Launch plan · Open source projects
Where to launch an open source project
An open source launch is judged on the repository. Clear docs, a licence and a quick start matter more than any listing, and the right technical communities do the rest.
01
Before launch: the repository
Make the project easy to understand, run and contribute to.
SourceForge
Free hosting and download stats, and you can import straight from GitHub.
Free + paid options
02
Launch week: technical communities
Share what it does and why, then answer questions in the thread.
Hacker News (Show HN)
Post something you made that people can try, and do not ask friends to upvote.
Free submission
Lobsters
An engineering audience, reached by invitation, with a limit on self-promotion.
Free submission
03
First month: writing and discovery
Explain the decisions behind the project and list it where people look for tools.
DevHunt
Open source tools are welcome; winners get a newsletter feature.
Free + paid options, paid from $49 to skip the queue
AlternativeTo
People search it for open source alternatives to paid tools.
Free + paid options, paid from $5 priority review
Before you start
- Label a few good first issues before launch so new contributors have somewhere to start.
- State the licence in the README and in the repository settings.
Fees, queues and rules change. Every channel page shows when it was last checked and links to the site's own pages.
See every channel for open source projects