# Product Hunt Launch > Product Hunt launch — prep and manual handoff - Skill: `ever-just/product-hunt-launch` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add ever-just/product-hunt-launch` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/ever-just/product-hunt-launch/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: ever-just (https://skillmd.com/u/ever-just) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/ever-just/product-hunt-launch --- # Product Hunt launch — prep and manual handoff Launch a product on Product Hunt. The one fact that shapes everything: **you cannot create or schedule a launch through the API** — the submission is manual on producthunt.com. So this skill is: verify the token, write the copy, generate on-brand gallery assets at PH's exact sizes, get the video onto YouTube, and hand a browser agent a turnkey, guard-railed submission doc. ## When to use this skill - **"Launch on Product Hunt" / "set up our PH launch" / "prep the PH assets"** — even when phrased loosely as "get us on Product Hunt." - **You were handed a Product Hunt API key / developer token** — verify it, then use it only for what it CAN do (read the live post's vote count for a badge), never to launch. - **Post-launch: add a "Featured on Product Hunt" badge to a site** — the embed image + the CSP gotcha. - Do NOT expect to schedule or publish via the API — that step is manual. This is asset + copy prep and a guarded handoff, not general go-to-market strategy. ## Architecture — the platform's shape (know before you start) - **No launch mutation.** GraphQL at `https://api.producthunt.com/v2/api/graphql`, header `Authorization: Bearer `. The mutation type is limited to following users (`userFollow` / `userFollowUndo`) and goal management (`goalCreate` / `goalCheer` / …) — there is **no** post/launch-creation mutation (`createPost` / `PostSubmissionCreate` were removed). Do not burn time hunting one; the launch is submitted by hand. - **The launch is manual.** Someone (a browser agent on the user's session, or the user) creates the product and schedules the date on producthunt.com. - **Video = a full YouTube URL, nothing else.** PH's gallery embeds `https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID` — NOT Vimeo, NOT a shortened `youtu.be/…` link, NOT an uploaded MP4. The video only needs to be Unlisted or Public. Upload first, then paste the watch URL. - **Gallery needs 2+ images** before it renders; the video is added as a separate field. - **Exact asset sizes:** thumbnail / logo **240×240**; gallery images **1270×760**. - **Commercial-use note:** PH's API terms restrict commercial use without approval, but the standard "we're live, go vote" embed badge is provided by PH and is fine to use. ## Recipes ### 0. Verify the token + whether the product already exists ```bash curl -s -X POST https://api.producthunt.com/v2/api/graphql \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $PH_TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ --data '{"query":"query { viewer { user { id name username } } }"}' # list the (few) mutations — none creates a launch: {"query":"query { __schema { mutationType { fields { name } } } }"} # find an existing product: {"query":"query { post(slug:\"\") { id name url votesCount } }"} ``` ### 1. Write the launch kit (paste-ready copy) - **Name**; **Tagline** ≤ 60 chars (give 2-3 options); **Topics** (3, from PH's taxonomy — SaaS / Developer Tools / API / Web App / etc.); **Website URL**. - **Description** — one short, honest paragraph; no fabricated stats. - **Maker's first comment** — the intro posted the moment you go live (problem → what it does → who it is for → a question that invites replies). This drives more engagement than the description. ### 2. Generate on-brand gallery assets at exact sizes Real product/site screenshots convert better than invented mockups. Two reliable, tool-free techniques: ```bash CHROME="/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome" # (a) screenshot the REAL live site's sections at 2x, downscale to the exact PH size (crisp text): "$CHROME" --headless=new --force-device-scale-factor=2 --window-size=1270,760 \ --hide-scrollbars --virtual-time-budget=6000 --screenshot=raw.png "https://yoursite/#section" sips -z 760 1270 raw.png --out gallery-1.png # 2540x1520 -> crisp 1270x760 # (b) author a branded 1270x760 HTML slide (real fonts via Google Fonts) and screenshot it the same way. # logo/thumbnail from a real brand SVG (prefer the real app-icon over a re-render): rsvg-convert -w 150 -h 150 mark.svg -o mark.png magick -size 240x240 xc:'#faf9f7' mark.png -gravity center -composite logo-240.png ``` Screenshot the live site's real hero / product-UI / provider-wall sections instead of fabricating `acme.com` mockups — a gallery that matches the landing page the visitor clicks through to converts better and reads as honest. ### 3. Get the demo video onto YouTube PH only takes a YouTube link. Upload the demo MP4 to the product's YouTube channel as **Unlisted**, then paste the **full** `https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID` URL (rewrite any `youtu.be/…` short form). You cannot upload it server-side to the user's channel — that is their action, or a browser agent driving their logged-in YouTube. ### 4. Hand the submission to a browser agent (turnkey + guard-railed) Because the launch is manual, write ONE self-contained submission doc a browser agent (e.g. `claude-in-chrome`) executes, plus the asset files in a folder. The submission doc MUST: - State the account it should be signed in as; stop if it is not that account. - Give every field value inline (name / tagline / description / topics / URL) + the asset filenames in upload order. - **Guardrails, stated up front: SAVE AS DRAFT ONLY. Do NOT publish, do NOT schedule a live date, do NOT change account settings. Stop and ask the human at the launch-date / hunter / any irreversible submit control.** The human owns going live. ### 5. Post-launch: the "Featured on Product Hunt" badge The embed is ``. When adding it to a site: - For JSX, convert the HTML entities (`&` → `&`) and use a plain ``. - **If the site enforces a Content-Security-Policy, add `https://api.producthunt.com` to `img-src`** or the badge silently renders as a broken image. ## Pitfalls 1. **Do not try to launch via the API.** There is no post/launch-creation mutation — only follow and goal mutations exist. Creating and scheduling a launch is manual on producthunt.com; build for that instead of hunting a nonexistent mutation. 2. **Video is YouTube-only.** An MP4 file, a direct `.../file.mp4` URL, a Vimeo link, or a `youtu.be` short link will NOT embed in the PH gallery. Upload to YouTube and paste the full `watch?v=` URL. 3. **Gallery needs 2+ images** before it shows; the video is a separate field. 4. **A strict CSP blocks the badge image.** `img-src` must include `https://api.producthunt.com`. Related: a headless-browser screenshot may show the badge broken because offscreen renders often skip cross-origin / CSP-blocked images even when a real browser loads them — `curl` the SVG to confirm it resolves rather than trusting the headless shot. 5. **Never let the browser agent publish.** Save-as-draft only; the human confirms the date. Publishing on the wrong date is hard to undo. 6. **No fabricated stats in the copy.** Keep claims honest and defensible — PH makers and audiences scrutinize. ## See also - [[web-artifacts-builder]] — for building richer HTML slide/asset pages when a plain screenshot is not enough. - [[frontend-design]] — brand-faithful HTML slides to screenshot at PH's exact sizes. - [[canvas-design]] — for designed poster/graphic gallery images when a screenshot will not do.