I built an AI tool that generates click-worthy YouTube thumbnails

Hacker News

Hey HN! Software engineer here. As an amateur youtuber, I've been struggling with thumbnails, especially since I don't have any design or editing skills. Decided to give it a try and make my own automatic thumbnail generator. Me being an ADHD person, made sure that there's no parameter tuning and shape choosing and fuss like that, just simply give prompt and generate thumbnail. Increased my CTR from 1.2% to 2.3% (faceless fantasy books niche on youtube) Thumbnail X (completely free for now) - https://thumbnailx.com/ Just wanna add that this is by no means a perfect thumbnail maker for huge YouTube moguls with millions of subscribers but I'm sure it's gonna be extremely helpful for beginner youtubers and medium size channels struggling with thumbnails. Tools used: 1. Cursor for development (shoutout to claude oppus 4.0) 2. Few image generators (primarily ideogram, but leonardo ai, deep ai and gpt 4o as fallbacks) 3. Few llms (chatgpt, claude, gemini for validating images and prompt enhancement) 4. AWS and Redis for storage & caching 5. Digital ocean for hosting and db 6. Python

Visit product View on Hacker NewsMay 28, 2025

Share card

Actual performance

5points

4comments

Did not reach leaderboard

Launch Intel predictions

Analyze your own launch →

Indie HackersFits the IH revenue-focused audience · Strong signals: para, gemini · Missing: supports, reddit linkedin, podcasting

85%85% predicted probability of success on Indie Hackers, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

best fitHighest predicted score across all platforms for this description.

Product HuntOn track for Day 1 leaderboard · Strong signals: cursor, claude, chatgpt · Missing: mac, agents, macos

51%51% predicted probability of success on Product Hunt, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

Hacker NewsMay not resonate with HN audience · Strong signals: adhd, ide, io · Missing: https docs, excited, just released

43%43% predicted probability of success on Hacker News, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

nativeThis product was originally launched on this platform.

AppSumoMay struggle as an AppSumo deal · Strong signals: host · Missing: plus, platform, intuitive

43%43% predicted probability of success on AppSumo, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

TrustMRRLess likely to generate early MRR · Strong signals: para · Missing: mobile apps, ios, personal

39%39% predicted probability of success on TrustMRR, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

Acquire.comPre-revenue stage for this audience · Strong signals: subscribers · Missing: arr, mrr, revenue

22%22% predicted probability of success on Acquire.com, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

BetaListMay not resonate with beta-testers · Strong signals: chat · Missing: web3, crypto, cryptocurrency

0%0% predicted probability of success on BetaList, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

Correct prediction on native model

Similar products

I built an AI tool that generates YouTube thumbnails in seconds22%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

I built an AI tool that generates YouTube thumbnails in seconds

Hacker News1

I built ChatGPT for YouTube thumbnails46%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

I built ChatGPT for YouTube thumbnails

Hacker News1

ThumbnAI — YouTube Thumbnail Generator15%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

AI generates 3 click-worthy YouTube thumbnails in seconds

Product Hunt+3

ThumbnailMaker – Leveraging ControlNet to generate YouTube thumbnails48%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

ThumbnailMaker – Leveraging ControlNet to generate YouTube thumbnails

Hacker News1

AutoScripter AI22%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

A tool that generates optimized Youtube scripts in 1-click

Product Hunt+3

BerryViral41%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Optimize Your YouTube Thumbnails

Indie Hackerscommitment-full-time

ThumbnailTest.com19%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

A/B Test YouTube Thumbnails & Titles

Indie Hackers9advertising

ThumbCue20%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

AI YouTube thumbnails with free preview and resizing tools

Indie Hackers

Hover YouTube thumbnails for quick summaries47%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Hover YouTube thumbnails for quick summaries

Hacker News2

Expresso57%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Generate eye-catching expressions for youtube thumbnails

Indie Hackers1$1,000/moai

Browse all products Analyze your launch