How to market on r/indiehackers
Can you promote on r/indiehackers?
Yes, within limits. You get one promotional post, so make it count. What the rules say:
“Users can self promote their product 1 time using the SHOW IH flare.”
“Users can self promote their product 1 time using the SHOW IH flare. The purpose is for feedback and critique not advertisement.”
Rule 1: Self Promotion
The rules
As the moderators wrote them, shortened where they run long.
- Self PromotionUsers can self promote their product 1 time using the SHOW IH flare. The purpose is for feedback and critique not advertisement.
Full text on Reddit: r/indiehackers rules.
What people asked this week
36 of the last 193 posts on r/indiehackers (the past 2 days) asked a question or for a recommendation. Here are 12, starting with people asking for a tool, a service or someone to hire.
- 410 days, 3,460 commits, 30 UI redesigns. I finally shipped an open-source alternative to Canny, Featurebase, UserVoice.r/indiehackers · 24 Oct
- Levelrail: Free, self-hosted alternative to Vercel, Heroku, Railway, Coolify and Dokku - How it all started!!r/indiehackers · 23 Oct
- Would you like to run your own AI (Claude, ChatGPT, Codex) directly on WhatsApp?r/indiehackers · 24 Oct
- How many apps with paying users are you maintaining right now?r/indiehackers · 24 Oct
- Do you know this game?r/indiehackers · 24 Oct
- How do you stop over-researching and start shipping as a solo founder?r/indiehackers · 24 Oct
- Can i realistically find a remote job on reddit or discord??r/indiehackers · 23 Oct
- Anyone tried Softonic Publishing Center as a distribution channel? Wondering if it's worth it vs. PH/AppSumor/indiehackers · 23 Oct
- What's one app you wish existed, or an existing app you wish was better?r/indiehackers · 23 Oct
- What are you building, and what's your biggest challenge?r/indiehackers · 23 Oct
- How long does a software product have to earn back its development cost?r/indiehackers · 23 Oct
- How do you separate polite product feedback from real buying intent?r/indiehackers · 23 Oct
How to show up here without getting banned
- Help first, mention later. Answer questions on r/indiehackers for a while before you bring up your own product, and when you do, say you made it.
- Be early. r/indiehackers gets about 101 new posts a day, so a question is buried within hours. The first useful answers get the attention.
- Read the sidebar and pinned posts. Moderators often add rules there, and rules change. Check r/indiehackers's before your first post.
- Build a history first. Comment helpfully on r/indiehackers for a few weeks before you post. Accounts that only ever promote get filtered.
More on how this works across Reddit: Reddit's self-promotion rules, explained and the full Reddit marketing playbook.
Related communities
- How to market on r/SideProject: makers sharing side projects and asking for feedback.
- How to market on r/microsaas: solo builders running small, niche SaaS products.
- How to market on r/SaaSMarketing: SaaS founders and marketers comparing growth tactics.
- How to market on r/nocode: people building apps, sites and automations without writing code.
- How to market on r/SaaS: SaaS founders and operators talking pricing, churn, growth and tooling.
Questions
Can I post my startup on r/indiehackers?+
Only within limits. You get one promotional post, so make it count. Rule 1 says: “Users can self promote their product 1 time using the SHOW IH flare.”
How active is r/indiehackers?+
r/indiehackers has about 51k members and averaged 101 new posts a day over the last four weeks. Of its latest 193 posts, 36 asked a question or for a recommendation.
Does r/indiehackers allow links?+
The rules don't ban links, but a link to your own product still counts as self-promotion, so the self-promotion rules apply.
What do people ask about on r/indiehackers?+
Recent examples: “410 days, 3,460 commits, 30 UI redesigns. I finally shipped an open-source alternative to…”, “Levelrail: Free, self-hosted alternative to Vercel, Heroku, Railway, Coolify and Dokku -…” and “Would you like to run your own AI (Claude, ChatGPT, Codex) directly on WhatsApp?”. The full list of this week's questions is on this page and refreshes daily.