adrienckr/notslop/notslop-write-show-hn-post

Providers required

When to use this skill

• "Write me a Show HN post for X"
• "Help me launch <project> on Hacker News"
• "Draft a Show HN for my <thing>"
• The user mentions Hacker News, Show HN, or HN launch.

For ProductHunt launches, use notslop-write-product-hunt-launch instead. For README hero copy, use notslop-write-readme-pitch.

Setup

notslop init configured. ZeroEntropy key set.

Steps

1. Ask the user (if not already provided):

• Project name
• What it does in 1 sentence
• Demo URL
• Repo URL
• Stack (language / framework / key dependencies)
• Target niche / topic (e.g. "developer tools", "LLM agents", "Postgres")

1. Read the room. Pull recent Show HN posts in the same niche:

``bash notslop digest "show hn <niche>" --since 7d --top 10 --for-content ``

Read carefully — note what titles got traction, what tone landed, what people in this niche actually care about, what skepticism shows up in comments.

1. Optional but recommended — find semantically similar recent launches:

``bash notslop find-related "<user's 1-sentence pitch>" --top 5 ``

1. Write the post.

Title (<80 chars, no emojis): `` Show HN: <Name> – <one-line value prop> ``

Body (markdown, ~200-400 words):

• Paragraph 1 (1-2 lines): the problem you hit. Concrete, first-person.
• Paragraph 2 (1-2 lines): what the project does + the technical choice that matters (mention the stack and why).
• Paragraph 3 (1-2 lines): demo URL + repo URL + license.
• Closing: what kind of feedback you're hoping to get. One specific question, not "what do you think?". E.g. "I'm especially curious whether the <X design choice> holds up at <Y scale>."

1. Show the draft. Provide 2-3 title variants below it.

Output format

Print:

1. The chosen title.
2. The body (markdown).
3. 2-3 alternate titles.
4. 2-3 reference points from the digest you grounded in (1 line each, with URL).

Constraints

• No emojis. No "🚀". No "Excited to share".
• No hashtags.
• No "the future of X", "rapidly evolving landscape", "leverage", "robust", "seamless", "powerful".
• Don't oversell. HN punishes marketing tone — be matter-of-fact about what works and what doesn't yet.
• Reference at least one specific observation from the digest (e.g. "I noticed a lot of Show HN posts in this space talk about <thing> — I wanted to address <related thing>").
• If the project is paid / has a paid tier, say so upfront and explain the free tier explicitly.
• Title format must start with Show HN: followed by the project name.