Can you promote in r/software?
Anything software-related. Please follow our rules to avoid getting punished.
The short answer
Only post about your product if it is open-source (preferred) or on the allowed Wednesday thread with the proper flair, disclose your affiliation, provide real value rather than pure promotion, and avoid links if the rules or mods require it.
What works here
- Open-source software promotion
- Posts on designated Wednesday thread with appropriate flair and value
- Releases for new programs or major updates (preferably open-source and not paywalled)
What gets posts removed
- Direct commercial promotion or advertising of paid proprietary software
- Posting without correct flair or outside the Wednesday exception
- Low-effort posts that are just links/ads or push for customers
Where this comes from
View the current official rules on RedditSpam/Self-Promotion rule
Explicit ban on promoting your own software unless it's open source; violation may lead to permanent ban.
Wednesday exception
Promotion allowed on Wednesdays if you use the appropriate flair and provide something of value rather than just the software.
Releases guidance
Releases should be for new programs or big updates and the program should be open-source or highly suggested to be; not behind a paywall.
Sidebar ban on promotional posts
Sidebar repeats no spam/promotional posts pushing commercial software.
Official rules of r/software
- 01Piracy
- 02Troll/Abuse
- 03Spam/Self-Promotion
- 04Visit r/techsupport Before Posting
- 05Releases
- 06Karma requirement
- 07Low Effort
Based on the community’s official rules, analyzed July 21, 2026. Rules change; the official rules page is always the source of truth.
Read the Intoru research and correction methodology.
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It finds people in r/software and hundreds of other communities who are looking for what you sell, and drafts replies that fit each community’s rules, so you help first and never read as spam.
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