Subreddit guide

r/indiehackers: self-promotion rules & buyer-intent guide

Strictly limited~117K members · 3 published rules · checked 2026-07-02

r/indiehackers permits self-promotion exactly once per product, using the SHOW IH flair, and the stated purpose is feedback and critique — not advertisement. Posts claiming MRR numbers must include proof or they're removed. "What did you build" style posts are tolerated unless they read as karma farming.

1high-intent buyer conversation found on r/indiehackers in the last 30 days by FindEvo's scoring.

Self-promotion status

One SHOW IH post per product, framed for feedback — repeat promotion is removed.

Karma & account requirements

No karma or account-age requirement in the 3 published rules — moderation keys on post intent (feedback vs. advertising) instead.

The r/indiehackers rules that decide whether your post survives

Digest of the subreddit's published rules as of 2026-07-02, focused on what matters for founders doing outreach. Always re-check the live rules before posting.

Self-promotion: once, with SHOW IH flair
You may present your product one time under the SHOW IH flair, for feedback and critique — not as an ad.
MRR claims need proof
Revenue posts without verifiable proof are removed — no proof, no post.
No karma farming
"What did you build" posts are allowed selectively; if mods judge it karma farming, it's removed.

What buying intent sounds like on r/indiehackers

Promotion rules limit how you can talk — they don't stop buyers from talking. These are the phrase patterns that signal a potential customer in this community:

  • how are you getting your first users
  • what stack/tools are you using for X
  • I built X but can't get traction
  • how do you find niche communities for your product
  • roast my landing page

What actually works on r/indiehackers

Post angles that consistently land inside this community's rules — framed as value, not promotion.

  1. 01"Month 6: $3,847 MRR, 89 customers — what's working and what's broken"
  2. 02Build-in-public update with a specific distribution experiment
  3. 03"I found my first customers by hand and couldn't repeat it — here's what I changed"

FindEvo watches r/indiehackers for these buying signals — and keeps you inside its rules.

It scores every new post for buying intent, flags each subreddit's self-promo policy before you engage, and never sends a message for you — you reply in your own voice, which is exactly what these communities' rules reward.

r/indiehackers — frequently asked questions

Can I post my product on r/indiehackers?

Yes — exactly once, with the SHOW IH flair, framed as a request for feedback and critique. Posting it again, or framing it as an announcement rather than a feedback ask, gets removed.

What counts as buying intent on r/indiehackers?

Mostly tool-stack and traction questions: founders asking what others use for analytics, outreach, or distribution, and "I can't get users" posts. Those authors are actively shopping for approaches — and often for products.

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