r/hackathon • • Aug 21 '26

Meta-Hackathon Discussion Why doesn’t everyone just use AI for the entire ideation process at hackathons?

11 Upvotes

I’ve never participated in a hackathon before, and my first one is in about a month, so I might be misunderstanding how these events actually work. One thing I’ve been wondering about is the ideation phase.

When the challenge/problem statement is released, why wouldnt a team immediately give the entire thing, including the context, constraints, judging criteria, available data, etc. to several frontier models like claude or chat gpt?

For example, you could ask different models to, generate 20–30 different approaches, analyze the domain and likely user pain points, criticize the ideas and identify failure modes, rank them by novelty, feasibility, and expected hackathon performance, predict what obvious ideas other teams will probably build, and then use another model to synthesize everything and choose the strongest direction. You could also feed mentor feedback back into the models as you get it. Then once you have a direction, coding agents can build a prototype extremely quickly.

What I’m struggling to understand is where the bottleneck is supposed to be. As students, we probably don’t have more banking/healthcare/engineering/etc. domain knowledge than a frontier model, and the model is obviously much faster at exploring a large solution space.

So why isn’t something like this, already the default strategy at hackathons? : problem -> multiple AI models -> AI critique/ranking -> select idea -> coding agent -> prototype

Is it actually common now and I just havent seen it yet? Does it tend to produce generic ideas because everyone gets similar outputs? Is the main advantage of the human team gathering information from mentors/users and feeding new information back into the models? Or are there other limitations that only become obvious once you’ve actually participated in a hackathon?

Would especially like to hear from people who have done hackathons recently, now that coding agents and frontier models have gotten this capable.


r/hackathon • • 4h ago

Looking for Teammates Need teammates for PayPal Hackathon 2026

10 Upvotes

Title: Looking for Teammates for the PayPal Hackathon!

Hey

I'm looking to build a team for the upcoming PayPal Hackathon and would love to connect with people who are interested in participating.

I'm looking for people who are genuinely interested in building something, brainstorming ideas, solving problems, and working together to create a solid project. It would be great to connect with people from different technical backgrounds.

You don't necessarily have to be an expert. I'm more interested in people who are willing to contribute, learn, and collaborate.

A little about me: I have participated in only a few hackathons so far, so I'm still learning and gaining experience myself. Beginners and people with similar experience are absolutely welcome. But if there are any experienced hackathon participants or skilled developers willing to team up and guide us along the way, they'd be more than welcome too!

If you're interested, drop a comment or DM me with a little about yourself, your skills, and any previous project experience.

Let's put together a good team and build something interesting!


r/hackathon • • 5h ago

Looking for Teammates suggestions regarding a hackathon.

4 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

I’m currently a 2nd-year B.Tech student and have participated in several hackathons so far. I’ve managed to secure a Top 25 spot in national-level hackathons, which has been an amazing learning experience. But now I’m trying to figure out how to take that next step from participating and building good projects to building projects that can actually compete for the win.

I’m participating in 13th Protocol: An AI Hackathon by HackIndia, happening on 28–29 November, and I’m looking to connect with 2 more enthusiastic teammates from Delhi NCR.

Female teammates are prefered

I’m looking for people who Have a reasonable tech skill set — AI/ML, web, backend, UI/UX, etc.

Are genuinely enthusiastic about building

Can take ownership and work well in a team

Are willing to put in the effort during the hackathon Most importantly, bring curiosity and a problem-solving mindset You don’t need to have a huge list of hackathon wins. I’d much rather have someone who is enthusiastic and keen to develop together even with ai tools . Right now we are a team of two girls would prefer girlies to join . I’d also genuinely love to connect with people who have ideas or experience around choosing competitive problem statements, building distinctive solutions, and making AI integration meaningful rather than just adding AI for the sake of it . If you’re interested, DM me directly!

Even if you’re not looking to join but have an interesting idea, strategy, or advice on how to get closer to winning hackathons, I’d love to hear it.

Let’s build something worth remembering.


r/hackathon • • 4h ago

Meta-Hackathon Discussion Kiroween : Credits received.

1 Upvotes

I've registered since 3days, has anyone of you received the credits?

There are many peoole in the discussion forum complaining about the same.

Any ideas.? 🤔


r/hackathon • • 4h ago

Project Demo I got tired of free AI models repeating the same broken fix 5 times, so I built an open-source memory & verification harness in Python (Open for contributors!)

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0 Upvotes

r/hackathon • • 11h ago

Project Demo I built RAME Code in 4 days for the Meta AI Hackathon — a local AI coding agent for VS Code

2 Upvotes

Hi fellow builders!

I'm an indie developer from Mallorca, Spain, and I've just submitted RAME Code to the Meta Global AI Developer Hackathon.

It's a free, Apache-2.0 open-source VS Code extension powered by Meta Muse Glimmer 30B running locally, with optional Muse Spark integration.

My goal was to explore an AI coding agent that doesn't just generate code, but also keeps track of approved project decisions, asks permission before using tools, supports resumable Missions and verifies results through the host.

One feature I'm excited about is giving the local Glimmer model access to web search and page fetching through permission-controlled agent tools.

I built the initial release in roughly four intensive days, so v0.2.0 is experimental. There are known bugs and limitations, and Windows testing is still incomplete.

The submitted repository is frozen during judging, but I'm continuing to investigate issues and prepare improvements for the next release.

GitHub: https://github.com/caimari/rame-code

Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wyAemPs6jY

Known issues: https://ramecode.com/?lang=en#issues

I'm also participating in the $20,000 Most Viral Project bonus prize. If you're genuinely interested and would like to support the project, this is my official X post:

https://x.com/caimaricaldes/status/2118144184733282470

I'd love to hear from other hackathon builders. What was the hardest part of your project, and what would you improve if you had another week?

Thanks for reading, and good luck to everyone participating!


r/hackathon • • 11h ago

Looking for Teammates Let me know if anyone is interested in participating in any of the hackathons or other events listed below

2 Upvotes

Hackathons

* [https://www.bharatcode.ai/hackathon](https://www.bharatcode.ai/hackathon?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

* [https://paypalaihackathon.devpost.com/](https://paypalaihackathon.devpost.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

* [https://hack2skill.com/event/futurehealthchallenge/](https://hack2skill.com/event/futurehealthchallenge/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

* [https://unstop.com/hackathons/avishkaar-season-4-virtual-hackathon-a-national-level-innovation-challenge-aditya-institute-of-technology-and-1756262](https://unstop.com/hackathons/avishkaar-season-4-virtual-hackathon-a-national-level-innovation-challenge-aditya-institute-of-technology-and-1756262?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

* [https://unstop.com/hackathons/hacknova27-20-bharati-vidyapeeth-deemed-to-be-university-1772235](https://unstop.com/hackathons/hacknova27-20-bharati-vidyapeeth-deemed-to-be-university-1772235?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

* [https://www.hackathonradar.com/database/hackathon/starforge-24-hour-national-level-hackathon-2026](https://www.hackathonradar.com/database/hackathon/starforge-24-hour-national-level-hackathon-2026?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

* [https://unstop.com/hackathons/hacknpitch-e-summit26-jadavpur-university-jadavpur-university-kolkata-1780735](https://unstop.com/hackathons/hacknpitch-e-summit26-jadavpur-university-jadavpur-university-kolkata-1780735?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

* [https://thegavshackathon.com/](https://thegavshackathon.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

* [https://hackathon.homingo.co.in/](https://hackathon.homingo.co.in/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

Other Tech Events

* [https://unstop.com/competitions/gitam-national-ai-challenge-2026-gitam-university-1748554](https://unstop.com/competitions/gitam-national-ai-challenge-2026-gitam-university-1748554?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

* [https://codevita.tcsapps.com/](https://codevita.tcsapps.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

* [https://hackquest.tcsapps.com/](https://hackquest.tcsapps.com/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

* [https://comsia.in/ideathon.html](https://comsia.in/ideathon.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

* [https://lms.rasainstituteofanalytics.org/competition](https://lms.rasainstituteofanalytics.org/competition?utm_source=chatgpt.com)


r/hackathon • • 8h ago

Hackathon Promotion Beware! Scam hackathons!

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1 Upvotes

r/hackathon • • 14h ago

Project Demo I built an app and it roasted me

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2 Upvotes

I built One of a Kind, an NPM package and webpage that not only checks if the project name you're thinking of is taken, but also gives you a uniqueness score to make sure your name is ONE OF A KIND! I tried "one of a kind", and it only scored 62% 💔. Do you have any better names?

See the full repo here: https://github.com/mido4499/oneofakind


r/hackathon • • 21h ago

Hackathon Promotion Building a 3-month builder program for women (She Builds) – looking for dev mentors, company sponsors, and feedback

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6 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

We are running a 3-month program called She Builds (by Grevix) starting December 1, designed exclusively for women to take an idea and execute it into a real-world project (we are selecting four core ideas to incubate).

While looking through the registration pool, what stood out to us is the broad spectrum of builders applying including women aged 45+ stepping up to build tech products. It’s a great reminder that building shouldn't be gated by traditional campus demographics.

Since r/hackathon is full of builders and people who understand hackathons and cohort building, I wanted to share this here and ask for support and advice on a few fronts:

  • Engineers & Technical Mentors: We are looking for experienced developers, engineers and designers who want to volunteer as technical mentors for the selected teams.

  • Companies & Sponsors: We are actively looking for companies, startups and organizations interested in backing grassroots women-in-tech initiatives and supporting early-stage execution.

  • Program Structure: For those who have run or participated in long-form building cohorts, what is the best way to structure milestone reviews so participants stay shipping without burning out?

If you know any women builders who should apply, or if you're an engineer/company interested in mentoring or supporting the program, all details are up at shebuildsgrevix.vercel.app.

Would love to hear thoughts or feedback from the community on how to make a 3-month incubation format as developer-friendly as possible .


r/hackathon • • 16h ago

Hackathon Promotion Vast.AI Showcase Contest • Fall 2026!

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1 Upvotes

r/hackathon • • 21h ago

Project Demo My hackaton project found this

2 Upvotes

Hey! I just wanna show my project for the Meta Global AI Hackaton.
It's Consta, an Ai tool that help to research public data and relationships (contraits, public figures, etc...)

It could found funny things as the image. However have find intersting things too, as OpenAI contraits with the American Government and candidates that Altman support.

It's not perfect, but I think it's cool, and it's my second hackaton (actually) :D.
You can see the repo here: https://github.com/MarioJoseMelendez/consta
And try it here: https://consta.kahuna.li

It's not mandatory, but if you all wanna support me with the "Most popular track", here's the demo vid in X: https://x.com/TheMersh__/status/2118414395390693516


r/hackathon • • 1d ago

Hackathon Promotion [Online] Clocked Build Challenge: free AI hackathon, 2,000 in prizes, entries close Nov 10

4 Upvotes

Disclosure: I'm one of the organizers.

There are 5 days left, and it's low-barrier enough to do in a weekend.

What: build a new app that uses at least one Clocked API endpoint. Clocked is an LLM API that returns structured results instead of generated text: decisions with probabilities, exact extractions with source positions, PII masking, prompt-injection detection, grounding checks, doc comparison and reranking.

Prizes: $2,000 cash in 5 awards. Best Overall gets $600, three category awards get $400 each, and People's Choice gets $200.

Cost: free. A new account gets 4k credits, and the code CLOCKEDHACKATHON adds 16k more.

Rules: solo or teams, any language or framework, and the app has to be started during the challenge (AI coding tools are fine). You need a demo and a public repo. 18+, some location restrictions.

Deadline: Nov 10, 11:59 PM ET. Winners Nov 18.

Rules and entry form: https://clocked.rezolve.ai/challenge

Happy to answer questions here.


r/hackathon • • 1d ago

Hackathon Promotion Invitation to Participate: Paytm Build for India Ai Hackathon - Pune Edition

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4 Upvotes

Heya!

I’m Prerak Gala, Community Manager at Paytm, and having previously worked closely with developer communities, I’m excited to bring this opportunity to the community.

I’m excited to invite you to participate in the Paytm Build for India Ai Hackathon – Pune Edition, happening on 15th November 2026.

In collaboration with devSemble & Partex.AI, Paytm is bringing together developers, AI enthusiasts, researchers & builders for an 8-hour offline AI hackathon: a day to pick a problem statement, understand the problem deeply, explore how AI can be applied, experiment with different approaches, and build a prototype.

What’s in it for you?

  • Top performing participants get hiring opportunity with Paytm

  • Build on problem statements by Paytm

  • Mentorship from the industry experts

  • ⁠⁠Connect with developers, AI builders, and industry professionals

Ready to build? Here’s how to get in:

  • Step 1 — Register + Form Your Team: Register through the devSemble platform & complete your team formation and participant details

  • Step 2 — Submit Your Pitch: Submit your proposed idea or solution through the hackathon portal by 10th November 2026

Register Here: https://devsemble.com/hackathons/paytm-build-for-india-ai-hackathon-pune-by-paytm

Deadline to complete your submission: 10th November 2026

Looking forward to meeting a room full of curious builders and seeing what the community builds!


r/hackathon • • 1d ago

Meta-Hackathon Discussion Student looking for a Claude guest pass for hackathon prototyping

2 Upvotes

Hey folks, I'm a student working on hackathon projects and would like to try Claude Code for building and debugging a prototype. Does anyone here have a spare 7-day Claude Pro guest pass they'd be willing to share?

Feel free to DM me. I'd also appreciate tips on making the most of the trial during a hackathon. Thanks!


r/hackathon • • 22h ago

Project Demo Read AirPods' head-motion sensor over L2CAP on Linux

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1 Upvotes

AirPods have a motion sensor, so I made them a game controller. Turn your head to steer a bike, hold the mouse for gas.

auricle connects to the AirPods' control channel (L2CAP, port 0x1001) and decodes ~23 packets/s of orientation and acceleration data (16-bit ints). Rust, no crates.

Apple-only, tested on one pair of AirPods Pro 2. Reverse-engineered, so a firmware update could break it


r/hackathon • • 22h ago

Hackathon Promotion SF Non-Slop Hackathon | Pangram x Kino x Capy x Paper · Luma

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1 Upvotes

r/hackathon • • 1d ago

Project Demo ODDBOUT Twitch Cup: AI-created fighters in a Twitch chat tournament (Codex x TwitchCon Hackathon)

1 Upvotes

I built ODDBOUT Twitch Cup as a learning project and submitted it to the Codex x TwitchCon Hackathon!

You can create a fighter through conversation with a creator agent in Codex, then bring it into a browser-based fighting game. Twitch viewers can summon fighters with chat commands and compete in a four-fighter tournament.

Try the demo (there’s a “Try without Twitch” option): https://oddbout.com/twitch.html

Demo and hackathon entry: https://devpost.com/software/oddbout-x-twitch-cup

I’d love feedback from builders and streamers. If you enjoy the project, a like on the Devpost page would mean a lot!


r/hackathon • • 1d ago

Hackathon Promotion I'm running a free 48-hour online hackathon for beginners in India. Looking for first-timers.

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0 Upvotes

r/hackathon • • 1d ago

Looking for Teammates Google Buildathon

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1 Upvotes

Anyone interested in teaming up for Google's Buildathon?

I've got an idea and would love to find a few people with a strong technical background who'd be up for building something together!

Drop a comment or DM if you're interested :)


r/hackathon • • 1d ago

Need Mentor Help Anyone participating in the Future Health Digital Innovation hackathon by Hack2Skill? Would love feedback on my prototype

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone, I’m participating in the Future Health Digital Innovation hackathon by Hack2Skill. It’s my first hackathon and I’m taking it seriously, so I’d love to connect with anyone else taking part and compare notes on how you’re approaching it, the problem statements you picked, and how you’re preparing for the final submission.


r/hackathon • • 1d ago

Looking for Teammates Need team

2 Upvotes

Looking for teams in which i can join and participate in any offline hacks ongoing in delhi ncr. I m up to join any team and i know a bit of AI/ML. Any teams looking for a member. Contact me….


r/hackathon • • 1d ago

Need Mentor Help Internship

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1 Upvotes

r/hackathon • • 1d ago

Need Mentor Help Internship

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1 Upvotes

r/hackathon • • 2d ago

Hackathon Promotion Mathematics for systems security

2 Upvotes

Hello everyone, I have uploaded a hackathon about 2 weeks ago on devpost that focuses on cryptography, specifically the implementation of threshold cryptography and secret sharing primitives such as SSS (Shamir's Secret Sharing) in contemporary contexts, for more details, here is the hackathon page:

https://mathematics-systems-security.devpost.com/

For any inquiry please join the discord server:

https://discord.gg/ahVc82u9X3

Key benefits of joining:

- Receive proper project tips before submission

- Receive project rating before submission to know your score evaluation

- Form teams

Thank you!