| name | launch-hacker-news |
| version | 1.0.0 |
| description | Prepare and run a Hacker News "Show HN" launch end to end — HN is STRICTER than every other channel: it
**forbids all vote mobilization** (no supporter waves, no asking anyone to upvote, ever). Grounds in the
real product (real stack, honest limits), then writes a small, paste-ready package to
`.ulpi/launch/hacker-news/`: `POST.md` (the standard `Show HN: <thing> – <plain description>` title + the
URL + the founder's technical, no-hype first comment), `PLAN.md` (US-Eastern timing, the first-1–2-hours
plan, a thread-engagement plan with prepared answers to hard questions, and the post-launch / second-chance
plan), and `CHECKLIST.md` (a blocking readiness gate). The HN runner of the launch-* family: it owns Show
HN rules, HN policy, the thread runbook, and the gate, and composes the shared `launch-copy` (title + first
comment) and `launch-analytics` (UTM + conversion tracking), degrading to built-in fallbacks if a companion
isn't installed. Rewards technical honesty and a present, non-defensive founder; punishes hype and
signup-walled products. Use when the user wants to post a Show HN or plan an HN launch.
|
| allowed-tools | ["AskUserQuestion","Read","Write","Skill"] |
| argument-hint | [product or Show HN goal] |
| arguments | ["request"] |
| when_to_use | Use when the user wants to launch on Hacker News, post a "Show HN", or plan an HN launch — the title, the
first comment, timing, and running the thread. Examples: "help me post a Show HN", "write my Show HN title
and first comment", "plan my HN launch". For a Product Hunt launch use `launch-product-hunt`, for X use
`launch-x`, for LinkedIn use `launch-linkedin`. Do NOT use this skill to mobilize votes — HN forbids it and
this skill refuses; it coaches genuine, compliant posting only.
|
| effort | high |
This skill prepares and coaches a Hacker News launch. Non-negotiable rules:
- NO VOTE MOBILIZATION — EVER. HN is stricter than Product Hunt: never orchestrate supporter waves,
never ask anyone (friends, team, users, your audience) to upvote, never coordinate voting. HN detects
voting rings and penalizes them hard (rank penalty, [dead]/showdead, account or domain ban). If asked, decline
and explain. The only compliant moves: post it yourself, optionally share the link genuinely with a few
individuals who'd actually care, and be present in the thread. Every line must pass the banned-phrase
scan in
references/policy-compliance.md.
- NO HYPE, NO MARKETING-SPEAK, NO EMOJI. HN's audience is skeptical engineers who punish spin. The voice
is technical, humble, plain, and honest about tradeoffs and limitations. The
Show HN title follows a strict, standard form:
Show HN: <thing> – <plain, literal description> — no clickbait, no "revolutionary".
- READY-TO-SHIP IS A GATE. HN is one-shot and unforgiving: the product must be finished enough to try
now, work without a signup wall (a demo/repo accessible without an account), and the site must
survive a traffic spike ("the HN hug of death"). If it isn't ready, say so before posting.
- GROUND EVERY WORD IN THE REAL PRODUCT. Read
.ulpi/launch/positioning.md if present, else the README,
the live site (via browse), and the repo. Never invent features or metrics. For HN, name the real
stack and the real limitations.
- COMPOSE THE SHARED SKILLS, DEGRADE GRACEFULLY. Invoke
launch-copy (HN asset profile) and
launch-analytics (source hackernews). If a companion isn't installed, give the one-line install
(npx skills add https://github.com/ulpi-io/skills --skill <name>) and fall back to the built-in
reference — never hard-fail.
- RUN THE PRE-FLIGHT GATE before declaring ready (
references/preflight-gate.md). If one box can't be
honestly ticked, it isn't ready — fix and re-run.
- WRITE THE PACKAGE TO DISK under
.ulpi/launch/hacker-news/ (+ the shared .ulpi/launch/positioning.md).
launch-hacker-news
Inputs
$request: the product to post, or a specific Show HN goal (e.g. "write my title and first comment",
"plan the thread"), plus optional links (live URL, repo/demo).
Goal
Produce a small, HN-appropriate, paste-ready launch package under .ulpi/launch/hacker-news/ (+ the
shared .ulpi/launch/positioning.md):
POST.md — the Show HN title (standard format), the URL to submit, and the founder's explanatory first
comment (technical, honest about tradeoffs, names the stack, asks for feedback — no hype, no upvote ask).PLAN.md — when to post (US-Eastern weekday morning), the first-1–2-hours plan, a thread-engagement plan
(prepared, non-defensive answers to the hardest likely questions), and the post-launch/second-chance plan.CHECKLIST.md — the readiness pre-flight gate.
Step 0: Discovery & companions
Resolve, asking only what you can't determine: the product (what it does, who for, live URL, repo/demo);
whether it's genuinely ready (finished, tryable without signup, can take a traffic spike); whether the
user wants a URL post or a text post. Note which companion skills are installed (launch-copy,
launch-analytics); install-hint if missing, but proceed. Success criteria: product, readiness, and
post type are known.
Step 1: Ground the product → .ulpi/launch/positioning.md
Reuse .ulpi/launch/positioning.md if present; else build it from the README, the live site (via
browse), the repo, and project-context.md/.ulpi/design. For HN, additionally capture the real
stack and the honest limitations. Save it as the shared source of truth. Success criteria: a
brief no line will contradict — including the tradeoffs.
Step 2: Readiness check (HN-specific early gate)
Load references/show-hn-rules.md. Verify the product qualifies for Show HN (something people can try
now — not a waitlist, landing page, or blog post) and is ready: tryable without a signup wall, a
demo/repo reachable without an account, and the site can survive a spike. If it doesn't qualify or isn't
ready, say so plainly and advise what to fix before posting. Success criteria: an honest go/no-go
on whether this should be a Show HN at all yet.
Step 3: Write the post → POST.md
Hand the HN asset profile (references/show-hn-rules.md + references/first-comment.md) to the
launch-copy skill to draft the Show HN: <thing> – <plain description> title (standard format, no
hype) and the founder's first comment (what it is → why you built it → honest tradeoffs/limits → the
stack → an explicit ask for feedback). Fallback: if launch-copy isn't installed, draft from those
references. Before assembling POST.md, load references/policy-compliance.md and run its banned-phrase
scan over the drafted title and first comment; rewrite any line that trips it. Assemble POST.md with the
title, the submit URL (or the text-post body), and the first comment to paste immediately after posting.
Success criteria: a compliant title and an honest, technical, hype-free first comment — paste-ready,
scan-clean.
Step 4: Timing & thread runbook → PLAN.md
Load references/hn-mechanics.md and references/first-comment.md. Write into PLAN.md: when to post
(US-Eastern weekday morning for the longest front-page daylight; the first 1–2 hours on /newest decide
whether it reaches the front page), post the first comment immediately, then be present and reply fast.
Add a thread-engagement plan: list the hardest likely questions/criticisms and a prepared, honest,
non-defensive response to each (converting a skeptic in public is the win). Success criteria: the
user knows exactly when to post and how to run the thread without improvising or getting defensive.
Step 5: Wire measurement → tag links & events
Invoke the launch-analytics skill — channel hacker-news (output dir) with utm_source
hackernews (GA value) — to set UTMs on the links and wire signup/activation tracking. Fallback: a
minimal inline UTM scheme (utm_source=hackernews&utm_medium=show-hn&utm_campaign=<launch>). Note: HN
strips/penalizes obviously campaign-tagged primary URLs in some cases — keep the submitted URL clean and
put UTMs on links inside the first comment / your site's own analytics. Success criteria: traffic and
signups are attributable without gaming the submitted link.
Step 6: Pre-flight gate → CHECKLIST.md
Load references/preflight-gate.md and references/policy-compliance.md, run the gate end to end
(including the banned-phrase scan) and write the result into CHECKLIST.md: title format correct, product
qualifies + is tryable without signup, site can take the spike, first comment ready and hype-free, zero
vote-soliciting/mobilization anywhere, honest about limitations. Fix any failing box and re-run. Success
criteria: every box ticked; the launch is genuinely ready and compliant.
Step 7: Post-launch plan → append to PLAN.md
Load references/postlaunch.md. Append: the second-chance pool (HN may re-surface a good post — you
can't game it), the repost etiquette (do not spam-repost; HN's rules), converting the skeptical traffic
(no signup wall; genuine value), and the failure-mode reminders. Success criteria: the user knows what
to do whether it hits the front page or stalls.
Guardrails
- Never mobilize votes or ask for upvotes — HN forbids it and detects rings; decline and redirect.
- No hype, no marketing-speak, no emoji; be honest about tradeoffs and limitations.
- The product must be ready (tryable without signup, survives a spike) before posting.
- Keep the standard
Show HN: <thing> – <plain description> title format.
- Ground all copy in the real product, including the real stack and limits.
- Compose the shared skills; if one is absent, install-hint + fall back — never hard-fail.
- Keep the submitted URL clean; don't tag the primary link in a way HN penalizes.
- Write the package to disk; don't leave it as ephemeral chat.
When To Load References
references/show-hn-rules.md — what qualifies as a Show HN, the standard title format, URL vs text post,
the first-comment rule, and Launch HN (Steps 2, 3).references/hn-mechanics.md — ranking, /newest, the second-chance pool, and posting timing (Step 4).references/first-comment.md — the founder first-comment skeleton + the thread-engagement / responding-
to-criticism craft (Steps 3, 4).references/policy-compliance.md — HN's anti-manipulation rules, the banned-phrase scan, and penalties
(Steps 3, 6).references/preflight-gate.md — the blocking readiness + compliance gate (Step 6).references/postlaunch.md — the second-chance pool, repost etiquette, converting traffic, failure modes
(Step 7).
Output Contract
Write under .ulpi/launch/ and report:
.ulpi/launch/positioning.md — the shared grounded brief (created or reused; includes the real stack + limits)hacker-news/POST.md — the Show HN title, the submit URL/text body, and the founder's first commenthacker-news/PLAN.md — posting time (ET), the first-hours plan, the thread-engagement plan, post-launchhacker-news/CHECKLIST.md — the readiness gate result (every box ticked)hacker-news/analytics.md — UTM map + signup/activation tracking (from launch-analytics)- a readiness verdict (qualifies / ready or not) and the compliance affirmation (zero vote-mobilization),
plus which companion skills were used vs fell back to built-ins
