Tools Hacker News keeps asking for

Hacker News, 2008 to 2026

I collected every comment and post since 2008 that says “I wish there was”, “is there a tool” or “I’d pay for”: 63,300 of them. An AI classifier kept the 12,441 that ask for software. These are the 100 tools people asked for most often, across the most years, and are still asking for now. Every number links to the comments behind it.

63,300 comments and posts read

12,441 real requests for software

1,433 asks behind these 100, each re-read

$6.00 spent on AI labelling

Every column is one idea. Every row is a year. #

HN wants to pay to stop being the product

Four of the top ten are people asking to pay: for Windows without the junk, a browser, email, and search without ads.

It asks for ownership, not AI

46 of the 100 mostly want it local or private. Only 8 mostly want AI to do the job.

Building isn’t the gap. Finishing is.

81 have already launched on Show HN, 1,423 times between them, and people still ask. 64 were first asked for in 2012 or earlier.

It now asks to fix what already exists

Since 2024, 27% of requests want a better version of existing software, up from 14% in 2008 to 2011. How the asks changed

The list #

Ranked by separate threads, years asked, and asks since 2024.

#1 A mute button for news feedsHide unwanted topics, sources, paywalled links, AI-written slop and clickbait from HN and other feeds, by keyword, domain or plain-language rule. Built, still asked for61 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: hcker.news – an ergonomic, timeline-based Hacker News front page (2025, 180 points). 2. #2 Windows without the junkA paid Windows edition with no ads, telemetry, bundled apps, forced updates or Microsoft account, just the core OS. Never launchedNo attempt found on Show HN. 3. #3 A browser you can pay forThey would pay or donate for a Firefox build with no ads, telemetry, Pocket, sponsored content or AI, and a UI that stops changing. Built, still asked for2 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Konform Browser v140.8.0-105 - Security-focused Firefox fork (2026, 4 points). 4. #4 Email you pay for, not withA paid Gmail replacement that does not scan or sell mail, works with plain IMAP and custom domains, filters spam well and has real support. Tried, never finished6 partial attempts on Show HN, none that does the whole job. Top: TutaCrypt, post-quantum encryption protocols for securing emails [pdf] (2024, 15 points). 5. #5 Hacker News for other fieldsA well-moderated link and discussion site with HN-quality comments for their own field, such as biology, medicine, politics, engineering, law or fiction. Built, still asked for18 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: I made Hacker News but for research papers (2023, 287 points). 6. #6 Paid search without adsA paid search engine with clean results like old Google, no ads or tracking, and ideally a cheaper plan without AI features. Never launchedOne partial attempt on Show HN. 7. #7 Block popups, not just adsA browser add-on that kills newsletter popups, scroll hijacking, autoplay video, clipboard and back-button tricks, ideally from a shared community list. Built, still asked for1 launch on Show HN do the job. Top: PopUpOFF – Advanced popup and overlay open source blocker (2019, 6 points). 8. #8 Choose what each site may runPer-site control of scripts, cookies, WebGL and referrers, with shared allowlists so each site gets only what it needs. Never launchedOne partial attempt on Show HN. 9. #9 A job board with standardsA job board that only lists vetted employers: real openings, salary shown, no leetcode interviews, remote friendly or a sane engineering culture. Built, still asked for23 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: A job board for companies fighting ageism in tech (2019, 523 points). 10. #10 A fast native email clientA reliable mail app for any IMAP account, on Mac, Linux, iOS or Android, with working search, conversation threads, labels and offline use. Built, still asked for13 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Unibox, the people-centric email client released on the Mac App Store (2013, 25 points). 11. #11 Time Machine for every computerSet-and-forget encrypted backup with versions and full or single-file restore, on Linux and Windows too, without subscription price hikes. Built, still asked for2 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Relica – Cross-platform local, remote, and multi-cloud file backups (2018, 132 points). 12. #12 Google Reader, for every platformA simple, polished RSS reader like Google Reader or NetNewsWire on Linux, Windows and Android, with no ads or required account. Built, still asked for11 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: A Google Reader-inspired RSS reader (2023, 115 points). 13. #13 An honest TL;DR for anythingPaste a link or click an extension and get a short, accurate summary of what a long article, newsletter or book actually says. Built, still asked for92 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: HackYourNews – AI summaries of the top HN stories (2023, 335 points). 14. #14 Paid Linux that just worksA maintained desktop Linux that works on their hardware out of the box, with drivers, sleep and codecs sorted and no upsells, worth paying for. Never launchedNo attempt found on Show HN. 15. #15 A CMS for editors and developersA WordPress alternative that clients and marketers can edit easily while developers keep clean code, static output or git-backed content. Built, still asked for76 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Primo – all-in-one IDE, CMS, component library, static site generator (2020, 575 points). 16. #16 A private memory for everythingA private, preferably local store that captures notes, bookmarks, pages, emails and files, then finds or resurfaces them by context. Built, still asked for66 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Obsidian – A knowledge base that works on local Markdown files (2020, 1,087 points). 17. #17 Your own Dropbox, minus the hassleA simple, reliable Dropbox or iCloud replacement on their own server or devices, lighter than Nextcloud, including peer-to-peer sync. Built, still asked for21 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: a Node.js personal cloud you can hack, host and delete (2013, 65 points). 18. #18 Search for the small webA search engine or directory that surfaces personal sites, hobby pages and independent blogs without ads, including ones that rarely post. Built, still asked for22 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: I built a frontpage for personal blogs (2026, 783 points). 19. #19 VS Code, native and quietAn editor as capable and extensible as VS Code, ideally running its extensions, but native, fast to start, with no telemetry or Copilot push. Built, still asked for2 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Void - open source Cursor AI code editor (2024, 13 points). 20. #20 A social network you ownAn open, federated or peer-to-peer Facebook, Twitter or Instagram where they own their data, can self-host, and friends can actually join. Built, still asked for29 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: s@: decentralized social networking over static sites (2026, 414 points). 21. #21 Remote desktop that feels localA free or fair-priced open remote desktop, smooth as RDP on Mac and Linux, easy for helping relatives behind NAT. Built, still asked for2 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: P2P remote desktop – an alternative to TeamViewer / AnyDesk (2021, 156 points). 22. #22 A shell with a sane languageA shell with a Python- or PowerShell-like object language, history tied to directory and shared across machines, and help that suggests commands. Built, still asked for1 launch on Show HN do the job. Top: A smarter Unix shell and scripting environment (2023, 142 points). 23. #23 Back up your cloud accountsAutomatic, scheduled exports of Google Photos, iCloud, Gmail, Reddit and other accounts to storage they own, keeping albums and metadata. Built, still asked for4 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Gargantuan Takeout Rocket – Google Takeout Trans to Azure (2023, 98 points). 24. #24 Heroku without the surprise billHeroku-style app and database hosting with a free or few-dollar tier and predictable prices that do not jump as projects grow. Built, still asked for4 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: PaaS with database and free backups (2019, 102 points). 25. #25 IDE smarts in any editorJetBrains-level completion, navigation and refactoring for their language inside Emacs, VS Code or another editor, and several would pay for it. Built, still asked for2 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: CSS Variables LSP for VS Code and Zed (Rust-First, TS Fallback) (2026, 2 points). 26. #26 One pass for every paywallOne payment, flat monthly or per article, that opens paywalled articles across many newspapers, with revenue split by what they read and no ads. Tried, never finished2 partial attempts on Show HN, none that does the whole job. Top: Quid – try micropayments instead of ads or subscriptions (2019, 64 points). 27. #27 Run any OS's apps anywhereA packaged layer that runs Windows, macOS or Android apps and games on another OS without fuss, so ordinary users can switch. Built, still asked for10 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Winpodx – run Windows apps on Linux as native windows (2026, 98 points). 28. #28 Notes as plain Markdown filesA notes app built on a plain Markdown folder on desktop and phone, synced via a service they pick or with E2E encryption. Built, still asked for11 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Unforget, the note-taking app I always wanted: offline first, encrypted (2024, 274 points). 29. #29 Classic desktops reborn on LinuxA Linux desktop that faithfully recreates macOS, CDE, NeXTSTEP, BeOS or Windows 2000 in both look and behaviour. Tried, never finished2 partial attempts on Show HN, none that does the whole job. Top: AI First Virtual Linux Desktop as a Mac App (2026, 1 points). 30. #30 See a codebase as a mapA tool that reads a codebase and draws its call chains, class hierarchies and internal dependencies, to explore large or legacy code. Built, still asked for54 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Instantly visualize any codebase as an interactive diagram (2024, 222 points). 31. #31 A modern ctags on tree-sitterAn offline, editor-agnostic ctags or cscope for many languages, with structural navigation, AST transforms and a syntax-tree viewer. Built, still asked for3 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Tilth – I spent tokens so my agents would stop wasting them (~4k Rust) (2026, 10 points). 32. #32 Honest reviews of employersA trustworthy place to warn others about employers, managers and CEOs and see real pay, hours, perks and contract terms, unlike gameable Glassdoor. Built, still asked for6 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Submityoursalary.com – Short company reviews with salary info (2016, 22 points). 33. #33 Forums worth hosting againSimple, modern forum software a small group can host themselves, with persistent searchable threads instead of Discord, light install and email posting. Built, still asked for18 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Minimal, no-JS web forum software (2022, 392 points). 34. #34 Turn off phone-home everywhereOpen tools or guides that strip tracking, ads and phone-home behaviour from Windows, smart TVs, cars, printers and phones. Tried, never finished4 partial attempts on Show HN, none that does the whole job. Top: stop-nagging A CLI tool to silence upgrade nags and telemetry in tools (2025, 7 points). 35. #35 Git without the arcane commandsA fast, simple Git client with IntelliJ-quality diffs, a clear three-way merge view and easy undo, on Linux and Windows too. Built, still asked for16 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Sublime Merge – A Git client from the makers of Sublime Text (2018, 935 points). 36. #36 A database GUI that feels modernA native, friendly database GUI like Sequel Pro for Postgres and SQLite on every OS, with automatic ER diagrams from a live database. Built, still asked for17 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Outerbase Studio – Open-Source Database GUI (2024, 356 points). 37. #37 Sync any browser with any otherA tool that syncs or moves bookmarks, tabs, history, extensions and settings across different browsers and machines, without a big-tech account. Built, still asked for7 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Unsearch – Sync bookmarks, history, and tabs across browsers (2024, 9 points). 38. #38 A terminal with editor mannersA fast, simple terminal with editor-style mouse and text editing, richer shell integration and saved SSH hosts, on Windows and iPad too. Built, still asked for6 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Warp, a Rust-based terminal (2022, 946 points). 39. #39 Diagrams that align themselvesA quick diagram tool that makes architecture diagrams and flowcharts look polished without dragging and aligning boxes by hand. Built, still asked for103 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Online database diagram editor (2024, 311 points). 40. #40 Hiring without application spamA hiring site that caps mass applications, lets candidates prove skills or stay anonymous, and lets companies bid for or approach candidates. Built, still asked for7 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Candix, a confidential, reverse recruiting platform (2024, 63 points). 41. #41 Tailscale without the vendorPlain WireGuard mesh with automatic keys and NAT traversal, plus self-hosted tunnels that expose a local port, without a vendor server. Built, still asked for5 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Free, secure dev tunnels with custom domains using Fly and WireGuard (2020, 24 points). 42. #42 Run scripts with a simple UIA simple runner that schedules or triggers scripts and containers, shows status and output in a web UI, and retries failures. Built, still asked for27 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Superblocks – IDE for Internal Apps, APIs and Cron Jobs (2022, 193 points). 43. #43 Restyle any website your wayAn extension to apply their own or shared CSS to any site, for dark mode, plainer layouts and readable colours and fonts. Built, still asked for3 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Dark Reader extension – Dark mode for every website (2018, 369 points). 44. #44 Google Photos on your own serverA self-hosted or on-device Google Photos with local face and object search, family sharing and apps as polished as Google's. Built, still asked for4 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Memories – FOSS Google Photos alternative built for high performance (2024, 797 points). 45. #45 Microsoft Access, rebornAn Access-style app for building forms, tables and views over SQLite or Postgres so non-programmers can enter and browse data like a spreadsheet. Built, still asked for9 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: NocoDB – Open-Source Airtable Alternative (2021, 562 points). 46. #46 Bookkeeping that does itselfA simple QuickBooks or Xero replacement that keeps the books, expenses, payroll and tax filings running quietly with little manual work. Built, still asked for29 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: FrappeBooks – Free and Open Source, Modern Desktop Accounting for SMB (2020, 243 points). 47. #47 Ask questions of your codebaseAn AI that reads a whole codebase, finds the files relevant to a plain-English task, explains them and uses current docs. Built, still asked for53 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Plandex v2 – open source AI coding agent for large projects and tasks (2025, 257 points). 48. #48 A coding agent for any modelA Claude Code style coding agent that runs on any provider or local model, mixes models per step, and can open PRs from a sandbox. Built, still asked for4 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Plandex v2 – open source AI coding agent for large projects and tasks (2025, 257 points). 49. #49 Rails for your favourite languageAn opinionated Rails or Laravel-style framework with auth, mail and payments built in, for Rust, Go or Node. Built, still asked for41 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: A Full-Stack Web Framework for Go (2022, 531 points). 50. #50 A site blocker you can't cheatA blocker for sites and apps with separate schedules, session limits and intent prompts that is hard to switch off, on desktop and phone. Built, still asked for1 launch on Show HN do the job. Top: Digital Carrot – Block social media with programmable rules and goals (2026, 39 points). 51. #51 Find healthy open-source librariesA searchable, reviewed catalogue of open-source libraries and projects, including live forks and projects needing help or sponsors. Built, still asked for1 launch on Show HN do the job. Top: Discover insights about any GitHub repo (2023, 3 points). 52. #52 Feeds and Shorts stripped from sitesA browser extension that hides feeds, Shorts and recommendations on YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn, or slows sites down, while keeping messages and search. Built, still asked for7 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: YouTube Addiction Rehab - content filter chrome extension using LLMs (2024, 4 points). 53. #53 Bookmarks you can actually searchA private, lasting bookmark manager that imports from every browser, auto-tags and searches saved pages, without relying on a fragile service. Tried, never finished11 partial attempts on Show HN, none that does the whole job. Top: Shiori v1.5 – Self hosted bookmarks manager, now with archival support (2019, 286 points). 54. #54 A backup forge for GitHubGit hosting with issues and reviews that mirrors their GitHub repos and issues, so work continues through outages, takedowns or account loss. Tried, never finished11 partial attempts on Show HN, none that does the whole job. Top: Gitopia: Decentralized GitHub Alternative for Open Source Collaboration (2023, 45 points). 55. #55 LLM tests on real workTests of models on real work, tool-use reliability, destructive actions, censorship and human-sounding writing, plus side-by-side runs of their own prompts. Built, still asked for7 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: I benchmarked LLM agents on fixing real-world security vulnerabilities (2026, 4 points). 56. #56 Keyboard tiling on any desktopReliable keyboard tiling or FancyZones-style snapping on macOS, Windows or Wayland, like i3 or xmonad on X11. Built, still asked for15 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: A Native Tiling Window Manager for Windows 10, Inspired by I3wm (2021, 327 points). 57. #57 Self-hosted email that gets deliveredA one-click self-hosted mail server with Gmail-quality webmail and spam filtering, whose outgoing mail does not land in spam. Built, still asked for1 launch on Show HN do the job. Top: Poste.io – full featured mail server installed in Docker container (2015, 14 points). 58. #58 A faster app switcher and dockReplacements for the switcher, dock, taskbar and menu bar: instant switching without animations, named desktops and saved app workspaces. Built, still asked for20 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: boringBar – a taskbar-style dock replacement for macOS (2026, 520 points). 59. #59 Your email and chats, archived locallyAutomatic local backups of their email, chats and group archives into a searchable store, before a provider shuts down or locks them out. Tried, never finished11 partial attempts on Show HN, none that does the whole job. Top: Memento – Self-hosted agentic search and LLM wiki over your email (2026, 12 points). 60. #60 A seatbelt for npm installsA package mirror that serves only vetted or weeks-old versions, blocks known malware, and checks published tarballs match the source. Built, still asked for7 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Mitigate against 0-day supply chain attacks with safe-NPM (2022, 5 points). 61. #61 Every local event in one feedOne searchable place or followable feed for local tech meetups, hackathons, talks and gigs, so they no longer need Facebook to hear about them. Built, still asked for19 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Things to Do API (2026, 57 points). 62. #62 A fairer marketplace for small gigsA low-fee place to post or find short paid programming tasks, consultations and bounties, with reputation to filter quality. Built, still asked for3 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Uber for Coding — Build product with bounties (2022, 66 points). 63. #63 A password manager you ownAn open source password manager that keeps an encrypted vault on storage they control, runs on every platform, and shares entries with family or teammates. Built, still asked for4 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Passbolt – open-source password manager for teams (2016, 62 points). 64. #64 Reddit without the ad companyA topic-based Reddit-style forum with voting and threads, not run by an ad company, with fairer moderation and less toxicity. Built, still asked for18 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Non.io, a Reddit-like platform Ive been working on for the last 4 years (2023, 1,943 points). 65. #65 An open CursorA Cursor-like AI editor that is open or privacy-focused, works with their own keys or local models, and costs less. Built, still asked for13 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Void, an open-source Cursor/GitHub Copilot alternative (2024, 347 points). 66. #66 Music discovery you can steerMusic recommendations they can tune, based on the sound itself, human curation or genre digging, not popularity or sponsored picks. Built, still asked for59 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: 2u.fm is a social music discovery site, my side project for over a year (2012, 121 points). 67. #67 A feed of only your peopleA small, paid or non-profit network showing friends' and family's own updates in order, with no news sharing, ads or suggested posts. Built, still asked for14 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Slow Social, a social network built for friends, not influencers (2022, 752 points). 68. #68 Ad blocking for the whole houseA maintained, paid DNS or network blocker that stops ads and trackers on every device, TVs included, plus custom blocks like Shorts. Built, still asked for18 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: nextdns.io – A Combination of Cloudflare DNS and Pi-Hole (2019, 372 points). 69. #69 Whispersync for any bookSwitch between reading an ebook or article and listening to it, via a matched audiobook or natural text-to-speech, without losing their place. Built, still asked for6 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: An open-source, self-hostable synced narration platform for ebooks (2023, 338 points). 70. #70 Better than Google ScholarA better paper and book search that finds free full texts, searches inside books and shows what each work cites. Built, still asked for1 launch on Show HN do the job. Top: AI Search over Books, Patents and Scholar Publications (2024, 1 points). 71. #71 Confluence without the painA fast, self-hostable team wiki with in-place real-time editing, Markdown or file storage and search, replacing slow Confluence. Built, still asked for14 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: BookStack – An open source wiki platform and alternative to Confluence (2022, 562 points). 72. #72 Encrypted chat as easy as WhatsAppAn encrypted messenger as easy as iMessage that signs up without a phone number and moves chat history across devices. Never launchedOne partial attempt on Show HN. 73. #73 Tabs for people with hundredsVertical or tree tabs, groups, saved sessions and suspended background tabs in whichever browser they use, including Safari and Chrome. Built, still asked for3 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Side Space – An Arc-like AI-powered Vertical tabs manager for Chrome (2025, 3 points). 74. #74 Sign-in not owned by big techA trusted sign-in option not run by Google or Facebook that works across many sites, and an easy auth service developers can rely on. Built, still asked for28 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Obligator – An OpenID Connect server for self-hosters (2023, 273 points). 75. #75 Little Snitch for every platformA per-app firewall that shows which program connects where and lets them block hosts per app, on Linux, Windows and phones. Built, still asked for1 launch on Show HN do the job. Top: I made a Rust Terminal UI for OpenSnitch, a Linux application firewall (2025, 6 points). 76. #76 Your own Vercel on your serversAn open-source Heroku or Netlify that deploys on git push to their own servers or cloud account and moves between providers. Built, still asked for24 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: An open-source, self-hostable Heroku and Netlify alternative (2021, 345 points). 77. #77 Dreamweaver for plain HTMLA modern Dreamweaver-like local editor that edits plain HTML and CSS visually, with no cloud or subscription, and publishes in one click. Built, still asked for5 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Moebius – HTML5 Canvas Drag and Drop Website Builder (macOS Alpha) (2017, 50 points). 78. #78 Read social posts without the appA read-only view that turns tweet threads into prose, shows chosen people's posts in order without an account, across Twitter, Mastodon and others. Tried, never finished2 partial attempts on Show HN, none that does the whole job. Top: I reverse engineered X to Read Threads without Any Account as Articles (2024, 59 points). 79. #79 Turn a photo into art, faithfullyA converter that turns their own photo into a coloring page, pixel art, ASCII, sketch or low-poly image without AI changing the details. Built, still asked for23 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Creating custom coloring pages from photos. Great for parents/teachers (2024, 179 points). 80. #80 Search you can rank yourselfSearch where they can permanently block or allow domains, toggle filters, script the ranking, or share votes that bury spam sites. Built, still asked for6 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: A blocklist to remove spam and bad websites from search results (2025, 225 points). 81. #81 An app store for home serversA one-click way for non-experts to install, update and secure many self-hosted apps on their own server, without paying per app. Built, still asked for11 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Umbrel – A personal server OS for self-hosting (2022, 225 points). 82. #82 Launch videos without After EffectsFounders want an easy way to make polished product or explainer videos with animated text, mockups and music, without video editing skills. Built, still asked for31 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Correly – Interactive Video Demos (2019, 26 points). 83. #83 A browser fingerprint that blends inUsers want a browser or extension that reports a common, realistic profile or rotates identifiers, like Tor Browser protections without Tor. Built, still asked for6 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: I built a cross-browser extension that controls fingerprinting surfaces (2026, 20 points). 84. #84 Budgeting that stays on your machineA local or self-hosted budgeting app, like the old one-time-purchase YNAB 4, that categorises spending and forecasts balances with irregular income. Built, still asked for20 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Paisa – Open-Source Personal Finance Manager (2023, 662 points). 85. #85 Fence in apps and AI agentsSimple per-app limits on folders, network and personal data, including fake contacts, with prompts when an app or AI agent reaches outside. Built, still asked for27 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Drop – A rootless Linux sandbox with gVisor support (2026, 193 points). 86. #86 A player for music you ownA polished player for owned music files with folder and tag tree views and simple album syncing to the phone. Built, still asked for5 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: An OS X music library I've been working on for the past year. (2011, 301 points). 87. #87 A Siri that stays at homeA Siri-like assistant that runs on their own machine with local speech and LLM, handles calendar, notes and apps, and keeps data private. Built, still asked for8 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Snips is a AI Voice Assistant platform 100% on-device and private (2017, 372 points). 88. #88 AutoHotkey for every OSAn AutoHotkey or Keyboard Maestro equivalent for Linux and macOS that can drive any GUI, with recent asks wanting AI computer use on Linux. Built, still asked for11 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: AutoHotkey for Linux (2022, 500 points). 89. #89 Why is my computer doing thatUsers want a tool that tells them which process keeps the machine awake, drains the battery, causes hangs or load, in plain answers. Built, still asked for12 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: FSM – an advanced system monitor for Linux (2026, 30 points). 90. #90 Clean up CSS against real pagesDevelopers want to check CSS against their real HTML to drop unused rules, get fix tips, and convert between Tailwind classes and CSS. Tried, never finished2 partial attempts on Show HN, none that does the whole job. Top: Remove unused css with Purgecss (2017, 8 points). 91. #91 An office suite simpler than LibreOfficeLinux users want a reliable offline office suite that handles Word and Excel files well, with a simpler interface than LibreOffice, and would pay. Never launchedNo attempt found on Show HN. 92. #92 RSS with friendsA layer for RSS readers that recommends related feeds, shares likes and stars from similar readers, or offers curated topic planets. Built, still asked for13 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: EvalRSS – A Social RSS Aggregator (2021, 28 points). 93. #93 Taxes without TurboTaxA free or open-source way to prepare and file personal taxes, plus tools that check a return, in the US and Canada. Tried, never finished7 partial attempts on Show HN, none that does the whole job. Top: ustaxes.org – open-source tax filing webapp (2021, 465 points). 94. #94 CI runners for every platformAffordable CI with macOS, Windows, Linux and ARM runners and real devices, building every platform from one command. Never launchedNo attempt found on Show HN. 95. #95 Native GUIs without ElectronA permissively licensed cross-platform GUI toolkit for Rust, Kotlin, Go and similar languages that feels native and avoids Electron. Built, still asked for31 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Spot – Simple, cross-platform, reactive desktop GUI toolkit for Go (2024, 309 points). 96. #96 Screen recording for demos, made simpleDevelopers want a hotkey region recorder that saves small video or GIF files locally, with simple trims, on Mac, Windows and Linux. Built, still asked for5 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Screenity – Open source screen recorder and annotation tool (2020, 103 points). 97. #97 LaTeX output, Markdown effortA typesetting tool with Markdown-like syntax and CSS-like styling that still handles maths, citations and print-quality PDF output. Built, still asked for3 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Caoutchouc - A LaTeX alternative based on markdown and asciimath (2019, 6 points). 98. #98 A phone number for every deviceA paid or self-hosted Google Voice replacement: one number that rings every device, with calls and texts, including MMS, from a browser. Tried, never finished6 partial attempts on Show HN, none that does the whole job. Top: A virtual phone number for your company based on Twilio (2017, 134 points). 99. #99 Logs and metrics on a budgetA free or cheap, self-hostable Datadog, Splunk or Sentry substitute that is simple enough for a few servers or a side project. Built, still asked for36 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: HyperDX – open-source dev-friendly Datadog alternative (2023, 722 points). 100. #100 A friendlier, cheaper TwilioA simpler, cheaper Twilio-style SMS, MMS and voice service with numbers, editable templates and a local SMS test inbox. Tried, never finished5 partial attempts on Show HN, none that does the whole job. Top: Postack – SMS API for Developers (2024, 8 points).

No ideas match these filters.

New since 2024 #

Most of the list is old: the same asks, every year. These are the exceptions, where most of the asks came in the last three years.

How this was made #

Seven steps, $6.00 of AI labelling, and one big lesson: a classifier you can afford to run on everything still needs a second reader. The full write-up has the prompts, the accuracy checks and the mistakes.

1. Collect. Every HN comment and post from 2008 to 2026 with one of 35 want-phrases: 63,300 items.
2. Keep the real requests. Jev, a decision model on OpenRouter, kept 12,441. Checked on 300 items, it was right 91% of the time; the best keyword rule managed 38%.
3. Name the ideas. AI writers read the requests topic by topic and wrote 540 concrete tool ideas.
4. Match requests to ideas. Jev put each request under one idea or none, then checked every match twice.
5. Re-read every counted ask. For these 100, a second AI reader went through all 1,998 matches and kept 1,433.
6. Check what exists. Jev judged 21,438 Show HN launches: does this one do the job?
7. Rank. Separate threads, years asked and asks since 2024. Ideas nobody asked for since 2024 are left out.

Take the data #

All 12,441 requests as HN links with our labels (topic, date, would pay, local, open source, AI), and the 100 ideas with every count on this page. CSV, free, no sign-up.

Building one of these? Ship it like Vercel, on a server you own #

This site runs on ShipTiffin. A push to GitHub deploys it, the way it would on Vercel, but the server is a Hetzner box in your own account. Postgres, sign-in, email, jobs and analytics are already on it, every project gets a hard limit, and nothing is billed by usage.

$19 a month per box, plus about $10 for the server at Hetzner. Open source, so you can also run it yourself for free.

What it can’t tell you #

• Hacker News is one crowd: developers, mostly in the US and Europe. Its wishes lean towards privacy, ownership and tools for builders.
• Counts are floors. A request counts only if it uses one of 35 want-phrases, and the checks drop some real asks to keep the counted ones clean.
• Supply means launches on Show HN. A product can be on the market and still show as never launched here, if nobody posted it to Show HN.
• “Built, still asked for” doesn’t prove the existing tools are bad. People may not know about them, or want different terms: no subscription, local data, open source.
• The checks were done by AI readers, not people. Read a few asks behind any idea before you bet on it; every one is linked.