Welcome to MLH Hacktoberfest 2026!

Hacktoberfest is a one-day mini-hackathon for students who want to build, learn and have fun with code. You don’t need any experience. Whether you’ve shipped ten projects or have never written a line of code, there’s a spot for you here.

What makes it special

  • Beginner-friendly: Mentors will be around all day to help you get unstuck, pick a project idea or learn something new.
  • Short and focused: It’s just five hours. That’s enough time to build something real without pulling an all-nighter.
  • Open-source spirit: We’re celebrating Hacktoberfest by encouraging teams to share their code and learn from each other.
  • Community first: Meet other student builders, form a team and leave with new friends, new skills and a project for your portfolio.

Who can join

Any student is welcome. You can come solo or bring a team of up to 4. We’ll help you find teammates at the start.

Schedule (Friday, October 16)

  • 10:00 AM: Check-in and welcome
  • 10:15 AM: Opening, rules and team formation
  • 10:30 AM: Hacking begins
  • 12:30 PM: Lunch break
  • 2:00 PM: Hacking ends and submissions are due on Devpost
  • 2:10 PM: Project demos
  • 2:45 PM: Judging results and closing
  • 3:00 PM: Event ends

Location: [Hemphill 203, University of Louisiana Monroe]

 

Bring your laptop, charger and curiosity. We’ll handle the rest!

Requirements

What to build

Build a working software project during the event. It can be a web app, mobile app, game, bot, AI tool, script or anything else you can demo. The project should solve a problem, make something easier or just be fun to use.

Rules

  • All project work must start at or after 10:30 AM on October 16. You can plan ideas ahead of time, but don’t write code before hacking begins.
  • You may use open-source libraries, frameworks, APIs and AI tools. Say which ones you used in your submission.
  • Teams can have 2–4 members.
  • Your project must be submitted on Devpost by 1:30 PM. Late submissions won’t be judged.
  • Follow the MLH Code of Conduct.

What to submit on Devpost

 

  1. Project name and short tagline
  2. Description that covers:
    • What your project does
    • The problem it solves or the idea behind it
    • How you built it (languages, tools, APIs)
    • Challenges you ran into and what you learned
  3. Public code repository link (GitHub, GitLab, etc.)
  4. Demo: a link to the live project. 
  5. Team members: every member must be added to the submission on Devpost

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

1 non-cash prize
Best Overall Hack
3 winners

Prize 1

Title: 1st Place
Number of winners: 1
Description: Awarded to the top project overall. Each member of the winning team (up to 4) receives an Arduino kit and an MLH belt bag.

Prize 2

Title: 2nd Place
Number of winners: 1
Description: Awarded to the runner-up project. Each member of the team (up to 4) receives an Arduino kit.

Prize 3

Title: 3rd Place
Number of winners: 1
Description: Awarded to the third-place project. Each member of the team (up to 4) receives an Arduino kit.

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Sagar Karki

Sagar Karki
IT Specialist

Ashamsa Adhikari

Ashamsa Adhikari
Windows Enterprise Systems Specialist

Judging Criteria

  • Technical Depth and Execution
    How well does the project work, and how much technical skill does it show? Judges look for a working implementation that runs reliably, not just an idea or a mockup. (Scored 1–4)
  • Project Completion
    How original is the idea, and how complete is the solution? Judges reward creative approaches that the team built out into a substantially finished project. (Scored 1–4)
  • Presentation & Engagement
    How clearly does the team explain the problem, the solution, how it works and the key technical decisions? A strong demo and confident answers to judges’ questions score highest. (Scored 1–4)

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

Invite others to compete

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