Show HN Readiness Checklist
Check whether a personally built project is genuinely ready for Show HN, with a usable experience and human-written discussion preparation.
When to use this template
Use this when you personally built a non-trivial project and are considering sharing it through Show HN.
Choose another approach when: You only have a waitlist or landing page, cannot let people try the work, or want AI-generated or AI-edited submission text. Hacker News currently prohibits that writing and automated posting.
Gather these inputs
- The current official Show HN and Hacker News guidelines.
- A personally built project and a working way to try it.
- Your own knowledge of how and why it was built and its limitations.
Copy and adapt the template
Edit the text below and copy it into your own document. Edits stay in this browser field and are not submitted or saved by this page.
Worked example
Illustrative example, not a Crany customer result. Replace every example detail with facts you can verify.
A fictional founder has a homepage and public waitlist but no usable product. The checklist marks it not ready for Show HN; a polished video does not turn that signup page into a tryable software project. Later, the maker has a non-trivial working tool visitors can explore and can discuss the implementation personally. They check the current guidelines again and write their own submission. This planning worksheet supplies eligibility questions, not text to paste or edit into an HN post.
How to use it
- Read the current official rules rather than copying a launch tactic from another site.
- Test the public experience and assess your actual personal contribution.
- If eligible, prepare factual notes and write the final submission yourself under the current rules.
Check before using it
- A signup page is not counted as a tryable software artifact.
- No generated or AI-edited post is supplied by this worksheet.
- Friends are not recruited to vote or comment for promotion.
What to measure
Verify whether visitors can actually try the shared work and discuss concrete feedback if you choose to submit. Eligibility does not guarantee distribution, points or product adoption.
Research and sources
The official guidelines define tryability and human-written participation. This original checklist is planning material only and must not be used as generated submission text.
- Hacker News: Show HN Guidelines — checked 2026-10-23. Personally built, non-trivial work that people can try; waitlist landing pages are not Show HN submissions.
- Hacker News Guidelines — checked 2026-10-23. Human-written participation, original sources, substantive conversation and no automated posting or vote solicitation.
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