Yesterday, I launched my very first public GitHub repository EmbedPDF on HackerNews.
Within 24 hours, it had over 500 stars.
No ads. No influencer shoutouts. No mailing list.
Just one launch post, the right audience, and a product that solved a pain developers actually feel.
And here’s the twist: my launch title didn’t even mention the biggest thing my product can do.
In this post, I’ll show you exactly how it happened and how you can use the same playbook for your own launch.
Step 1: Build Something People Actually Want
Sounds obvious, but most launches fail here.
I didn’t just build “another PDF viewer”. I built something developers were already frustrated about:
- Adobe Acrobat is heavy, closed, and expensive
- Open-source options are either limited or hard to customize
- Commercial PDF SDKs cost a fortune
So I created EmbedPDF, an MIT-licensed, open-source PDF viewer that already covers the most-used Acrobat features, with more coming soon. It’s lightweight, runs entirely in the browser, and drops into any JavaScript project in seconds.
Step 2: Position It for Mass Appeal, Then Overdeliver
Here’s where the twist comes in.
I could have gone with:
Embeddable Open Source PDF Viewer for Websites
That would have been accurate… but also boring to the general HN audience.
Instead, I used:
Show HN: I built a free alternative to Adobe Acrobat PDF viewer
That headline grabbed attention. People clicked expecting a viewer…
Then they discovered it was also embeddable, customizable, and built for developers to integrate into their own products.
It overdelivered.
Step 3: Make Your GitHub Page Sell for You
When someone from HN landed on my GitHub repo, I didn’t want them to just see code.
I wanted them to instantly “get” the project and try it.
So before launch, I made sure my GitHub page had:
- A clean header with logo and badges
- A short, benefit-driven description
- Clear demo links
- Feature list
- Contribution info
The goal? If someone landed there from Hacker News, they instantly knew what it was and could try it without scrolling.
Step 4: Launch Where Your Audience Hangs Out
For developers, Hacker News is gold.
I posted under “Show HN” with this title:
Show HN: I built a free alternative to Adobe Acrobat PDF viewer
Then in the body, I led with why I built it, listed key features, and linked to:
- Live demo
- Website
- GitHub repo
No fluff. Just a quick pitch, a reason to care, and a way to try it immediately.
And here’s a key point: trust the HN algorithm.
Don’t try to game it by asking friends to upvote or share. Hacker News flags that behavior instantly, and your post will disappear before anyone even sees it. The best thing you can do is craft a clear title, write a concise description, and let the community decide.
Step 5: Remove Friction From Trying It
My landing page has a live demo right at the top.
No signup. No download. No “request a trial.” Just… try it.
And for developers, I showed exactly how to add EmbedPDF in two lines of code:
<!-- Add the PDF container -->
<div id="pdf-viewer" style="height: 500px"></div>
<!-- Initialize EmbedPDF -->
<script async type="module">
import EmbedPDF from 'https://snippet.embedpdf.com/embedpdf.js';
const EPDFinstance = EmbedPDF.init({
type:'container',
target:document.getElementById('pdf-viewer'),
src:'https://snippet.embedpdf.com/ebook.pdf'
});
</script>
The easier it is to try, the more likely someone will share it.
Step 6: Engage Immediately
When people commented, I replied fast.
If someone suggested a feature or found a bug, I thanked them and added it to the roadmap.
This kept the conversation going and pushed the post higher on HN.
The Takeaway
If you want to hit 500 stars in a day on your first repo, you need three things:
- Build something worth talking about
- Position it so people instantly get it
- Launch where your audience already is
Everything else: design, copy, screenshots, demo is there to remove friction and get people excited.
If you liked this post! Don't forget to star us on GitHub: 👉 https://github.com/embedpdf/embed-pdf-viewer
Try EmbedPDF:
👉 Live demo: https://app.embedpdf.com/
👉 Website: Embed PDF
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