hacker-news-strategy

Name: hacker-news-strategy
Author: jonathimer

88installs6forks

How to install hacker-news-strategy?

jonathimer/devmarketing-skills/hacker-news-strategy

$npx -y skills add jonathimer/devmarketing-skills --skill hacker-news-strategy

Installs into the current project.

Summary

When the user wants to promote on Hacker News, launch on HN, or understand what works on HN. Trigger phrases include "Hacker News," "HN post," "Show HN," "HN strategy," "getting upvotes on HN," "HN launch," or "why did my HN post die.

Files · 1

View on GitHub

SKILL.md

1	# Hacker News Strategy
2
3	Hacker News is the most influential developer community — and the easiest to get wrong. This skill covers what actually works, what gets you flagged, and how to build authentic presence.
4
5	---
6
7	## Before You Start
8
9	1. Read `.agents/developer-audience-context.md` if it exists
10	2. Check if the product/content is genuinely interesting to HN's audience (hackers, founders, deep tech enthusiasts)
11	3. Be honest: HN users can smell marketing from miles away
12
13	---
14
15	## Understanding HN's Culture
16
17	### Who's Actually on Hacker News
18
19	\| Segment \| What they care about \|
20	\|---------\|---------------------\|
21	\| Founders \| Fundraising, growth tactics, startup war stories \|
22	\| Senior engineers \| Deep technical content, architecture, systems \|
23	\| Tech leads \| Engineering management, team scaling, processes \|
24	\| Indie hackers \| Solo projects, bootstrapping, revenue \|
25	\| Researchers \| AI/ML, distributed systems, PLT, security \|
26
27	### What HN Values
28
29	- Technical depth over marketing polish
30	- Genuine novelty over incremental updates
31	- Transparency over corporate speak
32	- Building in public over stealth launches
33	- Contrarian insights over conventional wisdom
34
35	### What HN Hates
36
37	- Self-promotion disguised as content
38	- Clickbait headlines
39	- Corporate PR speak
40	- Engagement bait ("What do you think?")
41	- Anything that feels like an ad
42
43	---
44
45	## Post Types and When to Use Them
46
47	### Show HN
48
49	Use when: You built something and want feedback from the community.
50
51	\| Requirement \| Details \|
52	\|-------------\|---------\|
53	\| Must be something people can try \| Live demo, downloadable, or detailed walkthrough \|
54	\| Must be new \| Not a repost or minor update \|
55	\| Creator must be available \| Answer questions in comments for 2-3 hours \|
56	\| Title format \| "Show HN: [Name] – [One-line description]" \|
57
58	Good Show HN examples:
59	- "Show HN: I built a SQLite extension for vector search"
60	- "Show HN: Open source Heroku alternative written in Rust"
61	- "Show HN: Real-time collaborative code editor in the browser"
62
63	Bad Show HN examples:
64	- "Show HN: My startup just raised $5M" (not something to try)
65	- "Show HN: We updated our pricing page" (not interesting)
66	- "Show HN: Check out our new feature" (too vague)
67
68	### Launch HN
69
70	Use when: Major company launch or significant funding announcement.
71
72	\| Guideline \| Details \|
73	\|-----------\|---------\|
74	\| Include technical details \| What's under the hood, architectural decisions \|
75	\| Share the journey \| How you got here, lessons learned \|
76	\| Be available \| Founders should answer questions personally \|
77	\| Avoid PR speak \| Write like a human, not a press release \|
78
79	### Regular Submissions
80
81	Use when: Sharing interesting content (yours or others).
82
83	\| What works \| What doesn't \|
84	\|------------\|--------------\|
85	\| Technical blog posts with depth \| Listicles and "10 tips" posts \|
86	\| War stories with lessons \| Company announcements \|
87	\| Deep dives into problems \| Product updates \|
88	\| Original research or data \| Repackaged content \|
89	\| Contrarian technical takes \| Obvious or consensus opinions \|
90
91	---
92
93	## Title Optimization
94
95	### Title Principles
96
97	\| Do \| Don't \|
98	\|----\|-------\|
99	\| Be specific and concrete \| Use vague buzzwords \|
100	\| State what it is, not why it's great \| Include superlatives ("amazing," "best") \|
101	\| Use technical terms appropriately \| Dumb down for broader appeal \|
102	\| Keep it factual \| Use clickbait patterns \|
103
104	### Title Transformations
105
106	\| Before (bad) \| After (good) \|
107	\|--------------\|--------------\|
108	\| "The Best Way to Handle Errors in Node.js" \| "Error handling patterns in Node.js production systems" \|
109	\| "We Made Deployments 10x Faster" \| "How we reduced deployment time from 20min to 2min" \|
110	\| "Announcing Our Amazing New Feature" \| "Show HN: [Feature] – [What it does]" \|
111	\| "You Won't Believe What We Found" \| "[Specific finding] in [specific context]" \|
112	\| "Why Everyone Should Use TypeScript" \| "TypeScript's type system caught 15% of our production bugs" \|
113
114	### HN Moderators Edit Titles
115
116	Be aware: HN moderators (especially dang) will edit sensationalized titles to be more neutral. They'll also merge duplicate submissions and sometimes give worthy posts a second chance.
117
118	---
119
120	## Timing and Mechanics
121
122	### Best Posting Times
123
124	\| Time (PT) \| Why it works \|
125	\|-----------\|--------------\|
126	\| 6-9 AM \| Catches US East Coast morning, Europe afternoon \|
127	\| 10 AM - 12 PM \| Peak US activity \|
128	\| Avoid: Weekends \| Lower traffic, but less competition \|
129
130	### The Algorithm
131
132	- Initial upvotes in first 1-2 hours matter most
133	- Comments boost ranking (engagement signal)
134	- Fast upvotes can trigger the "flamewar detector" penalty
135	- Posts from new accounts get extra scrutiny
136	- Controversial posts get rank penalties
137
138	### What

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Type

hacker-news-strategy

88installs6forks

View on GitHub

How to install hacker-news-strategy?

jonathimer/devmarketing-skills/hacker-news-strategy

$npx -y skills add jonathimer/devmarketing-skills --skill hacker-news-strategy

Installs into the current project.

Summary

Files · 1

View on GitHub

SKILL.md

1	# Hacker News Strategy
2
3	Hacker News is the most influential developer community — and the easiest to get wrong. This skill covers what actually works, what gets you flagged, and how to build authentic presence.
4
5	---
6
7	## Before You Start
8
9	1. Read `.agents/developer-audience-context.md` if it exists
10	2. Check if the product/content is genuinely interesting to HN's audience (hackers, founders, deep tech enthusiasts)
11	3. Be honest: HN users can smell marketing from miles away
12
13	---
14
15	## Understanding HN's Culture
16
17	### Who's Actually on Hacker News
18
19	\| Segment \| What they care about \|
20	\|---------\|---------------------\|
21	\| Founders \| Fundraising, growth tactics, startup war stories \|
22	\| Senior engineers \| Deep technical content, architecture, systems \|
23	\| Tech leads \| Engineering management, team scaling, processes \|
24	\| Indie hackers \| Solo projects, bootstrapping, revenue \|
25	\| Researchers \| AI/ML, distributed systems, PLT, security \|
26
27	### What HN Values
28
29	- Technical depth over marketing polish
30	- Genuine novelty over incremental updates
31	- Transparency over corporate speak
32	- Building in public over stealth launches
33	- Contrarian insights over conventional wisdom
34
35	### What HN Hates
36
37	- Self-promotion disguised as content
38	- Clickbait headlines
39	- Corporate PR speak
40	- Engagement bait ("What do you think?")
41	- Anything that feels like an ad
42
43	---
44
45	## Post Types and When to Use Them
46
47	### Show HN
48
49	Use when: You built something and want feedback from the community.
50
51	\| Requirement \| Details \|
52	\|-------------\|---------\|
53	\| Must be something people can try \| Live demo, downloadable, or detailed walkthrough \|
54	\| Must be new \| Not a repost or minor update \|
55	\| Creator must be available \| Answer questions in comments for 2-3 hours \|
56	\| Title format \| "Show HN: [Name] – [One-line description]" \|
57
58	Good Show HN examples:
59	- "Show HN: I built a SQLite extension for vector search"
60	- "Show HN: Open source Heroku alternative written in Rust"
61	- "Show HN: Real-time collaborative code editor in the browser"
62
63	Bad Show HN examples:
64	- "Show HN: My startup just raised $5M" (not something to try)
65	- "Show HN: We updated our pricing page" (not interesting)
66	- "Show HN: Check out our new feature" (too vague)
67
68	### Launch HN
69
70	Use when: Major company launch or significant funding announcement.
71
72	\| Guideline \| Details \|
73	\|-----------\|---------\|
74	\| Include technical details \| What's under the hood, architectural decisions \|
75	\| Share the journey \| How you got here, lessons learned \|
76	\| Be available \| Founders should answer questions personally \|
77	\| Avoid PR speak \| Write like a human, not a press release \|
78
79	### Regular Submissions
80
81	Use when: Sharing interesting content (yours or others).
82
83	\| What works \| What doesn't \|
84	\|------------\|--------------\|
85	\| Technical blog posts with depth \| Listicles and "10 tips" posts \|
86	\| War stories with lessons \| Company announcements \|
87	\| Deep dives into problems \| Product updates \|
88	\| Original research or data \| Repackaged content \|
89	\| Contrarian technical takes \| Obvious or consensus opinions \|
90
91	---
92
93	## Title Optimization
94
95	### Title Principles
96
97	\| Do \| Don't \|
98	\|----\|-------\|
99	\| Be specific and concrete \| Use vague buzzwords \|
100	\| State what it is, not why it's great \| Include superlatives ("amazing," "best") \|
101	\| Use technical terms appropriately \| Dumb down for broader appeal \|
102	\| Keep it factual \| Use clickbait patterns \|
103
104	### Title Transformations
105
106	\| Before (bad) \| After (good) \|
107	\|--------------\|--------------\|
108	\| "The Best Way to Handle Errors in Node.js" \| "Error handling patterns in Node.js production systems" \|
109	\| "We Made Deployments 10x Faster" \| "How we reduced deployment time from 20min to 2min" \|
110	\| "Announcing Our Amazing New Feature" \| "Show HN: [Feature] – [What it does]" \|
111	\| "You Won't Believe What We Found" \| "[Specific finding] in [specific context]" \|
112	\| "Why Everyone Should Use TypeScript" \| "TypeScript's type system caught 15% of our production bugs" \|
113
114	### HN Moderators Edit Titles
115
116	Be aware: HN moderators (especially dang) will edit sensationalized titles to be more neutral. They'll also merge duplicate submissions and sometimes give worthy posts a second chance.
117
118	---
119
120	## Timing and Mechanics
121
122	### Best Posting Times
123
124	\| Time (PT) \| Why it works \|
125	\|-----------\|--------------\|
126	\| 6-9 AM \| Catches US East Coast morning, Europe afternoon \|
127	\| 10 AM - 12 PM \| Peak US activity \|
128	\| Avoid: Weekends \| Lower traffic, but less competition \|
129
130	### The Algorithm
131
132	- Initial upvotes in first 1-2 hours matter most
133	- Comments boost ranking (engagement signal)
134	- Fast upvotes can trigger the "flamewar detector" penalty
135	- Posts from new accounts get extra scrutiny
136	- Controversial posts get rank penalties
137
138	### What

People who liked this also viewed

6 picks

Type