r/programming rules, stats, and what to post
Know the rules before you post. So easy grandma can do it.
- To post
- No minimum in the rules
- To comment
- No minimum in the rules
- Self-promotion
- Banned
- Links
- Not mentioned in the rules
- Promo risk
- High
- From the rules, not from removal counts
- Community age
- 20 years
- Since Feb 2006
About r/programming
A source-backed Rankhog guide to r/programming: public rules, community context, posting fit, and startup-promotion risk before you publish.Checked from the r/programming rules on Reddit.
r/programming rules
14 rules, in the community's own words.
- 1
No LLM-Written Content
If you don't want to write it, we don't want to read it. This includes the use of LLMs for translation or summarisation. Moderators reserve discretion in ambiguous cases.
- 2
AI-related posts must comply with the AI Policy
Content about LLMs and AI is generally considered off-topic unless they are deeply technical. Refer to our wiki for more details.
- 3
No Political Posts or Personal/Social Drama/Gossip
r/programming is not a place to share content with a primary focus on politics, personal drama, social gossip, or such. Examples of inappropriate topics would include: Please vote for net neutrality. Big Tech is being sued in Europe for blahdeblah. Grace Hopper Conference is now 60% male. Postgres is turning the freaking frogs gay. Linus Torvalds was a poopy-head on a mailing list. The People's Rust Foundation is arguing with the Rust Foundation For The People.
- 4
No Non-Programming/Generic LLM/Diffusion Content
r/programming is not a place to share AI content that has nothing to do with programming or is overly generic. Examples of inappropriate topics would include: Claude spent all my money at Vegas. Sam Altman created a bot that's gonna replace yer mum. Roiters in Barcelona were pacified by a soliloquy written by an AI.
- 5
No Product Promotion/"I Made This" Project Demo Posts
r/programming is not the place to post a project to get feedback, ask for help, or otherwise promote it. Technical write-ups on what makes a project technically challenging, interesting, or educational are allowed and encouraged, but just a link to a GitHub page or a list of features is not. The technical write-up must be the focus of the post, not just a tickbox-checking exercise to get us to allow it. This is a technical subreddit. We don't care what you built, we care how you build it.
- 6
No Content Aggregators
No newsletters, listicles, or anything similar that aggregates content. If you found 15 open source projects that will blow my mind, post those 15 projects instead and we'll be the judge of that.
- 7
No Surveys Or Job Postings
If it seeks to extract value from the sub without contributing anything, it isn't welcome. Check out /r/samplesize as an alternative place to submit surveys. Exceptions are made for high quality surveys hosted by established members of the software development community (really just the annual SO Developer Survey).
- 8
No Support Questions or AskReddit-Type Questions
/r/programming is not a support forum. If you have a question, check out /r/learnprogramming, /r/cscareerquestions, or Stack Overflow. Similarly, if you'd see it on a programming-focused version of AskReddit, it doesn't belong here. Examples of inappropriate topics would include: What's your favourite programming language? Tabs or spaces? Does anyone else hate it when your CSS gets in your ASM and you recursion all over your Senior Developer?
- 9
No Meta Posts
Examples of inappropriate topics would include: DAE think r/programming sucks? DAE think r/programming rocks? Why did you remove my post? Why did you ban this user that is totes not me I swear I'm just asking questions.
- 10
No Images, Memes, Or Other Low Effort Posts
There's better subs for them, and if we allowed them they'd just flood the sub.
- 11
No Blogspam
Don't post actual blogspam: blogposts that do nothing more than linking to a primary source. We may leave these up if they are the first post to get traction about a news event and they're the best discussion going on about the news event.
- 12
No Extreme Beginner Content
Examples of inappropriate topics would include: What is a variable. What is a for loop. Making an HTTP request using curl. We may leave these up if they've generated a lot of healthy discussion.
- 13
Comments: No Bots
Actual humans only, please and thank you.
- 14
Comments: No Incivility
If you're unable to say something without calling someone names, don't say it at all.
What to post in r/programming
What fits the room, and what gets removed.
Works well
- A detailed post explaining the performance trade-offs between two different database implementations you used in a project.
- A technical breakdown of a novel algorithm you developed and why it is more efficient than standard solutions.
- An in depth discussion about the challenges of implementing a specific design pattern in a complex, large scale application.
- A write up detailing the architectural decisions made when scaling a service from a small prototype to a production environment.
Avoid
- Posting a project just to get feedback or promote it, which violates “No Product Promotion/”I Made This” Project Demo Posts”.
- Asking basic questions like what a variable is or what a for loop is, which falls under “No Extreme Beginner Content”.
- Posting content that is low effort, such as memes or images, because of “No Images, Memes, Or Other Low Effort Posts”.
- Submitting content that is AI written, even if you used an LLM for translation, because of “No LLM-Written Content”.
- Sharing content that is overly generic AI content or has nothing to do with programming, which violates “No Non-Programming/Generic LLM/Diffusion Content”.
- Posting any content that is focused on politics, personal drama, or social gossip, which is covered by “No Political Posts or Personal/Social Drama/Gossip”.
Best hours to post in r/programming
No pattern yet. r/programming does not have enough top posts from the last 90 days to name its best hours.
What actually works in r/programming
These are the highest scoring posts Rankhog observed in r/programming over the past month, with what each one did differently. Rankhog watches this community continuously, so it sees posts when they are published and again as they climb.
- Upvotes
- 698
- Comments
- 97
- Posted
- Nov 5, 2026
Why it worked
- Rankhog breakout tier from a local post-score estimate
- Almost no downvotes (95% upvoted)
- Upvotes
- 678
- Comments
- 172
- Posted
- Nov 4, 2026
Why it worked
- Rankhog breakout tier from a local post-score estimate
- Almost no downvotes (97% upvoted)
- Upvotes
- 411
- Comments
- 147
- Posted
- Nov 4, 2026
Why it worked
- Rankhog breakout tier from a local post-score estimate
- Upvotes
- 261
- Comments
- 43
- Posted
- Nov 1, 2026
Why it worked
- Rankhog breakout tier from a local post-score estimate
- Told in the first person
- Almost no downvotes (96% upvoted)
- Upvotes
- 238
- Comments
- 22
- Posted
- Oct 31, 2026
Why it worked
- Rankhog top tier from a local post-score estimate
- Almost no downvotes (95% upvoted)
- Upvotes
- 232
- Comments
- 163
- Posted
- Nov 5, 2026
Why it worked
- Rankhog breakout tier from a local post-score estimate
- Asks the community a question instead of announcing something
- Upvotes
- 213
- Comments
- 11
- Posted
- Nov 7, 2026
Why it worked
- Rankhog top tier from a local post-score estimate
- Upvotes
- 186
- Comments
- 262
- Posted
- Nov 1, 2026
Why it worked
- Rankhog top tier from a local post-score estimate
- Upvotes
- 176
- Comments
- 16
- Posted
- Nov 3, 2026
Why it worked
- Rankhog top tier from a local post-score estimate
- Upvotes
- 160
- Comments
- 10
- Posted
- Nov 3, 2026
Why it worked
- Rankhog top tier from a local post-score estimate
- Asks the community a question instead of announcing something
What r/programming Is For
This community is for computer programming. It is a technical space where people discuss how software and systems are built. It is not a place for support questions, political arguments, or sharing simple beginner concepts.
Rules That Matter Before Posting
The most important rules for anyone trying to post something related to their work are “No LLM-Written Content”, “AI-related posts must comply with the AI Policy”, “No Product Promotion/”I Made This” Project Demo Posts”, “No Extreme Beginner Content”, and “No Images, Memes, Or Other Low Effort Posts”.
What To Post
A good post here is a deep technical write-up. You should write about a complex problem you solved, or the architecture of a project you built. The focus must be on the technical challenge and the 'how' of the building process, not just the features of the final product.
What To Avoid
You should avoid posting simple links to GitHub, asking for general feedback on a project, sharing memes or images, writing posts that are only a link to a primary source, or posting anything that is too basic for someone who knows programming.
A note from Anthony
The rules here are extremely strict about technical depth, which is a huge signal about the community's focus. They really want to see how things are built, not just what is built. It is clear that they value original, deeply technical thought over simple promotion or easy content. You have to earn your place by contributing something serious.
By Anthony Riera, founder and operator of Rankhog. Every guide is built from the community's own public rules and data, then checked by Rankhog's grounding audit before it goes live.
Common questions about r/programming
What subreddits are similar to r/programming?
Subreddits like r/programming are r/ProgrammerHumor, r/learnprogramming, r/webdev, r/mac, r/AskEngineers, r/javascript, r/gamedev and r/developersIndia.
Can I post a support question or ask for help with my code here?
You cannot use this subreddit as a support forum, so if you have a question, you should check out /r/learnprogramming, /r/cscareerquestions, or Stack Overflow.
Is it okay to post a link to my new software project to get feedback?
You can post about a project you built, but it must be a technical write-up detailing how it is challenging or educational, not just a link or a list of features.
Can I use an LLM to help me write my post or discuss AI topics?
AI content is only allowed if it is deeply technical and you must write the post yourself, following the AI Policy.
What is the main focus this community wants when I post about my work?
You must focus your post on the technical challenges of how something was built, not just on the final product itself.
Subreddits like r/programming
Other rooms for the same crowd.