Self-promotion rules · r/ycombinator · read 15 Oct 2026
Does r/ycombinator allow self-promotion?
Short answer: posting about your product is closed, and commenting in threads is open. Its rules name one place for your own work: the megathreads.
Posting about your product
Closed
A flat ban; feedback requests have their own megathreads, which the page names separately.
From the room's own rules
Commenting in threads
Open
The room does not restrict who can comment, so answering a question in a thread is open to you.
From the room's own comment setting
What r/ycombinator's own rules say
Every line below is the room's own sentence, word for word, including its spelling. We pick the sentences about promotion, links and who may post; we never shorten one.
Read the stickied post at the top of the sub.
From its rules list Use the megathreads for requests for feedback and the current application cycle discussions.
From its rules list No self promotion.
From its rules list
What to do instead
- Use the megathreads the room's own rules name, and keep to what that thread is for.
- Do not post about your product here. A removed post can cost the account, not just the post.
- Answer questions instead of announcing. When we counted, 3 questions here had no reply at all.
- Read the live rules page before you post. The rules can change after the copy we quote was taken.
Ask before you post in r/ycombinator
Reddit Without Bans is a free Discord for people who use Reddit to find customers. Share your draft in #ask-before-you-post for a second read first.
What people ask in r/ycombinator
Counted from the room's last 30 posts, read 1 Sept 2026. A question is the opening a comment can answer.
- Developer looking for a startup to join2026-09-01 · no replies yet
- Founders with O1 visas, did you have revenue before applying for the O1 visa?2026-08-31 · no replies yet
- Ex-YC doing compliance and paperwork, Ai native, looking for desing partners.2026-08-31 · no replies yet
Questions
- Does r/ycombinator allow self-promotion?
- Posting: closed. Commenting: open. A flat ban; feedback requests have their own megathreads, which the page names separately. The room does not restrict who can comment, so answering a question in a thread is open to you. Use the megathreads the room's own rules name, and keep to what that thread is for.
- Can I comment about my product in r/ycombinator?
- Open. The room does not restrict who can comment, so answering a question in a thread is open to you. Mention what you sell only when it answers the question someone asked, and say it is yours.
- Does r/ycombinator have a self-promotion thread?
- Yes. Its rules name the megathreads. Keep to what that thread is for.
How this page was made
The rules come from the arctic-shift public mirror's copy of the room's rules list, sidebar and posting guidelines. We do not use the Reddit API. The posting answer rests on the room's own words when they say anything about promotion, then on removals we counted, then on our inference, and the line under each answer says which. A rule that was rewritten after the mirror's copy was taken will not show here, which is why the capture date is printed above.
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