Create a hackathon
Start a new event with a name, tagline and dates. It opens with a default schema, criteria, phases and prizes.
/newWhoSigned-in organizersFind itYour hackathons › New hackathonThe Start a hackathon page creates a hackathon and takes you straight into its setup. You only need a name. Everything else can change later in Setup.
Fill in the form#
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes | Up to 120 characters. Also sets the hackathon's URL. |
| Tagline | No | Up to 200 characters. Shown on the hackathon's card. |
| Dates | No | A start and end date. The end can't be before the start. Without dates, the card reads "Dates TBD". |
As you type, the Preview shows how the hackathon's card will look.
Click Create & set up. The button stays disabled until the name has text. Cancel takes you back to Your hackathons without creating anything.
If something is wrong, the form shows a message above the buttons, such as "Keep the name under 120 characters." or "The end date can't be before the start date."
The hackathon's URL#
The name becomes the hackathon's slug, which appears in /h/[slug] and in the public winners page at /w/[slug]. The slug is the name in lowercase, with accents removed, other characters replaced by hyphens, and a limit of 48 characters. "AI Agents Hack 2027" becomes ai-agents-hack-2027.
Slugs are unique across the whole instance. If another hackathon already uses one, a short random suffix is added, such as ai-agents-hack-2027-x7qa. Renaming the hackathon later doesn't change its slug.
Color and logo#
The form has no color picker. A new hackathon takes the instance's accent color from branding.config.js, and its logo shows the name's initials. Change the color, logo and banner in Setup › Branding.
What a new hackathon starts with#
Every hackathon starts in the Setup stage with the same defaults. Review them before you start judging. The prizes in particular are placeholders.
Schema#
Six blocks, in this order: Title (Text), Description (Text), Video (Video), Images (Image), Overview (Long text) and GitHub (Repo). See Schema.
Criteria#
Four criteria, all on the Score 1–10 scale with the Balanced model tier and written guidance for the agent:
| Criterion | Weight | Mechanisms | Reads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technical execution | 30% | Sandbox run, Code scraper, Agent judge | GitHub |
| Video: problem & solution | 25% | Video reviewer | Video |
| Impact | 25% | Agent judge, Web scraper | All inputs |
| Originality & design | 20% | Agent judge | All inputs |
Technical execution and the video criterion score 0 when their input is missing. Impact and Originality & design judge what's there. See Criteria.
Phases#
Two phases: Group review, with 2 reviews per project and the top 10 advancing, then Final panel, where every judge reviews every project. See Phases.
Rewards#
| Tier | Who wins | Prizes |
|---|---|---|
| Grand prize | Rank 1 | $5,000 cash, 100,000 API credits |
| Runners-up | Ranks 2–3 | $2,000 cash, 25,000 API credits |
| Top 10 finalists | Ranks 1–10 | 5,000 API credits, swag pack |
| Most creative | Award, suggested by Originality & design scores | 10,000 API credits |
| Best demo | Award, suggested by the video criterion's scores | 10,000 API credits |
See Rewards.
A new hackathon has no judges and no projects. Add them in Setup › Judges and Judging › Projects.
After you create it#
The hackathon opens on Setup › Schema and appears at the top of Your hackathons. The Quickstart walks through the rest.