Your Ultimate Hackathon Guide
Everything you need to know about participating in hackathons - from preparation to presentation and beyond.
Preparation
Set yourself up for success with proper preparation before the hackathon begins.
Form Your Team
Find teammates with complementary skills. Look for a mix of developers, designers, and domain experts.
Brainstorm Ideas
Research the hackathon theme and brainstorm potential project ideas before the event starts.
Set Up Your Environment
Prepare your development environment, tools, and starter templates to save time during the hackathon.
Preparation Checklist
- Research the hackathon theme and rules
- Pack essential hardware and chargers
- Prepare a project pitch template
- Set up version control repositories
- Bring comfortable clothes and toiletries
- Research available APIs and resources
- Plan for rest and breaks
- Bring a reusable water bottle
During the Hackathon
Maximize your productivity and experience during the event.
Day 1: Kickoff
- Attend opening ceremony and theme announcement
- Form teams and brainstorm project ideas
- Create a project plan and divide tasks
- Set up development environment and start coding
Day 2: Development
- Focus on core functionality implementation
- Attend workshops and mentoring sessions
- Regular team check-ins to track progress
- Begin working on presentation materials
Day 3: Finalization
- Polish features and fix bugs
- Prepare and practice your pitch
- Create demo video or screenshots
- Submit project and present to judges
After the Hackathon
Make the most of your hackathon experience after the event ends.
Celebrate Your Achievements
Regardless of the outcome, celebrate what you've accomplished and learned during the hackathon.
Network and Connect
Follow up with contacts you made during the event, including other participants, mentors, and judges.
Continue Your Project
Consider continuing development on your project. Many successful startups began as hackathon projects.
Document Your Experience
- Update your portfolio with project details
- Write a blog post about your experience
- Share your project on social media
- Record a demo video of your project
- Add the project to your GitHub profile
- List the project and the skills you gained on your resume
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about hackathons answered.
A hackathon is an event where people come together to solve problems and build projects in a short period of time, typically ranging from a few hours to a few days. Participants work in teams to create software, hardware, or other solutions, often competing for prizes.
No! While programming skills are valuable, hackathons benefit from diverse skill sets including design, project management, domain expertise, and presentation skills. Many hackathons welcome participants of all backgrounds and experience levels. A combination of unique perspectives, presentations, ideas, and execution is what really is important.
You can find hackathons on platforms like Devpost, Major League Hacking (MLH), HackerEarth, and Eventbrite. Also check with local universities, tech companies, and community organizations that may host hackathons. LinkedIn and X are also great places to find hackathons.
Essentials include your laptop, charger, any hardware you plan to use, comfortable clothes, toiletries for overnight events, a water bottle, and snacks. Some hackathons provide meals, but it's good to have backup options. Here's a blog post on what I personally bring to a hackathon.
Very important! Even the best technical solution and best idea can fall flat without a compelling presentation. Practice your pitch, focus on the problem you're solving, demonstrate your solution clearly, and highlight your unique approach. Make sure to allocate time for presentation preperation and also be ready to think on the spot for questions!
Featured Upcoming Hackathons
Stay updated with the latest hackathons happening around you.
World's Largest Hackathon
May 30th, 2025
Online
The world's largest hackathon for non-devs and vibe coders.
Resources
Helpful tools and resources for your next hackathon.
Vercel
Deploy your projects quickly and easily
Cursor
AI code editor
Figma
Collaborative design tool for UI/UX prototyping
Supabase
Open source Firebase alternative for quick backend setup
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Written by an ex-FAANG software engineer, multiple-time hackathon winner, and side project addict.