Select the right developer community platform(s) for a product launch, time the posts correctly per platform, and draft the submission with platform-specific norms applied.
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Select the right developer community platform(s) for a product launch, time the posts correctly per platform, and draft the submission with platform-specific norms applied.
triggers
["Product Hunt","Hacker News","community launch","Show HN","where to launch","developer community submission","Reddit launch"]
role
growth
layer
growth
version
0.1.0
sources
["Hacker News Guidelines — Y Combinator (current)","Product Hunt maker community norms — Product Hunt (observed, 2022–2024)","aether-launch-copilot knowledge base — aether (2026)","Reforge PLG Series — Reforge (2023)"]
borrowed_from
null
Community Launch
Purpose
Selects the right developer community platforms for a product launch and produces platform-specific submission content. Prevents the two most common failures: submitting everywhere simultaneously (dilutes upvote concentration) and violating platform norms (triggers downvotes or removal).
Built for founders and DevRel leads who know they should post to developer communities but don't know which ones, when, or how to write for each platform's specific culture.
IF product is open-source AND has a GitHub repo
THEN: Add GitHub README + trending as distribution channel alongside HN
IF product has a working live demo
THEN: HN Show HN eligibility improves significantly — prioritize
IF target persona is non-technical (designer, marketer, operator)
THEN: Product Hunt > HN; add relevant subreddit for the persona's domain
Step 2 — Platform timing rules
Platform
Best day
Best time
Logic
Hacker News (Show HN)
Monday or Tuesday
8–10am PT
Front page competition lowest; US West Coast morning maximises upvote window
Product Hunt
Tuesday
12:01am PT
PH resets daily at midnight PT; early launch = full 24-hour upvote window
Reddit
Tuesday–Thursday
9am–12pm local community timezone
Varies by subreddit — check subreddit's peak activity before scheduling
dev.to
Any weekday
8am ET
Email digest goes out early morning ET; early posts get digest inclusion
IF launch_day = Monday AND target_platform = HN
THEN: Post Show HN at 8am PT on launch day — do not delay to Tuesday
IF Product Hunt AND HN both planned
THEN: Stagger by 48h — PH on Tuesday, HN on Thursday (or vice versa)
REASON: Simultaneous posts split upvote momentum; community cross-posting is visible and seen negatively
Step 3 — Platform norm enforcement
Hacker News Show HN:
Title format: Show HN: [Product Name] – [plain-English description] — no marketing language
Body: builder voice, first-person, ≤300 words
What to include: why you built it, how it works, what feedback you want
What to exclude: press release language, social proof claims, "excited to announce"
After posting: respond to every comment within 2 hours; do not delete critical comments
Product Hunt:
Tagline ≤60 characters; no verbs ("the X for Y" not "get the X for Y")
First comment posted within 5 minutes of launch — maker's story, not marketing copy
Hunter should be community member with >50 PH followers for credibility
Do not submit the same product twice in 30 days
Reddit:
Read and follow subreddit rules before posting — each subreddit has different self-promotion norms
Self-promotion posts require established comment history in the subreddit
Title must match subreddit's title conventions — check top posts of the week
Engage with replies within 1 hour of posting; disappearing after post = downvotes
Enforced constraints:
Never submit to HN and PH simultaneously — stagger by ≥48h
Never delete a Show HN post after receiving comments (flagged by community)
Never cross-post identical copy to multiple subreddits — each subreddit requires adapted copy
Cross-Review Triggers
Required before FINAL:
None — community launch posts do not require cross-review before submission
Conditionally required:
pmm/content-review/ — if submission copy includes a benchmark claim or comparative statement
pmm/positioning-review/ — if submission introduces a new positioning claim not approved in strategy brief
Shared-skill consultation
shared-skill: foundations/shared-skills/
signal-direction: growth → pmm
purpose: confirm messaging consistency between community posts and hero blog post
Example Usage
Example 1: Developer CLI tool — HN primary
Context: Founders launching an open-source CLI tool for database migrations. Working demo. Technical developer audience.
Input:
Product type: Developer tool (open-source CLI)
Persona: Backend developer
Demo: Live demo available
Open-source: Yes
Output:
PLATFORMS SELECTED:
Primary: Hacker News (Show HN) — Tuesday 8am PT
Secondary: Reddit r/programming — Thursday 9am ET (separate adapted post)
Excluded: Product Hunt (OSS CLI has misaligned PH audience)
TIMING:
D0 (Tuesday): Blog post + HN Show HN at 8am PT
D2 (Thursday): Reddit r/programming (adapted post, no duplicate copy)
SHOW HN DRAFT:
Title: Show HN: MigrateKit – Open-source database migration CLI that tests before it commits
Body: [280-word builder-voice post per HN norms]
Reviews triggered: None
Example 2: Consumer AI app — Product Hunt primary
Context: Small team launching an AI writing assistant for non-technical users. No OSS component. Demo video available.
Reviews triggered:pmm/content-review (benchmark claim in PH description)
Example 3: Enterprise SaaS — LinkedIn + niche Reddit
Context: B2B data platform targeting engineering managers and CTOs at mid-market companies. No developer community presence yet.
Input:
Product type: Enterprise SaaS
Persona: Engineering manager / CTO
Demo: Case study available
Open-source: No
Output:
PLATFORMS SELECTED:
Primary: LinkedIn (founder personal + company page)
Secondary: Reddit r/ExperiencedDevs — Thursday (for technical EM audience)
Excluded: Product Hunt (misaligned consumer-first audience for enterprise SaaS)
Excluded: Hacker News Show HN (enterprise SaaS doesn't fit Show HN format norms)
TIMING:
D0 (Tuesday): LinkedIn posts + blog
D2 (Thursday): Reddit r/ExperiencedDevs (discussion angle, not promotional)
NOTE: r/ExperiencedDevs prohibits direct product promotion — post as a discussion
("How do you handle X?") and mention the product in comments if relevant.
Reviews triggered:pmm/positioning-review
Validation Criteria
Output passes if:
Platform selection decision is shown with explicit rationale for each platform selected and excluded
Timing schedule is specified for each platform with day, time, and timezone
Simultaneous HN + PH submission is not recommended
Each submission draft follows platform-specific norm rules
HN Show HN title follows exact format: Show HN: Name – description
Reddit post adapted per target subreddit (not identical copy to HN or PH)
Sources are declared and Tier-1 frameworks are cited
Review triggers are listed with current status
Output carries: Confidence: [0-100] and Review Trace: [list of reviews passed]
Output fails if:
HN and PH submission scheduled simultaneously
HN Show HN title uses marketing language
Reddit post is identical copy to HN or PH submission
Platform selected without checking product type match
Benchmarks
Metric
Benchmark
Source
HN Show HN — front page threshold
~100 upvotes within 2 hours for front page placement
HN community observation, 2023–2024
Product Hunt — top 5
Typically requires 300+ upvotes; achievable with pre-launch community activation
Product Hunt community observation, 2022–2024
HN comment response SLA
Respond within 2 hours for sustained community engagement
HN community norms (observed)
PH first comment timing
Post within 5 minutes of launch; first comment gets top position
Product Hunt maker norms (observed)
References & Sources
Tier-1 frameworks used:
Hacker News Guidelines — Y Combinator — current — Show HN format requirements, community norms
Product Hunt maker community norms — Product Hunt — 2022–2024 — Tagline, first comment, timing rules
