Hacker News Post skill
The substance-first playbook Okara’s Hacker News Agent uses to frame a Show HN, Ask HN, or link that respects the guidelines and holds up in the comments.
Download the methodology, see how the agent frames a Show HN, or run it live inside the Hacker News Agent.
- Category
- Hacker News
- Agent
- Hacker News Agent
- Format
- hacker-news-post.md
- Price
- Free to download
The skill file
--- name: hacker-news-post description: Write and submit a Hacker News post — a Show HN, a link, or an Ask HN — that respects the guidelines, earns the community's attention, and holds up in the comments. owner: Okara Hacker News Agent --- # Hacker News Post Hacker News rewards substance, intellectual curiosity, and honesty, and quietly buries hype. This skill helps you frame a submission the community respects, title it the HN way, and defend it well in the thread.
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About this skill
What is the Hacker News Post?
The Hacker News Post skill is the exact approach Okara’s Hacker News Agent follows to submit to HN without tripping the community’s hype filter. It covers choosing the right submission type, writing a title the way HN expects, linking to something substantive, and preparing the first comment and the comment-thread answers that earn goodwill.
It’s written as a SKILL.md, a plain-language instruction format that people and AI agents can both follow. Read it to understand HN’s guidelines and culture, adapt it for your own launch, or let the Hacker News Agent apply it when you have something a technical audience genuinely cares about.
Downloading the instructions is free with an Okara account. Running the skill — spotting the right moment to submit and framing it for a skeptical, technical crowd — is part of the Hacker News Agent.
What makes Hacker News different is that ranking is driven almost entirely by early velocity: a post’s position on the front page is a function of upvotes and flags within its first hour or two, and once it scrolls off that window it effectively cannot recover, however good it is. That’s why this skill treats timing and the first comment as load-bearing, not optional — a technically excellent Show HN posted at a dead hour, or one that reads as hype early on, loses before the thread even gets going.
Example
See it in action
You ask: “We’re launching our open-source database CLI. How do we do a Show HN that doesn’t flop?”
Agent does: Title it "Show HN: A CLI that gives Postgres a Git-style branching workflow" — plain, specific, no adjectives. Link straight to the repo with a runnable demo, not your marketing site. Post a first comment that says what it does, why you built it, how the branching actually works under the hood, and what’s still rough. Submit mid-morning US time on a weekday. Then live in the thread: answer the "why not just use X" questions with substance and concede the fair critiques. HN forgives an unfinished tool; it does not forgive hype.
Comparison
The skill vs. the alternatives
| Do it yourself | Hire a freelancer or agency | Hacker News Post skill (free) | Hacker News Agent | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Your own time | $500–$5,000+ per project | Free with an Okara account | Included in the AI CMO plan |
| Time to first result | Hours to days, per attempt | Days to weeks, plus revision rounds | Minutes — download and follow it | Same day, runs automatically |
| Consistency over time | Depends on remembering to do it | Only as long as the retainer lasts | One-time; you re-run it yourself | Continuous, on a schedule |
| Who does the work | You, from scratch each time | Someone who has to learn your business first | You (or your agent), following the exact steps | Okara's Hacker News Agent, end to end |
How it works
From input to output
- 1
You provide the thing you’re posting
Paste the URL or describe what you built and what makes it interesting to a technical audience.
- 2
Okara picks the submission type
The Hacker News Agent chooses between Show HN, Ask HN, or a plain link and selects the canonical, substantive URL.
- 3
It frames it the HN way
You get an accurate, hype-free title and a first comment that explains what it is, why you built it, and what’s unfinished.
- 4
You submit and defend it
The agent anticipates the hard technical questions so you can answer with substance, because on HN the thread is the point.
What's included
Everything it covers
Submission-type guidance
Chooses between Show HN, Ask HN, or a plain link based on what you’re actually posting.
Guideline compliance
Titles and frames the post to the HN guidelines so it isn’t flagged on sight.
Substance-first framing
Leads with what’s technically interesting, not the business pitch the crowd tunes out.
First-comment draft
Writes the author’s context comment: what it is, why you built it, and what’s still rough.
Timing guidance
Recommends when to submit so a good post isn’t buried at a dead hour.
Comment-thread strategy
Anticipates the hard technical questions and prepares honest, substantive answers.
Use cases
When to reach for it
- Run a Show HN launch that the community actually engages with.
- Submit a technical article or tool without tripping the hype filter.
- Ask HN a real question and get substantive answers.
- Frame a developer-facing product for a skeptical, technical audience.
- Prepare for the tough comment-thread questions before you post.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related skills
Pair it with these skills
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--- name: linkedin-post description: Write a LinkedIn post that hooks above the "see more" fold, reads as a human professional rather than a press release, and drives the comments the feed amplifies. owner: Okara LinkedIn Agent --- # LinkedIn Post LinkedIn rewards posts that feel personal, useful, and specific — and quietly throttles corporate announcements and outbound links. This skill helps you write
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