How to share your startup on the freeCodeCamp forum and publication
TL;DR
freeCodeCamp is a nonprofit that teaches coding for free, and it offers founders two channels: the freeCodeCamp forum, with an "I Built This" category for project feedback, and the freeCodeCamp publication, which accepts tutorials from approved authors. Both are free, neither sells links, and both expect you to teach or ask for feedback before you mention a product.
What is freeCodeCamp?
freeCodeCamp is a nonprofit learning platform with a free programming curriculum and certifications, plus two community channels.
The freeCodeCamp forum runs on Discourse. On 30 June 2026 the team relaunched it with new categories: Programming, Hardware + Systems, Security, Getting Things Done with AI, Tech News Talk, Career, I Built This and more. Its statistics on 27 October 2026 showed 361,246 registered users, 2,410 active users and 393 new topics in the previous 30 days. Most traffic sits in Curriculum Help, where learners ask about lessons.
The freeCodeCamp publication at freecodecamp.org/news publishes long programming tutorials and free courses, written by contributing authors.
Who should post on freeCodeCamp?
- Developer tool and education startups that can teach something useful in a tutorial.
- Founders with a side project or early product who want honest feedback from learners and junior developers.
- Technical founders who already have three published articles to show for a publication application.
- Skip it if you want customers fast or you sell to non-technical buyers: the forum audience is mainly people learning to code.
How much does freeCodeCamp cost?
Joining the forum and writing for the publication are free. The style guide says "we don't do link placements/paid backlinks", so you cannot pay for a link.
The domain authority of 88 belongs to freecodecamp.org. Links in forum posts carry rel="nofollow ugc", which we confirmed in October 2026. The return is feedback from developers and, for the publication, a tutorial that keeps getting read.
How do you share your startup on freeCodeCamp?
- Create an account on the freeCodeCamp forum and take part in a few threads. The I Built This category requires trust level 1 before you can start a topic, an anti-spam rule.
- Post in I Built This with a link, what you built, the stack, and the exact feedback you want.
- For the publication, read the style guide and apply through its contributor form. In October 2026 the form was open. It asks for links to three articles you wrote and states: "We publish human-authored articles. No AI output."
- Accept the publication terms: articles must be exclusive (no cross-posting), and any mention of yourself or your product is limited to one sentence at the very end, such as a link to your newsletter.
- Disclose any payment. The style guide requires you to tell editors if a company pays you to write about its tool, and it bans affiliate links except for your own books or courses.
Tips to get more out of freeCodeCamp
- Write a tutorial that solves a real problem with your stack, and mention your product only in the final sentence.
- In I Built This, ask two or three precise questions; vague "what do you think?" posts get few replies.
- Answer questions in Curriculum Help or Career threads for a while, so members know your name before you ask for feedback.
- Never open a tutorial with a product link. The style guide calls that spammy.
Our verdict
freeCodeCamp suits technical founders who can teach. The publication brings long-lasting tutorial traffic to authors who pass the application, and the forum gives free, constructive feedback on early projects. Founders who only want to announce a product get little from either.
More options: see all founder communities. Planning the launch around this listing? The Fe/male Switch startup game walks women founders from idea to first customers.