So far, the only person using your tool is you.
Add a release note and Threadgehog writes a post from it in your brand voice, with your repo link in only as many posts as you choose.
14-day free trial. Cancel before day 15 and you won't be charged. Apple silicon Mac, macOS 14 or later.
Who it is for
Developers who maintain an open source CLI, library or dev tool, mostly on their own.
How Threadgehog helps
Add a release note, or a note about a bug you fixed, in Settings under Inspiration, and the next batch includes a draft written from it. Paste about ten posts that got plenty of replies, from maintainers whose writing you like, as text or Threads links, and Threadgehog writes in that style instead of changelog language. Set the link share to 25%, or lower in Project settings, and about 1 in 4 posts point people to your repo and end with your link, while the rest are regular posts in your brand voice. Drafts wait in Pending until you approve or reject them.
An example brief
This is an example, not a real customer's brief.
Product
errwhy
What it is
An open source command-line tool that explains confusing error messages in plain English, with an optional paid tier
Who it is for
Developers who lose an hour to an error message that never says what went wrong
Link
Your GitHub repo or changelog page
What readers should do
Star the repo or try the latest release
Posts that link to it
25% of posts. The repo link in about 1 in 4 posts is enough, and the rest read like a maintainer's notes.
Plan
Solo. One tool is one project, and Solo includes 2 projects.
Example posts
A regular post
Most upvoted issue on my repo: "Error message says 'failed.' Failed what?" Opened in 2022. 214 thumbs up. Closed it this morning. Felt like paying off a credit card.
A thread that links to it
errwhy passed 3,000 stars this week. About 2,400 of them came from one Hacker News comment by someone who was mad at a different tool.
v0.9 finally does what people asked for on day one: it says what broke and the first thing to check, instead of linking you to docs written for someone else.
The changelog is here. If it saves you an hour this month, a star helps more than you'd think: [link]
The X version
Most upvoted issue on my repo: "Error message says 'failed.' Failed what?" Opened in 2022. 214 thumbs up. Closed it this morning. Felt like paying off a credit card.
Example posts written to show the style. Not from a real account.
Post ideas for open-source maintainers
The kind of posts Threadgehog drafts for open-source maintainers. Add any of them with Add an idea in Pending, and the next batch builds on it.
- The first pull request from a stranger, and what I almost said in the review.Story
- Every open issue older than a year is a decision you haven't said out loud.Hot take
- How do you say no to a feature request without losing the contributor?Question
- My first README was a wall of flags. The new one starts with a copy-paste example.Before and after
- Five labels I put on issues so I can triage from my phone.List
- I merged a breaking change in a patch release and learned what semver is for.Mistake
- How I write release notes people read before they upgrade.How-to
- Every issue titled 'quick question' turns into a design discussion by the third reply.Observation
- The bug report that came with a fix, a test and an apology for bothering me.Story
- Do you close stale issues automatically, or does that feel rude?Question
Questions
Do I need posts of my own first?
No. A brand-new account works. Paste about ten posts from your niche that got plenty of replies, from any account, and Threadgehog writes in that style. The app shows you how to find them. Once your own posts start doing well, paste those and rebuild the brand voice.
Does it learn from my results?
Yes, in two ways. When it writes new ideas and the daily batch, up to 8 of your most recent approved posts go along as examples. And with Threadgehog AI, every 3 days on Solo, every day on Pro, or up to 3 times a day on Unlimited, it compares what you approved with what you rejected and rewrites the rules for the next batch. With Buffer, Publer, Postiz or Metricool, most new drafts also build on what your top posts share.