Every named free week is full for a year ahead, so the free lane is a random week 25+ weeks out.
indiehunt.io
Eligibility
Who IndieHunt accepts
You need
A Google or GitHub account, or an email magic link
A description of at least 400 words
Any link to indiehunt.io on your site, verified at step four
A logo under 1MB and a preview image under 2MB
You'll be rejected if
A product with no AI angle, since the whole board is framed around AI projects
Anything you cannot describe in 400 words, which is the floor the form enforces
AI toolsSaaS productsIndie products
What you actually get
A project page at /project/<your-slug> scheduled into a Monday launch week about a year out, competing with the rest of that week for the top three, which is the only free route to a dofollow link.
How to submit to IndieHunt
1
Choose the launch type
Free Launch needs the badge and is nofollow by default; Nofollow Launch skips the badge and stays nofollow forever; Premium is $19 with a guaranteed dofollow link.
2
Fill the project information
URL, name, a short title capped at 100 characters, the maker name, an optional X handle, and a description with a 400 word floor. Up to three categories and a pricing toggle.
3
Upload the images
A logo under 1MB and a wide preview image under 2MB.
4
Pick a launch week
Every named week reads Week Full on the free lane. The escape hatch is a checkbox below the grid: Use random week, 25+ weeks from now.
5
Verify the link and submit
Their badge or any link to indiehunt.io, checked by Verify Backlink, then Submit AI Project. An upsell modal appears; Continue with Free launch is the real trigger.
IndieHunt requirements
Project URL, name and a short title under 100 characters
The maker name, which prints on the listing
A description of at least 400 words
Up to three categories and a pricing model
A logo under 1MB and a preview image under 2MB
Any link to indiehunt.io on your site
Gotchas
Every free week the calendar names is marked Week Full, a year out. The only free way through is a checkbox under the grid that takes a random week at least 25 weeks away, and their own upsell measures the gap at 357 days.
The 400 word description floor is roughly four times what most directories ask for, and the step will not advance below it.
The maker name field arrives pre-filled with your Google account name, and whatever is in it is printed under the listing as the person who made the product.
The free lane earns a dofollow link only by finishing in that week's top three, and the badge is required just to enter.
Let your agent submit to IndieHunt
Connect SubmitMap to your AI over MCP and this page stops being something you read and copy. Your agent asks for the IndieHunt playbook and gets the brief for this exact form, with the values already taken from your submission pack instead of placeholders you fill in by hand.
What it does for this platform
Checks your product against the 6 IndieHunt rules above, so you find out you would be rejected before you open a tab.
Hands your agent all 6 fields this form asks for, none of them optional, already filled from your pack.
Warns you that IndieHunt looks for its badge on your site, so it has to be live before you submit rather than after.
Tells you what paying buys here, so you pick it on purpose: premium is $19 one-time: a guaranteed dofollow link, a chosen launch week, an SEO-written blog post and social promotion. Their own upsell puts it at 357 days earlier than the free queue.
Types it into IndieHunt in your own browser, and stops for you when the form wants a sign-in.
Records what it sent, so the dashboard can answer "did I ever submit to IndieHunt?".
Connect your agentTools and endpointsWorks with Claude Code, Claude, Codex, Cursor, VS Code and Hermes.
IndieHunt FAQ
How long does IndieHunt approval take?
IndieHunt's typical time from submission to going live is 25+ weeks.
How much does it cost to submit to IndieHunt?
IndieHunt has a free submission option plus paid placement (Premium is $19 one-time: a guaranteed dofollow link, a chosen launch week, an SEO-written blog post and social promotion. Their own upsell puts it at 357 days earlier than the free queue.).
Does IndieHunt give a dofollow backlink?
No, links from IndieHunt are nofollow. The site has a domain rating of 59.
Does IndieHunt require a backlink to your site?
Yes, IndieHunt expects a link back from your site as part of listing.
What gets you rejected from IndieHunt?
A product with no AI angle, since the whole board is framed around AI projects; Anything you cannot describe in 400 words, which is the floor the form enforces.