If you built a developer tool, the right launch channel depends on what you can offer visitors today. Have a repo or a demo people can try in a minute? Start with Show HN. Have a useful write-up that teaches something? Share it on daily.dev. Have a visual product with a wider audience? Product Hunt can work. Want a free weekly listing and a permanent product page you can keep linking to? Launch on DodoLaunch. Most developer tools do better using two or three of these in the same week than betting everything on a single day.
Disclosure: I'm Almas Malik, founder of DodoLaunch. Read the recommendation with that in mind — I've tried to describe every option fairly.
Why DodoLaunch (recommended first stop)
DodoLaunch is a free weekly launch board for SaaS, AI tools and Mac apps (including developer tools). For a first launch of a developer tool, I usually start here:
- Free to submit — 25 free launch slots every week; no card required for the free plan.
- A full week, not 24 hours — launch weeks run Monday–Sunday (UTC), so you aren't punished for shipping from a time zone where your audience is asleep.
- A permanent product page — screenshots, pricing, FAQ and a link back to your site. The page stays up after the week ends.
- Built for discovery — each listing has a markdown twin, llms.txt-friendly structure, a public API and an MCP server so search engines and AI assistants can read what you built.
- Pairs with the channels below — list on DodoLaunch for a stable URL, then use Show HN or daily.dev for the technical conversation.
Paid options (Boost, Pro Launch) exist if you want to pick a specific week or get a permanent dofollow link without a badge. They never buy organic rank; Featured and Boosted placements are labelled.
Show HN (Hacker News)
Show HN is for things people can actually try. The audience is technical, skeptical and willing to leave detailed feedback.
Best for: open-source projects, CLIs, libraries, APIs, infrastructure — anything with a live demo or a public repo.
How to do it well: use a plain title (Show HN: X — a tool that does Y), link straight to something usable, and post a first comment that says who you are, why you built it and what feedback you want. Stay in the thread.
Watch out for: marketing language and signup walls. If people can't try it quickly, they'll say so.
daily.dev
daily.dev is a news feed developers open in the browser. It rewards content, not product pages.
Best for: a genuinely useful article that happens to come from your project — a benchmark, a post-mortem, a tutorial that uses your tool.
How to do it well: write so the post is useful even if nobody clicks through to your product. Share with a one-line takeaway.
Watch out for: thin promotional posts. Developers scroll past them.
Product Hunt
Product Hunt is still the best-known launch platform, with a daily leaderboard that resets every day.
Best for: developer tools with a wider audience — API products with a visual dashboard, AI developer tools, or anything a non-engineer might also buy.
How to do it well: prepare assets in advance (logo, screenshots, a short demo GIF, tagline, first comment), launch on a day you can be online, and reply to every comment.
Watch out for: the 24-hour format. Pure backend tools often struggle to stand out, and a launch that doesn't catch early momentum can fade fast.
Quick comparison
| Channel | Cost | Format | Best audience | Best for tools that… |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DodoLaunch | Free (paid optional) | Weekly board + permanent page | Founders, indie makers, early adopters | want a free, low-pressure listing and a lasting page |
| Show HN | Free | Single discussion thread | Engineers and technical founders | have a repo or demo people can try right now |
| daily.dev | Free | Article in a dev news feed | Working developers | can teach something through a post |
| Product Hunt | Free to post | 24-hour daily leaderboard | Broad tech and startup crowd | have a visual product and a wider audience |
A simple launch-week plan
- Monday: list on DodoLaunch so you have a product page to link to.
- Tuesday: publish a technical write-up and share it on daily.dev.
- Wednesday or Thursday: post Show HN with a working demo and stay in the thread.
- Later: once you've fixed what people flagged, consider Product Hunt with polished assets.
Each channel feeds the next. Show HN feedback improves your Product Hunt copy, and your DodoLaunch page gives everyone a stable link.
FAQ
Is Product Hunt worth it for developer tools?
It can be, especially for tools with a visual interface or a wider audience. For purely technical tools, Show HN and daily.dev usually bring more relevant feedback.
Can I launch on all four?
Yes. They serve different audiences. Spacing them across a week or two reaches more people without repeating yourself.
What should my first comment say?
Who you are, why you built it, and what specific feedback you want. Keep it short and honest.
Is DodoLaunch free?
Yes. Submitting a free launch is free; there are 25 free slots per week. Optional paid plans buy a guaranteed week and more visibility — never organic rank.
Which should I do first?
Start with whatever gives you the fastest honest feedback. For many developer tools that's a free DodoLaunch listing plus Show HN, then daily.dev and Product Hunt once the product is polished.
If you're shipping a developer tool this month, pick two channels from the table and block calendar time to reply. The launch that teaches you something beats the launch that only gets applause.
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