The Exact Funnel I Use to Get Free CLI Tools Their First Users
Every open-source tool has the same brutal first 90 days: zero users, zero signal, no idea whether anything works. I have shipped several free CLI tools and browser tool sets. This is the exact funnel I use — no ads, no paid growth, no "build in public" theater. Just a repeating sequence of small, concrete actions. Step 1: Make the Tool Trivial to Try The first rule: npx must work. If a reader has to install, configure, and read a README before running the first command, the funnel is already broken. npx @wuchunjie/dotguard . That is the entire onboarding. Zero dependencies, no config, instant output. The first 10 seconds decide whether the reader comes back. Step 2: Publish One Article Per Angle Not one article. One per angle , spread over time: Tutorial — "Scan your .env files in 1 command" (the how) Comparison — "Why I stopped using X" (the why) Listicle — "5 tools for Y" (the discovery) Workflow — "My dev setup" (the context) Security/devops — "Your CI is missing this" (the fear) Each article targets a different search intent. A developer looking for "pre-commit secret scan" lands on article 4, not article 1. The funnel is wide because the angles are wide. Step 3: Cross-Link Everything Every article mentions every tool. The footer of a snippet article lists the scaffolder and the scanner. The GitHub repo links to the articles. The npm README links to the articles. The effect is compounding: a reader of article 3 meets four tools, not one. Your content becomes a network instead of a pile. Step 4: Make the GitHub Repo the Hub The repo README is the landing page that never goes stale: One-line description per tool Install/run commands (copy-paste ready) Links to every article A donation link, present but quiet GitHub is where developers actually trust. Stars and forks are the signal that converts "interesting article" into "let me try it". Step 5: Add the Quiet CTA One line at the end of every article: If this saved you time, a Ko-fi keeps the next tool coming. No