Recurse Center
Hacker ApprovedProgramming retreat in Learning
Recommended as a self-directed programming community that builds lasting friendships and shapes careers.
Recommended as a self-directed programming community that builds lasting friendships and shapes careers.
37 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 34
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 92%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 10 years
Median of the 6 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it carries the badge
- 34 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 11 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Community and lasting friendships
“RC is a great community and I will be forever grateful to them for introducing me to several good friends”
Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work” “I had an incredible experience at RC in 2019. I still have friends from my batch.”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work” “I learned so much and made great friends at my six weeks in Brooklyn.”
Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work” - Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work”
- Comment from 4 Dec 2025 in “Ghostty is now non-profit”
- Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work”
Lasting impact on careers and lives
“has positively impacted over 3,000 people so far. And 15 years on I still wake up every day excited to keep working on it.”
Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work” “Some of the best engineers I worked at got their start in programming at the recurse center”
Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work” “It had a massive impact on my life, and I'm very grateful for the experience.”
Comment from 19 Jul 2026 in “Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work” - Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work”
- Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work”
Self-directed, unstructured learning
“RC is not a college course with exams and a fixed syllabus -- It was unstructured and self-directed -- and that's what made it so special.”
Comment from 17 Jul 2026 in “Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work” “it was great, lots of people working and exploring a lot of cool stuff”
Comment from 15 Jun 2026 in “There Is(Ǝ) – Such That (∋)” “Recurse is a place to freely learn and explore.”
Comment from 27 Sep 2026 in “What I did at Recurse Center” Good for people who love programming
“I would strongly suggest applying if you like computers and want to talk about them constantly while building cool stuff.”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work” “when I did my batch, almost everyone I met was scrappy”
Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Thanks HN for 15 years of support and helping me find my life's work”
What people said
39 of the 42 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“A solid group of peers can also provide that. Think of The Recurse Center in NYC”
“It has an explicit corporate background, and it always feels like that is somehow hidden.”
“there's no stipend or housing. Most people can't afford a summer in NYC without pay”
“Recurse is a place to freely learn and explore.”
“the headline of your site does not communicate that at all”
“I really don't like pair programming. I don't work well that way”
“that looks nice! I don't live near any technology, but it seems like something I'd love to try out if I did.”
“they get some slice of an actual intellectual culture”
“I love the idea of Recurse Center and wish I had the time”
“i love the idea of recurse center”
“I loved my time at recurse and also had some similar experiences to you.”
“It had a massive impact on my life, and I'm very grateful for the experience.”
“when I did my batch, almost everyone I met was scrappy”
“I had an incredible experience at RC in 2019. I still have friends from my batch.”
“easily one of the Most influential periods of my life”
“a remote batch alone was life-changing for me”
“I very much enjoyed my time at Recurse Center back when it was Hacker School”
“Recurse Center has had an incredible impact on the programming community.”
“I’m really grateful for the time I spent at the recurse center!”
“found a community I will cherish for the rest of my life!”
“I would strongly suggest applying if you like computers and want to talk about them constantly while building cool stuff.”
“Recurse is an incredible community.”
“found them to be high-quality developers and interesting people to boot”
“Some of the best engineers I worked at got their start in programming at the recurse center”
“RC is not a college course with exams and a fixed syllabus -- It was unstructured and self-directed -- and that's what made it so special.”
“I learned so much and made great friends at my six weeks in Brooklyn.”
“I had an incredible time with you all in NY more than 10 years ago”
“RC is a great community and I will be forever grateful to them for introducing me to several good friends”
“I've always admired the program.”
“has positively impacted over 3,000 people so far. And 15 years on I still wake up every day excited to keep working on it.”
“I was really impressed with how successful RC is at maintaining an environment where people can learn and grow.”
“it was great, lots of people working and exploring a lot of cool stuff”
“as a communal space for programmers”
“At least so far, the impact of LLMs has been overall positive for RC.”
“Huge fan of RC. Have a close friend that did it.”
“The community is curious, kind and supportive.”
“I've heard universally great things!”
“all the work is discretionary by definition, so I assume its more joyful and personal”
“And definitely shout out Recurse Center!”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.