Tools Hacker News keeps asking for

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

Hide 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).

A paid Windows edition with no ads, telemetry, bundled apps, forced updates or Microsoft account, just the core OS.

23 asks10 of 19 years11 in 2024–2661% would pay61% want it local or private

Never launchedNo attempt found on Show HN.

They would pay or donate for a Firefox build with no ads, telemetry, Pocket, sponsored content or AI, and a UI that stops changing.

31 asks9 of 19 years7 in 2024–2668% would pay61% want it local or private

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).

A paid Gmail replacement that does not scan or sell mail, works with plain IMAP and custom domains, filters spam well and has real support.

28 asks14 of 19 years4 in 2024–2636% would pay

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).

A 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).

A paid search engine with clean results like old Google, no ads or tracking, and ideally a cheaper plan without AI features.

24 asks10 of 19 years6 in 2024–2683% would pay

Never launchedOne partial attempt on Show HN.

Built, still asked for1 launch on Show HN do the job. Top: PopUpOFF – Advanced popup and overlay open source blocker (2019, 6 points).

Per-site control of scripts, cookies, WebGL and referrers, with shared allowlists so each site gets only what it needs.

20 asks12 of 19 years5 in 2024–2635% want it local or private

Never launchedOne partial attempt on Show HN.

A 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).

A reliable mail app for any IMAP account, on Mac, Linux, iOS or Android, with working search, conversation threads, labels and offline use.

25 asks13 of 19 years3 in 2024–2632% want it local or private

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).

Set-and-forget encrypted backup with versions and full or single-file restore, on Linux and Windows too, without subscription price hikes.

23 asks13 of 19 years3 in 2024–2630% want it local or private

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).

A simple, polished RSS reader like Google Reader or NetNewsWire on Linux, Windows and Android, with no ads or required account.

20 asks14 of 19 years3 in 2024–2630% want it local or private

Built, still asked for11 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: A Google Reader-inspired RSS reader (2023, 115 points).

24 asks11 of 19 years3 in 2024–2658% want AI to do it

Built, still asked for92 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: HackYourNews – AI summaries of the top HN stories (2023, 335 points).

A maintained desktop Linux that works on their hardware out of the box, with drivers, sleep and codecs sorted and no upsells, worth paying for.

21 asks10 of 19 years4 in 2024–2662% would pay57% want it local or private

Never launchedNo attempt found on Show HN.

A 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).

A private, preferably local store that captures notes, bookmarks, pages, emails and files, then finds or resurfaces them by context.

19 asks9 of 19 years5 in 2024–2637% would pay53% want it local or private47% want AI to do it

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).

A simple, reliable Dropbox or iCloud replacement on their own server or devices, lighter than Nextcloud, including peer-to-peer sync.

19 asks12 of 19 years3 in 2024–2684% want it local or private

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).

A 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).

An editor as capable and extensible as VS Code, ideally running its extensions, but native, fast to start, with no telemetry or Copilot push.

15 asks8 of 19 years6 in 2024–2633% would pay60% want it local or private

Built, still asked for2 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Void - open source Cursor AI code editor (2024, 13 points).

An 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).

A free or fair-priced open remote desktop, smooth as RDP on Mac and Linux, easy for helping relatives behind NAT.

15 asks11 of 19 years4 in 2024–2640% want it local or private

Built, still asked for2 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: P2P remote desktop – an alternative to TeamViewer / AnyDesk (2021, 156 points).

A 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).

Automatic, scheduled exports of Google Photos, iCloud, Gmail, Reddit and other accounts to storage they own, keeping albums and metadata.

22 asks12 of 19 years2 in 2024–2627% would pay45% want it local or private

Built, still asked for4 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Gargantuan Takeout Rocket – Google Takeout Transloader to Azure (2023, 98 points).

Heroku-style app and database hosting with a free or few-dollar tier and predictable prices that do not jump as projects grow.

17 asks9 of 19 years4 in 2024–2647% would pay

Built, still asked for4 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: PaaS with database and free backups (2019, 102 points).

JetBrains-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).

One payment, flat monthly or per article, that opens paywalled articles across many newspapers, with revenue split by what they read and no ads.

18 asks7 of 19 years4 in 2024–2661% would pay

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).

A packaged layer that runs Windows, macOS or Android apps and games on another OS without fuss, so ordinary users can switch.

14 asks11 of 19 years3 in 2024–2629% would pay86% want it local or private

Built, still asked for10 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Winpodx – run Windows apps on Linux as native windows (2026, 98 points).

A notes app built on a plain Markdown folder on desktop and phone, synced via a service they pick or with E2E encryption.

15 asks8 of 19 years4 in 2024–2640% would pay93% want it local or private

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).

A Linux desktop that faithfully recreates macOS, CDE, NeXTSTEP, BeOS or Windows 2000 in both look and behaviour.

13 asks9 of 19 years4 in 2024–2638% want it local or private

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).

A 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).

An offline, editor-agnostic ctags or cscope for many languages, with structural navigation, AST transforms and a syntax-tree viewer.

13 asks9 of 19 years4 in 2024–2631% want it local or private

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).

A 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).

Simple, 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).

Open tools or guides that strip tracking, ads and phone-home behaviour from Windows, smart TVs, cars, printers and phones.

11 asks8 of 19 years5 in 2024–26100% want it local or private

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).

A fast, simple Git client with IntelliJ-quality diffs, a clear three-way merge view and easy undo, on Linux and Windows too.

14 asks9 of 19 years3 in 2024–2643% want it local or private

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).

A native, friendly database GUI like Sequel Pro for Postgres and SQLite on every OS, with automatic ER diagrams from a live database.

11 asks9 of 19 years4 in 2024–2673% want it local or private

Built, still asked for17 launches on Show HN do the job. Top: Outerbase Studio – Open-Source Database GUI (2024, 356 points).

A 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 (