Launch playbook

A practical, honest guide to launching agent-skill-creator. Copy for each channel is in docs/launch/.

The honest part first

Stars are a launch + virality outcome, not an engineering one. A polished repo is the floor — necessary, not sufficient. Repos that hit 10K stars in weeks almost always have a front-page moment: Hacker News front page, a high-reach tweet, a Product Hunt #1, or a big newsletter/creator pickup — sitting on top of a product whose value is obvious in ~30 seconds.

This repo is now built to convert attention at a high rate (clear value above the fold, a working visual, honest positioning, runnable examples, green CI). What it cannot do by itself is manufacture the attention. That part is distribution, and it's yours to drive. The single biggest lever is one amplified push on a channel where the value lands cold — not incremental README tweaks.

Realistic framing: "10K in a month" requires a front-page hit and sustained follow-through. Treat that as the stretch goal. The controllable goal is: ship a launch good enough that if it gets seen, it converts — then maximize shots on goal.

The conversion checklist (already done — verify before launch)

• First screen: tagline + working visual + one-liner install, no broken images.
• A 15-second demo (render assets/demo.cast → assets/demo.gif, see assets/DEMO.md) — do this before launch; motion converts.
• "Why this vs alternatives" table is visible and honest.
• ≥3 runnable examples a visitor can try in one command.
• CI badge is green on main.
• Repo description + topics set on GitHub (see below).
• Tag matches the README version (v6.0.0).

GitHub setup (do once, before launch)

• Description: "Turn any workflow into a validated agent skill that installs on 17 AI coding tools — no spec writing, no coding."
• Topics: agent-skills, claude, claude-code, llm, ai-agents, developer-tools, cursor, copilot, cross-platform, mcp.
• Social preview image: upload a PNG of assets/hero.svg (Settings → Social preview) so shared links render a card, not a generic icon.
• Pin the repo on your profile; enable Discussions.

Sequencing (a sane order)

1. T‑minus days: render the demo GIF, set description/topics/social preview, confirm CI is green, tag v6.0.0. Line up 3–5 people who'll genuinely engage in the first hour (comments/upvotes from real users, not vote rings).
2. Launch day, morning (US Pacific): post Show HN (title options in docs/launch/show-hn.md). HN rewards a plain, honest title and an author who answers every comment fast. Be present for 3–4 hours.
3. Same morning: fire the tweet thread (docs/launch/tweet-thread.md) with the GIF; ask your network to amplify. Tag relevant accounts only where genuinely relevant.
4. +1 day (if HN went well): Product Hunt (docs/launch/product-hunt.md) and the targeted subreddits (docs/launch/reddit.md). Don't blast all channels at once — stagger so each gets a real first-hour push.
5. Follow-through: turn the best HN/Reddit questions into README FAQ entries and issues. Momentum compounds when newcomers see an active maintainer.

What actually moves the needle (ranked)

1. A demo that makes the value obvious in one glance. Render the GIF.
2. Showing up. On HN/Reddit, fast, non-defensive author replies often matter more than the post itself.
3. A title that states the value, not the cleverness. "Show HN: Turn any workflow into an agent skill that installs on 17 AI tools" beats anything cute.
4. One credible amplifier. A single retweet from someone with reach in the Claude/agent space outperforms 50 cold posts.
5. Proof it's real. Runnable examples + green CI + honest limits → trust → stars.

What to avoid

• Vote/star rings or asking for stars directly on HN — it backfires and risks bans.
• Overclaiming ("10x", "magic", inflated tool counts). The repo says 17 platforms because that's the real number; keep every claim true.
• Launching all channels simultaneously, or launching before the GIF exists.
• Going quiet after posting. Silence in the first hour kills threads.