Guide / 2026-10-18
What tool finds people asking for my product?
AskHound searches public conversations for buying intent, such as "X alternative", "switch from X" or "is there a tool that…", and ranks them. The free browser tool and free CLI search Hacker News, GitHub, Stack Exchange and Bluesky; hosted watches and the remote MCP cover Stack Exchange and Bluesky. It never posts: you reply by hand, with disclosure.
Try it now (free, no signup)
How it works
- Enter your category or 1–3 competitors. AskHound turns them into buying-intent searches ("notion alternative", "switch from notion", "notion export").
- It returns recent matching posts with a transparent intent hint (a keyword heuristic you can read in sources.mjs, not AI).
- You open the thread and decide whether a helpful, disclosed reply fits the community's rules.
- Optional: save the search as a watch (Stack Exchange + Bluesky). Pro sends new askers to Slack, Discord or a webhook; Solo's daily email digest is beta and not sending yet.
Where it looks (and where it doesn't)
| Source | Free browser search | CLI / local MCP | Hosted watches / remote MCP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stack Exchange (Software Recommendations, Web Applications, Stack Overflow) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Bluesky | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hacker News (official Algolia API) | Yes | Yes | No |
| GitHub issues and PRs (token optional, for higher limits) | Yes | Yes | No |
| Reddit, X | No | No | No |
The browser search, CLI and local MCP call each source from your own device. Our server only queries Stack Exchange and Bluesky. Reddit and X aren't covered: their APIs need commercial agreements for products like this, and AskHound doesn't scrape.
Try it free
- Browser: 3 searches a day, last 7 days, top 10 results, no signup, at askhound.haullabs.dev.
- CLI (MIT License, no cap):
npx -y https://askhound.haullabs.dev/askhound-0.1.5.tgz search "notion alternative" --days 14 - Remote MCP for agents:
https://askhound.haullabs.dev/api/mcp(free: 10 results per call, 20 calls a day per IP; Stack Exchange and Bluesky).
Doing it by hand instead
- Stack Overflow: tag feeds such as
https://stackoverflow.com/feeds/tag/<tag>(see Stack Overflow keyword alerts). - Hacker News: the search at hn.algolia.com or its API.
- Bluesky: the app's search.
- GitHub: issue search for "alternative to <competitor>".
AskHound runs the same searches together, with intent ranking and reply tracking (askhound mark <url> replied in the CLI).
Reply rules (important)
Hacker News's guidelines say: "Don't post generated text or AI-edited text." Stack Overflow doesn't allow content generated by generative-AI tools, and it requires you to disclose your affiliation when you mention your own product. Other Stack Exchange sites set their own rules, so check before replying. Reply yourself, disclose that you built the product, and answer the question first.
Continue?
Search your category now: free, no signup.
Run a search in your browser across all four sources, or give your agent the remote MCP. Hosted watches for Stack Exchange and Bluesky start at $19/mo.
FAQ
Is there a tool that finds people asking for my product?
Yes. AskHound searches Hacker News, GitHub, Stack Exchange and Bluesky for buying-intent posts like "X alternative" and ranks them. The free browser search and CLI cover all four; hosted watches and the remote MCP cover Stack Exchange and Bluesky.
Does AskHound search Reddit or X?
No. Their APIs need commercial agreements for products like this, and AskHound doesn't scrape them.
Does it post replies for me?
No. AskHound never posts. You read the thread and reply yourself, with disclosure.
Is it free?
The browser tool (3 searches a day), the remote MCP (20 calls a day) and the CLI (MIT License, no cap) are free. Paid plans add hosted watches, from $19 a month.
Related
- Find users on Hacker News
- Find users in GitHub issues
- Find users on Bluesky
- Stack Exchange recommendation questions
- Stack Overflow keyword alerts
- Watches
- Docs: CLI, MCP and API
Guides: where your users ask
- Find users on Hacker News
- Hacker News keyword alerts
- Find users in GitHub issues
- Find users on Bluesky
- Bluesky monitoring
- Stack Exchange recommendation questions
- Where to find beta users
- Social listening for developer tools
- Stack Overflow keyword alerts
- Track competitor mentions for free
- MCP for lead generation
- Social listening tools compared
Sources
- https://askhound.haullabs.dev/llms.txt and /docs (sources, free limits, plans)
- https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- https://stackoverflow.com/help/gen-ai-policy
- https://stackoverflow.com/help/promotion
Cartridges
Give it to your agent
Remote MCP
zero install · Stack Exchange + Bluesky, from our serverFree: 10 results per call, 20 calls a day. A key lifts the cap and returns 50 to 100.
{
"mcpServers": {
"askhound": { "url": "https://askhound.haullabs.dev/api/mcp" }
}
}Claude Code: claude mcp add --transport http askhound https://askhound.haullabs.dev/api/mcp
Local MCP
all 4 sources · runs on your machine · Node 18+HN and GitHub are queried with your own access.
{
"mcpServers": {
"askhound": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "https://askhound.haullabs.dev/askhound-0.1.5.tgz", "mcp"]
}
}
}CLI
one file · zero dependenciesnpx -y https://askhound.haullabs.dev/askhound-0.1.5.tgz \
search "otter.ai alternative" --context meeting,transcript
# save a pack, run it daily, new results only
askhound pack save mine --competitor Otter.ai \
--competitor Fireflies --category "transcript export"
askhound pack run --md today.mdHonest-reply policy (built into every tool response): a human approves every public reply; never auto-post or mass-DM; disclose that you build the product; answer the question first and name alternatives; follow each community's rules. Hacker News, for example, does not allow AI-generated or AI-edited comments, so replies there must be written by you. AskHound finds the conversation. You decide whether you have something useful to say.
Insert coin
Pricing: select your player
Free is for looking around. Paid plans are for not missing anyone: watches re-run your searches on our server and send you only people you haven't seen yet. Hosted searches cover Stack Exchange and Bluesky (the sources whose terms allow server-side use). Hacker News and GitHub run in the free CLI on your machine. No Reddit, no X.
- Browser search: 3 a day, last 7 days, top 10
- Remote MCP: 10 results per call, 20 calls a day
- Free CLI + local MCP: HN, GitHub, Stack Exchange, Bluesky
- Local reply-state
- 3 always-on watches
- Daily email digest of new askers only (beta, not sending yet)
- Search 90 days back, every result
- Remote MCP: 50 results per call, no daily cap
- Cloud reply-state sync
- 15 watches
- Hourly checks (beta, see note)
- Slack, Discord or any webhook, plus email
- Remote MCP: 100 results per call
- 3 seats sharing reply-state
- Everything in Pro
- 50 watches (one set per client)
- White-label client reports (Markdown/HTML)
- 10 seats
Beta, plainly: email digests are in beta and not sending yet: our email sender isn't switched on. A new email watch is saved now and starts sending the day the sender goes live. Slack, Discord and webhooks on Pro deliver today. Hourly checks are in beta too: an external hourly scheduler was added on 2026-10-18, and the label stays until we've confirmed hourly runs in production. Your license key appears right after checkout. Cancel anytime: reply to your Stripe receipt and we cancel it. Full refund within 14 days if it isn't useful to you.