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.
What to have ready
- A README that says what the project does, with a quick start and the licence, and the licence set in the repository settings too.
- A few issues labelled as good first issues, so new contributors have somewhere to start.
- A release people can install. For a command line tool that does not qualify for homebrew/core, your own Homebrew tap.
- A write-up of why the project exists and the decisions behind it.
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 submissionStep-by-step guide
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 queueStep-by-step guide
AlternativeTo
People search it for open source alternatives to paid tools.
Free + paid options, paid from $5 priority reviewStep-by-step guide
Console
Suggest the tool by email for a free editorial pick; pre-1.0 projects must be labelled beta.
Free submission
04
Ongoing: registries and curated lists
Make the project installable where its users already install things, and get it onto the lists they browse.
Homebrew
homebrew/core takes open source under a DFSG-compatible licence; anything else ships from your own tap.
Free submission
Awesome Selfhosted
For self-hostable software whose first release is more than four months old.
Free submission
Self-Host Weekly
One free form covers the Thursday newsletter and the selfh.st/apps directory.
Free submission
Mistakes to avoid
- Launching before the quick start works on a clean machine.
- Asking friends to upvote a Show HN post, which is not allowed.
- Submitting to awesome-selfhosted before the first release is four months old.
How to tell if it worked
- New issues, pull requests and returning contributors, which say more than stars.
- Where new contributors say they found the project.
The launch tracker keeps each channel's cost and results in your browser, and launch receipts shows what other founders got from the same channels.
More tips
- 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 projectsQuestions about launching open source projects
Where should I announce a new open source project?
- Start with a solid repository, then Show HN, which takes things people can try, and Lobsters if you have an invitation. Then write about the decisions behind the project on DEV and list it on AlternativeTo, where people look for open source alternatives.
When can I add a project to awesome-selfhosted?
- When it is self-hostable software and its first release is more than four months old.