For indie hackers
Validate an idea before you build it
You have an idea and a free weekend. Before you spend it, see who is already asking for it on Reddit, X and Hacker News, with a link to every thread. When you launch, the same threads become your first replies.
Free to start. No card. Nothing posts until you approve it.
How it goes today
The manual way.
- Open twelve tabs of Reddit search, which ignores half your words and sorts by nothing useful.
- Skim threads, tally the ones that sound like real asks, lose count around the fourth subreddit.
- Decide on the two threads you remember best, usually the two that agreed with you.
With Reddibee
The Reddibee way.
- One question. Asks are found across Reddit, X and Hacker News and classified, so a rant is not counted as a request.
- The strongest asks with permalinks, grouped by community, and an honest answer when demand is thin.
- When you build it, track the subs where the asks cluster and reply to the next one in your voice.
In the app
How it works in Reddibee.
Ask the blunt question.
Try the free Demand Check, or ask Reddibee in the research chat. Every ask links to its thread.
Read what they tried.
The tools people already reach for, and why they did not stick, are your spec.
Track where they gather.
Add the subreddits where the asks cluster. Reddibee shows each one’s self-promotion verdict.
Reply when you launch.
New asks show up in Opportunities, and Draft with AI writes the reply in your voice for you to approve.
Safe by design
The guardrails that apply.
- Research only reads. Nothing is posted.
- Every result carries its permalink.
- When you do reply, nothing posts without your approval.
From your coding agent
Same job from Claude Code.
Reddibee is also an MCP server. Your agent uses the same profile, voice and rules, and anything it drafts waits in your queue.
Is anyone asking for [idea]? How many in the last 90 days, and where?
Compare demand for these three ideas over 90 days: [idea A], [idea B], [idea C].
For asks about [idea], what did people try already and why did it fail them?
Show me only asks where someone says what they currently pay. Quote the price.
Which communities produce the most asks for [idea], and which allow a launch post?
A research session
Prompt by prompt.
An example session. The numbers are from the example, not a promise.
Ask the blunt question
You want a number and a cluster before you want detail. If the number is small, you stop here and you have lost an hour, not a weekend.
YouIs anyone asking for a tool that chases late invoices? How many in the last 90 days, and where?
ReddibeeA count of real asks across communities, the strongest five with permalinks, and where they cluster. In this example: 38 asks, mostly in r/freelance and r/smallbusiness.
Read what they already tried
The rejected alternatives are your spec. "Too blunt" tells you the wedge is tone, not features.
YouFor those asks, what did people try, and why did it not stick?
ReddibeeThe tools named in the threads and the reasons people gave. In this example, invoicing apps whose reminders read as rude, and calendar hacks that got forgotten.
Find where they gather, and whether you can post
Demand you cannot reach is not demand. Knowing the launch path on day zero changes what you build first.
YouWhich communities do these asks come from, how big are they, and do any allow a launch post?
ReddibeeCommunities ranked by ask count, with member counts, a rules summary and a promo-tolerance flag.
Compare it against another phrasing
The comparison is the answer more often than the absolute number.
YouRun the same check for "invoice reminder tool" and "get clients to pay on time" and compare.
ReddibeeA small table: asks, communities, top alternative named. The phrasing with the most real asks wins, and it is usually not the one you started with.
Reading the answer
How to read it like someone who has done this before.
An ask is not a mention
Reddibee counts "is there anything that nudges clients?" and ignores "I use an invoicing app". A count of asks means people wanting something, not threads that contain a word. The signal is on every item, so you can disagree with it.
Thin is a real answer
A handful of asks spread across many communities means Reddit is not where these buyers talk, or the pain is not named yet. Both are worth knowing before you build.
Clusters beat totals
Thirty asks in one community is a launchable niche. Thirty spread over twenty communities is background noise. Look at the cluster before the count.
Where it falls short
Honest limits.
- Reddit and Hacker News skew technical. If your buyer is a dentist or a florist, the signal here is thin, and that is about the source, not the idea.
- Counts are as good as the classification. It is right most of the time, but it will occasionally count a rant as an ask. Read the top five yourself.
- The first check on an obscure niche can take a minute while new communities are fetched.
Questions
Asked before the first draft.
How many requests does a validation take?
One for the asks, one for what people tried, one for communities: about three. The free Demand Check runs without an account.
Does it search X and Hacker News too?
Yes. X is where devtool asks often show up first, and Hacker News shows how builders react. Every result links to its source.
Can I trust a count?
Treat it as people who typed a request in public, with a link to each. It is not market size. It is proof the pain is named and where it is named.
What happens after I validate?
Track the subreddits where the asks cluster. When you launch, new asks show up in Opportunities and Reddibee drafts the reply in your voice for you to approve.
Related
More jobs Reddibee does with you.
Try part of this job free, no login: Demand Check · Idea Atlas
Someone asked for what you built today. Be the reply.
Free to start. No card. Nothing posts until you approve it.