Developers Guide: How to Launch Your Tool on DevHunt
To launch a developer tool on DevHunt, sign in with GitHub or Google, open Submit, paste your website URL, review the listing it drafts, and pick a launch week. Listing is free. A launch costs $19: you choose the week and get a dofollow link. A $49 launch adds boosted placement and an X post. Each launch week starts on Tuesday, and voting closes at the end of the following Monday (UTC).
This dev guide covers the whole launch: what the form asks for, how the week and voting work, what each option costs as of October 2026, and what to do before, during and after your week. It's written for makers of developer tools: APIs, SDKs, CLIs, IDE extensions, open-source libraries, AI coding tools and MCP servers.
What DevHunt is (and what it accepts)
DevHunt is an open-source launchpad that only lists tools for developers. A new batch launches every week, developers vote, and the tools with the most votes at the end of the week win. The FAQ lists what is accepted: open-source projects, APIs and SDKs, frameworks and libraries, IDEs and editors, CLIs, testing, monitoring, DevOps, databases, auth, AI agents and MCP servers.
Tools that aren't for developers, NSFW tools and services that sell fake engagement are not accepted.
The main differences from Product Hunt: launches run for a whole week instead of one day, the voters are developers, and the platform's code is public on GitHub. Many makers launch on both. For other launch sites, see the Product Hunt alternatives list.
Step by step: submitting your tool
- Sign in. Use GitHub or Google. The same sign-in is required to vote or comment, which keeps votes tied to real accounts.
- Open Submit and paste your website. DevHunt reads the page and drafts the listing for you. If you already launched on Product Hunt, you can import that listing by its Product Hunt slug instead.
- Review "The basics". Tool name, a short slogan, website URL, an optional GitHub repo URL, and a quick description (HTML is supported). Rewrite the AI draft in your own words: say what the tool does, who it's for, and how it differs from the obvious alternative.
- Set "Pricing & categories". Choose the pricing type and, optionally, one or more categories. Categories decide which pages your tool shows up on later, such as /tools/api or /tools/testing.
- Add "Media". Upload a logo and screenshots, and optionally a demo video (YouTube or an mp4 link). Developers decide fast, so show the product doing its job: a terminal session, the dashboard with real data, a code sample.
- Write "Your first comment". This is the maker comment pinned to your launch. Keep it short and honest: why you built it, what works today, what's missing, and what feedback you want.
- Pick the launch week and plan. You choose the week, then pay for a $19 launch or a $49 boosted one.
You can edit everything later. Every submitted tool gets a permanent page at devhunt.org/tool/<your-slug>, whether or not it wins its week.
Listing vs launch (as of October 2026)
| Free listing | $19 launch | $49 boosted launch | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent tool page | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Launch week on the home page | No | You choose | You choose |
| Link to your site | nofollow | dofollow, permanent | dofollow, permanent |
| Weekly newsletter | No | Included | Included |
| Placement on equal votes | n/a | Standard | Listed above other launches, on the site and in the email |
| Own post on X | No | No | Yes |
Prices are one-time, not subscriptions. Check the FAQ for the current numbers before you pay.
Pick a week that matches your plans: a release, a conference or a funding announcement. You can book any of the next four launch weeks.
How the launch week and voting work
- The week runs Tuesday to Monday. Launches go live on the home page on Tuesday. Voting for that week closes at the end of Monday, UTC, and the next batch starts on Tuesday.
- The weekly email goes out on Tuesday. Weekly winners and paid launches are featured in it.
- Votes need a signed-in account. Anonymous clicks don't count, and DevHunt doesn't allow bought votes or engagement-selling services. Ask your own users and followers to vote. Don't pay anyone for votes.
- Winners are the tools with the most votes when voting closes. They appear in the newsletter, get a mention on DevHunt's social channels, and receive a winner badge.
Before launch: a short checklist
- Make the first minute work. Visitors click through from your listing. Your site should say what the tool does above the fold and let a developer try it without a sales call: a free tier, a playground, or
npm installinstructions. - Have docs and a quickstart. "How do I try this?" is the most common comment on dev-tool launches. Link it in your maker comment.
- Schedule the week, not the day. A week-long launch rewards steady attention more than one big spike. Plan a few touchpoints: launch-day post, a mid-week demo or changelog, a final-day reminder before Monday's close.
- Line up other channels. DevHunt's where to promote page lists 67 newsletters, podcasts, communities and directories with their submission rules. Pick the few that match your audience.
- Check the perks. If you're early-stage, the startup perks list collects free cloud and API credits you can apply for around launch.
During the week
- Share your tool page link, not your homepage. People need to land on the listing to vote.
- Reply to every comment. Answer questions with specifics: limits, pricing, how it compares, what's on the roadmap. Developers notice canned replies.
- Post one real update mid-week. A fixed bug, a shipped request from the comments, or a short demo gives people a reason to come back.
- Remind people before Monday. Voting closes at the end of Monday, UTC. Account for time zones: for US makers that's Monday afternoon or evening.
After the week: badge, page and follow-up
- Embed the badge. DevHunt serves a "Featured on DevHunt" SVG at
https://devhunt.org/badge/<your-slug>.svg. After your week ends it shows your final rank for that week. Put it on your landing page or README, linked to your tool page. - Keep the tool page current. Update the description, screenshots and pricing as the product changes. The page stays live and can be found through category pages and search long after launch week.
- Follow up with the people who commented. They're your earliest users. Thank them, and tell them when you ship what they asked for.
Common mistakes
- Launching before anyone can try it. A waitlist with no demo gets few votes and little useful feedback.
- A slogan that only describes a category. "AI-powered developer platform" says nothing. "Turns your OpenAPI spec into a typed TypeScript SDK" does.
- Screenshots of marketing pages. Show the actual product.
- Paying for votes or fake engagement. It's against DevHunt's rules, and the votes that count come from signed-in developers anyway.
FAQ
Is launching on DevHunt free?
Listing a tool is free: it gets a permanent page with a nofollow link. A launch week costs $19 and includes a newsletter spot and a dofollow link; $49 adds boosted placement on equal votes and a dedicated post on X (prices as of October 2026).
When does a DevHunt launch week start and end?
Weeks start on Tuesday. Voting for a week closes at the end of Monday, UTC, and the next week's launches start right after.
Do I get a backlink from DevHunt?
Every tool page links to the tool's website. Links on free listings are nofollow. Paid launches get a permanent dofollow link.
Can I launch on DevHunt and Product Hunt?
Yes. DevHunt doesn't require exclusivity, and you can import your Product Hunt listing when you submit. Many makers spread launches across a few weeks so each one gets their full attention.
What happens if my tool doesn't win?
Nothing is lost. Your tool keeps its permanent page and category listings. Winning adds newsletter and social exposure and a winner badge, but most long-term traffic comes from the page itself and your own follow-up.