The best reference websites, according to hackers
18 reference websites were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 2 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The two most recommended reference websites with the badge. Each figure is 5 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Technical Info
49 recommend, 0 criticize, 100% approval
Ranked 1 of 18 by recommenders
Generous, long-lived free knowledge
A free, long-running bicycle repair and wheelbuilding reference by Sheldon Brown, praised for generous, practical information that helps people fix their own bikes.
Teaches knots, including the Ian Knot
Free, long-running site that teaches shoelace tying and lacing clearly; people recommend it for its usefulness and its old-web feel.
All 18 reference websites, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Technical Info | 49 | 0 | 100% | 6 | 19 yrs4 owners | Approved |
| 2 | Animated Knots by Grog | 14 | 1 | 93% | 2 | — | — |
| 3 | Ian's Shoelace Site | 10 | 1 | 91% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Tied 4 | OEIS | 9 | 1 | 90% | 6 | — | — |
| Tied 4 | RF Cafe | 9 | 2 | 82% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 6 | Snopes | 8 | 6 | 57% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 6 | Erowid | 8 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 6 | CSS Zen Garden | 8 | 6 | 57% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 6 | Modern CSS Code Snippets | 8 | 11 | 42% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 10 | Rosetta Code | 7 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 10 | Library of Juggling | 7 | 1 | 88% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 12 | Laws of UX | 6 | 7 | 46% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 12 | Bodily Oddities | 6 | 3 | 67% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 12 | Isopods of the World | 6 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 15 | timeanddate.com | 5 | 2 | 71% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 15 | Helix cheat sheet by Steven Hoy | 5 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 15 | Knots 3D | 5 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 15 | Mechanical Pencil website | 5 | 2 | 71% | 1 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same reference website in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to reference websites that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.