Start the draft before you feel ready
Devpost's submission-steps help center says you can start from My Projects and keep editing until the deadline. It strongly encourages starting early because the form has more parts than people remember at 2 AM.
Devpost's planning guide says to choose a project and start a draft submission during brainstorming. That is not admin busywork. A draft exposes missing assets while you still have time to fix them.
Your overview is a real field set
Devpost lists project name, project tagline, and a thumbnail image in Step 2. The thumbnail should be JPG, PNG, or GIF, 5 MB max, with a 3:2 ratio for best results. That small image is often the first thing judges and sponsors see in the gallery.
Do not write the tagline like a startup slogan. Say what the project does. RiskWise from Microsoft's AI Agents Hackathon was clear because it was a supply-chain risk analyst, not a vague intelligence platform.
The story should prove the build
Devpost Step 3 asks for a project story, built-with tags, try-it-out links, an image gallery, and a video demo link. It says the story is required in some format and supports Markdown or LaTeX, but formatting will not save a missing demo.
Built-with tags matter because sponsor tools often decide category eligibility. Devpost's judging criteria post tells builders to check required tools, APIs, URLs, demo limits, and eligibility rules before moving forward. If a track asks for Gemini and an MCP server, mention both where judges can see them.
The video is usually not optional
Devpost says the video demo link is usually required and must be hosted publicly on YouTube or Vimeo to embed correctly for judges. It also tells builders to check the rules for maximum video length.
Google Cloud Rapid Agent Hackathon 2026 made the same thing explicit: hosted project URL, public open-source repo, about a 3-minute demo video, selected partner track, and completed Devpost form. A strong project without those links is just hard to judge.
Step 4 is where teams get rejected
Devpost Step 4 can ask for submitter type, residence country, category, developer account ID, feedback about tools, and a code repository URL. Its help article lists MIT License and publicly available as example repo requirements.
It can also ask for a file upload, but Devpost says uploaded files must be no larger than 35 MB and can be zip, pdf, word, or apk depending on the event. Read the exact rules. A private repo or inaccessible demo link is a self-inflicted loss.
Submit early, then proofread like a judge
Devpost says that if a hackathon has the review icon, its team reviews submissions as they come in. Submit at least one week before the deadline and they can check baseline eligibility, then message you if revisions are needed.
After submitting, Devpost tells you to use the View button and proofread the project. That means clicking the hosted app, repo, video, and images from a clean browser. If you would make a judge request access, fix it before the deadline.
< read by a human · updated as things change >
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