Ship your project from the terminal with the Shipyard CLI
The Shipyard CLI is open source. Install it, post a project with one command, and let your coding agent do it for you. Here's the whole loop.
Dev Okafor · 25 June 2026 · 4 minThe Shipyard Blog
Guides to building, reviewing and sharing small software projects.
RSSDev Okafor · 25 June 2026 · 4 min
How to Build a Waitlist Before You Launch (And Why It Still Works)
A pre-launch waitlist still works, and here is how to build a waitlist people actually join, plus what to do with it so it converts instead of going cold.
Maya Chen · 25 August 2026 · 5 min
How to Write a README That Gets You Users
A README is a distribution surface, not paperwork. Here's how to write a README that gets you users in the first 30 seconds, with a copyable template.
Dev Okafor · 22 August 2026 · 5 min
What Is an MCP Server? A Plain-English Guide for Indie Devs
What is an MCP server? It's a standard way to give AI agents discoverable tools for your app, explained with Shipyard's live server as the worked example.
Dev Okafor · 20 August 2026 · 7 min
How to Get Your App Reviewed Before Launch
A zero-review launch page asks strangers to trust you first. How to get your app reviewed before launch, from honest beta testers to funded bounties.
Maya Chen · 18 August 2026 · 6 min
How to Launch on Hacker News: A Show HN Guide for 2026
How to launch on Hacker News: what a Show HN is, the title format, the first-comment etiquette, and honest expectations for your post.
Maya Chen · 15 August 2026 · 7 min
The 50 founding members — building an invite-only community for vibe coders
Why we're starting Shipyard as an invite-only community of 50 founding members, and why invite-only makes feedback better, not just more exclusive.
The Shipyard Crew · 13 August 2026 · 2 min
What separates the vibe-coded apps that actually get users
After reviewing a lot of vibe-coded apps, the ones that find users share a few clear patterns. Here's what makes an app successful, and what quietly sinks the rest.
The Shipyard Crew · 11 August 2026 · 3 min
Why "build it and they will come" is dead for indie apps
"Build it and they will come" was always shaky advice. In 2026 it's actively harmful. Here's why it's dead for indie apps, and what to replace it with.
Maya Chen · 8 August 2026 · 3 min
The build is free, distribution is everything — the 2026 indie economics
When AI makes building nearly free, the economics of indie software flip. Here's why distribution, not code, is the scarce resource in 2026, and what that means for builders.
The Shipyard Crew · 6 August 2026 · 3 min
State of vibe coding 2026 — the numbers every builder should know
The key vibe coding statistics for 2026, market size, who's building, the distribution bottleneck, and the trust gap, all sourced, in one place for builders and writers to cite.
The Shipyard Crew · 3 August 2026 · 3 min
You don't need to be a developer anymore — a non-coder's path from idea to live app
You can build a real app without knowing how to code. Here's the honest, end-to-end path for non-technical founders, from idea to a live app people can actually use.
Dev Okafor · 1 August 2026 · 3 min
Vibe coding tools compared — Lovable vs Cursor vs the rest (2026)
A practical comparison of the best vibe coding tools in 2026. Cursor, Lovable, Bolt, v0, Replit and more, grouped by what they're actually good at, so you can pick the right one.
Dev Okafor · 29 July 2026 · 3 min
AI-generated code often ships with security holes — how to catch them before launch
AI writes code fast, but not securely by default. A calm, practical security checklist for vibe coders, so you can ship AI-generated code without leaking data or keys.
Priya Nair · 27 July 2026 · 3 min
The honest feedback loop — how good vibe coders actually iterate
Friends-and-family feedback lies. Here's how to get honest feedback on your app, build a real iteration loop, and tell useful signal from polite noise.
Maya Chen · 24 July 2026 · 3 min
From prototype to production — is your vibe-coded app actually ready to ship?
Your vibe-coded app works in the demo. Is it ready for real users? A calm, practical checklist for taking a vibe-coded app from prototype to production without over-engineering it.
Priya Nair · 22 July 2026 · 4 min
Distribution-first building — bake growth into the product, don't bolt it on
The best distribution isn't something you do after you build. It's designed into the product itself. Here's what distribution-first building looks like for indie apps.
Maya Chen · 19 July 2026 · 4 min
The vibe coder's distribution checklist — 12 things to do before you launch
A practical pre-launch checklist for indie and vibe-coded apps. Twelve concrete things to have ready before you launch, so your app actually gets seen.
Maya Chen · 17 July 2026 · 3 min
How to write a Show HN or launch post that doesn't flop (with templates)
Most launch posts flop because they pitch instead of tell a story. Here's how to write a Show HN, Reddit, or X launch post that lands, with copy templates you can steal.
Dev Okafor · 14 July 2026 · 4 min
Product Hunt alternatives for builders who want real feedback (not just upvotes)
Looking for Product Hunt alternatives? Here are the launch platforms worth your time in 2026, compared on the thing that actually matters, honest feedback, not vanity upvotes.
The Shipyard Crew · 12 July 2026 · 3 min
9 places to launch your indie app in 2026 (ranked by effort vs payoff)
Where should you actually launch a vibe-coded app? Nine real launch channels for 2026, honestly ranked by how much effort they take versus what you get back.
Maya Chen · 9 July 2026 · 3 min
Product Hunt launch guide for solo builders (2026)
A calm, realistic Product Hunt launch guide for solo builders, the two-week runway, the launch-day timeline, and how to do it without burning out or buying upvotes.
Maya Chen · 7 July 2026 · 3 min
Reddit for indie devs: how to post without getting banned (and actually get users)
Reddit can send your vibe-coded app its first real users, or get you banned in an hour. Here's how to promote your app on Reddit the right way, with the rules and the post format that works.
Maya Chen · 4 July 2026 · 3 min
Marketing for developers who hate marketing
If "marketing" makes you cringe, treat it like a system instead of a performance. A practical, low-cringe approach to getting your app seen, built for developers.
Dev Okafor · 2 July 2026 · 4 min
The Shipyard MCP Server: Ship and Review Without Leaving Your Agent
Connect Claude Code, Cursor, or any MCP client to the Shipyard MCP server and ship, review, and browse projects as tools.
Dev Okafor · 2 July 2026 · 4 min
"I built an app but have no users" — the distribution gap, explained
If you built an app and nobody's using it, you're not bad at building. You've hit the distribution gap, the real bottleneck for indie apps in 2026. Here's what it is and how to close it.
Maya Chen · 29 June 2026 · 3 min
How to get your first 100 users for a vibe-coded app
You built it, now you need users. A channel-by-channel playbook for getting the first 100 people to actually use your vibe-coded app, with no audience and no budget.
Maya Chen · 27 June 2026 · 4 min
How to deploy a vibe-coded app, from localhost to a live URL
Your app works on your machine. Here's the calm, practical way to get it onto a real URL that other people can use, without a platform team.
Priya Nair · 24 June 2026 · 4 min
How to distribute a vibe-coded app when nobody knows you yet
You built something with AI in a weekend. Now what? A practical distribution playbook for makers with no audience, no budget, and no time.
Maya Chen · 23 June 2026 · 4 min