Frequently Asked Questions

When does the Hackathon begin?

Sunday, August 2, 2026 at 11:30 PM EDT.

When is the deadline?

Saturday, August 8, 2026 at 12:00 AM EDT.

That is midnight at the beginning of Saturday—the end of Friday night, August 7. Do not interpret it as Saturday night.

How long is the build window?

120 hours and 30 minutes.

What timezone controls?

America/New_York, which is EDT, UTC−4, for all event dates.

Must I use OpenCoven?

Yes. You must use OpenCoven materially during development, at runtime, or both. A passing mention or ceremonial command is not enough.

Must my finished project integrate OpenCoven at runtime?

No. Material, evidenced use of OpenCoven as the development environment can qualify. Runtime integrations generally have more opportunity to demonstrate depth and may qualify for the new-capability bonus.

What is a greenfield project?

A project whose project-specific implementation begins after the official start time. Planning notes and an empty repository may exist beforehand, but source code, generated app scaffolding, tests, project-specific workflows, and prior prototypes may not.

Can I use existing libraries, frameworks, models, and APIs?

Yes, when they are general-purpose, lawfully licensed, and disclosed. They cannot be a disguised prior version of the submitted project.

Can I use AI to write code?

Yes. You remain responsible for the code’s originality, licensing, security, and behavior.

Can my repository be private?

It may be private during the build window. It must be public, complete, and accessible to the judges before the deadline.

What license is required?

The standard MIT License with no additions or restrictions. You may populate the year and copyright holder only.

Can my dependencies use other licenses?

Yes, when their licenses are compatible with your use and you preserve all required notices. Your own submitted project must still use MIT.

Can I submit a fork?

A fork is not automatically disallowed, but the judged project must be greenfield and the team’s original project-specific work must be created during the event. A thin fork of an existing project is unlikely to satisfy originality or greenfield requirements.

Can I submit a new OpenCoven feature?

Yes. A working new OpenCoven capability can earn up to 10 bonus points.

How do I earn the planned-merge bonus?

Provide a public statement from an authorized maintainer that a defined feature is intended for upstream integration. Opening a PR by itself is not enough.

How do bug-fix PR points work?

A real beta bug must be reproducible, the fix must be focused, and the PR must be merged before scores are locked. Small fixes earn 1 point, standard functional fixes 2, and substantial high-impact fixes 3, up to 10 total.

What repositories are eligible for bug-fix bonus points?

OpenCoven/coven, OpenCoven/coven-cave, OpenCoven/coven-runtimes, and another OpenCoven repository only when the Organizers approve it.

Can a security bug earn points?

Potentially, but it must be reported privately. Do not open a public issue or PR exposing an unpatched vulnerability.

Can the same work earn both feature and bug bonuses?

No. Judges classify the work and prevent double counting.

Are teams allowed?

Yes. Teams may have one to four members. A person may appear on only one submitted team.

Can a team submit more than one project?

No. One final project per team.

Is there a community vote?

No community vote is part of the official score unless the Organizers announce a separate, non-placement recognition. The published judge rubric determines first, second, and third place.

Are judges’ calls and Rule clarifications final?

Yes. Judges’ calls and official Rule clarifications are final, subject only to correction of arithmetic or verified factual error.

What must be in the demo?

Show the problem, core workflow, OpenCoven use, result, and at least one limitation or next step. Five minutes or less is recommended.

Must judges have paid provider accounts?

Your project may use external providers, but provide a reasonable demo, fixture, mock mode, or judge-supplied-key path. Do not require judges to purchase a service.

Can I keep committing after the deadline?

Yes, on another branch. Judges review only the frozen july-hackathon-2026-final tag or declared commit.

What if Discord is down at the deadline?

Discord availability does not affect submission validity. Create the OpenCoven Hackathon Submission issue at https://github.com/OpenCoven/opencoven-beta-july-hackathon-2026/issues/new/choose before the deadline.

When are winners announced?

The primary announcement is Sunday, August 9, 2026 at 11:30 PM EDT in Discord.

What is the fallback date?

Sunday, August 16, 2026 at 11:30 PM EDT. It may be used if entry volume or technical review requires more time. It does not extend the build deadline.

What are the prizes?

$100, $50, and $25 USD value toward inference subscriptions, tokens, credits, or API usage at a major provider such as OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google, or as an approved gift card, subject to availability and the prize terms.

Are the inference providers sponsoring this?

No. CompleteTech LLC (http://www.complete.tech/) sponsors the Hackathon. Provider names identify possible prize destinations; the event is not sponsored or administered by those providers.

What happens to my intellectual property?

You retain ownership. Your public project is licensed under MIT. The Organizers may display and discuss it for judging, results, promotion, and archival purposes.

Where do I ask questions?

Use the event Discord: https://discord.com/invite/opencoven