Before you register
Read the rules before you fall in love with the theme. Devpost tells participants to review requirements first, then work backward from the submission deadline. That is the right order for a first hackathon.
Check what the event actually wants. HackAI 2025 required a Devpost explanation, Google Form track selection, GitHub repo, and a demo video of 2 minutes max. AI ATL 2025 required a Devpost submission, a GitHub repo created during the official hacking window, and a roughly 5-minute demo video.
Before kickoff
Put the deadline on your calendar. Devpost explicitly recommends adding it, then planning backward from it. Beginners lose time when the deadline is treated as a reminder instead of the operating system for the weekend.
Create a blank repo, note the rules, and sketch the submission page before you build. Devpost says draft submissions can be edited before the deadline, so there is no upside in waiting until the final hour to discover required fields.
First hour
Choose one user, one painful moment, and one visible output. Devpost winner advice says feasible projects beat attempts to solve world peace or world hunger in a 3-day hackathon. That is not cynicism. It is scope control.
Write the demo path in plain language. If you cannot explain the before state, the click path, and the final output in a minute, you do not have a project yet. You have a topic.
During the build
MLH recommends teams of 1 to 4 and requires public code links such as GitHub, Replit, or Google Drive when code is part of the submission. Keep the repo clean enough that a judge can see recent work and a teammate can recover if your laptop dies.
MLH also says AI and LLM use must be credited, and the project should not be a reskin of an existing AI tool. If you use Copilot, ChatGPT, Gemini, or a template, write it down while you still remember what it touched.
Final four hours
Stop adding features. AngelHack says repeat winners submit at least 30 minutes early because the deadline is when problems show up. That warning is dull until the upload fails or the video export stalls.
Record the shortest demo that proves the project works. HackAI 2025 capped the demo at 2 minutes. AI ATL expected roughly 5 minutes. Different events set different limits, so edit for the actual page, not for your preferred pitch.
Submission QA
Open the submitted page like a judge. Check the hosted URL, repo visibility, video permissions, screenshots, track selection, and credits. Devpost says online submissions can be edited before the deadline, so use that window instead of treating submit as final.
For longer online hackathons, Devpost recommends submitting at least a week early so organizers can confirm eligibility and you can fix issues before the deadline. Even in a weekend event, the same logic applies in miniature: submit early enough to repair the boring stuff.
< read by a human · updated as things change >
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