examples:

Show HN: Captain's Log – Your ship sinks when you stop committing
Show HN: TailBar – Tailscale menu bar app for macOS
Show HN: Capx – CLI for Capacities.io note-taking

Bad examples:

Show HN: An AMAZING new app that will CHANGE how you code!!! (clickbait, caps, too long)
Show HN: My Side Project (too vague)

Step 3: Write the Text Body (Optional but Recommended)

The text field is optional but helps provide context. Keep it brief (2-4 sentences):

What it does and who it's for
What's technically interesting about it
Link to a demo or screenshot if available

Don't write a sales pitch. HN users respond better to honest, technical descriptions.

Example:

Built this to gamify dev velocity with a pirate theme. It's a macOS menu bar app
(SwiftUI + Canvas) that tracks your git commits and GitHub pushes — your ship
physically sinks as inactivity grows. Supports fleet tracking across multiple repos.

GitHub: https://github.com/user/repo

Step 4: Submit via Browser

Navigate to https://news.ycombinator.com/submit and fill in:

title: The "Show HN: ..." title from Step 2
url: The GitHub repo URL
text: The body text from Step 3 (leave empty if URL is provided and no additional context needed)

Note: HN allows either a URL or text body, not both in the traditional sense. If you provide a URL, the text field is still available but the submission links to the URL. If you only provide text (no URL), it becomes a text post.

Click "submit" to post.

Step 5: Handle Rate Limiting

Hacker News rate-limits submissions, especially for newer accounts:

"posting too fast" error: Wait at least 10-15 minutes between submissions
New accounts: May need longer gaps between posts
If rate-limited, inform the user and provide the pre-formatted title + text so they can post manually later

When submitting multiple projects, space them out. Don't try to post everything at once.

Step 6: Report Results

Provide a summary with links:

Posted to Hacker News:
- "Show HN: Captain's Log – ..." → https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12345
- "Show HN: TailBar – ..." → rate limited, try again in 15 min

Timing Tips

Best times to post: Weekday mornings US time (8-11am ET / 5-8am PT) tend to get more visibility
Avoid weekends: Lower traffic means less chance of hitting the front page
Don't repost immediately: If a post doesn't get traction, wait at least a week before resubmitting

What Makes a Good Show HN

Something you built: Show HN is for your own projects, not links to other people's work
Working product: It should be usable, not just an idea or landing page
Open source bonus: HN users love being able to read the code
Respond to comments: Be active in the thread. Answer questions, take feedback gracefully
Technical depth: Be ready to discuss architecture, design decisions, and trade-offs