Instructables

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title: "Instructables" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["diy-culture", "how-to-websites", "american-educational-websites", "internet-properties-established-in-2005", "autodesk-acquisitions", "2011-mergers-and-acquisitions"] description: "Internet community dedicated to DIY" topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instructables" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Internet community dedicated to DIY ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox website"]

Field	Value
name	Instructables
logo	Instructables logo.svg
screenshot	Instructables Screenshot.png
screenshot_size	280px
url	instructables.com
commercial	Yes
type	Informational
registration	Yes
owner	Autodesk Inc.
author	Eric J. Wilhelm
launch_date	August 2005
::

| name = Instructables | favicon = | logo = Instructables logo.svg | screenshot = Instructables Screenshot.png | screenshot_size = 280px | caption = | url = instructables.com | commercial = Yes | type = Informational | registration = Yes | owner = Autodesk Inc. | author = Eric J. Wilhelm Dan Goldwater Saul Griffith | launch_date = August 2005 | current_status = | revenue =

Instructables is a website specializing in user-created and uploaded do-it-yourself projects, currently owned by Autodesk. It was created by Eric Wilhelm and Saul Griffith and launched in August 2005. Instructables is dedicated to step-by-step collaboration among members to build a variety of projects. Users post instructions to their projects, usually accompanied by visual aids, and then interact through comment sections below each Instructable step as well in topic forums.

History

After graduating from the Media Lab at MIT, Wilhelm and Griffith founded Squid Labs, an engineering and technology company specializing in design and consulting. Instructables started as an internal Squid Labs project, which later spun out as an independent company with Wilhelm as its CEO. Wilhelm still regularly contributes to the site.

A prototype version of the site, complete with the initial content of electronics, cooking, kiting, and bicycle projects, was released in August 2005 at the O'Reilly Foo Camp conference.

The original content focused The site allows uploading of photos, diagrams, video and animation to help explain complex terminology and mechanisms in clear and understandable terms.

Instructables employs a full-time staff, and also has a volunteer group, who feature well-documented articles, welcome new users, and help out around the site.

On August 1, 2011, Autodesk announced the acquisition of Instructables.

Community

Once registered, members can create Instructables that are step-by-step descriptions of projects they want to share online. They are written in such a way that they easily allow other members to replicate, and share with the rest of the community. Members can also upload videos and slideshows, depicting a project that they have not documented.

Multiple contests are held each month, each with a unique theme. People vote for entries in a specific competition that they think are of good quality and creativity, and prizes are awarded to the winners. An Instructables-sponsored contest will usually award T-shirts, patches and stickers, but often more extravagant prizes are awarded based on sponsor availability.

A forum feature was added for members to post ideas, questions, discussions, requests for help, and all manner of other things. Later on, a dedicated question and answer system was also rolled out.

Classes were introduced in February 2017 for members to enroll and learn skills to gain confidence in a variety of trades, like woodworking, welding, electronics, Arduino, baking, 3D printing, laser cutting, and a variety of other classes, offering over 35 classes.

In the press

Instructables has been profiled in Make, The Village Voice, Popular Science, The Daily Telegraph, and PC World. It has also received attention from National Public Radio (NPR).

Pro membership

References

1. Wauters, Robin. (2011-08-01). "Autodesk Acquires DIY Community Instructables".
2. "Instructables History".
3. "Autodesk Acquires Instructables".
4. "Announcing Forums and Comment Tracking".
5. (19 February 2017). "Learn About Woodworking, Baking And Electronics With Instructables Classes".
6. "Instructables on NPR".
7. "Instructables on NPR 2010".
8. "Instructables Pro Thread".
9. "Competitions".
10. "FAQ". Instuctables.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::