DEV Community: Jess Lee

What was your win this week??

Jess Lee — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 13:00:00 +0000

👋👋👋👋
Looking back on your week -- what was something you're proud of?
All wins count -- big or small 🎉

Examples of 'wins' include:

Getting a promotion!
Starting a new project
Fixing a tricky bug
Keeping a houseplant alive for another week 🪴

Happy Friday!

What was your win this week?

Jess Lee — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 13:00:00 +0000

👋👋👋👋
Looking back on your week -- what was something you're proud of?
All wins count -- big or small 🎉

Examples of 'wins' include:

Getting a promotion!
Starting a new project
Fixing a tricky bug
Finally beating that level you've been stuck on for weeks 🎮

Happy Friday!

Everything You Need To Know About Hacktoberfest 2026: AI Belongs to Everyone 🎃

Jess Lee — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 16:19:06 +0000

It's October 1st, which means Hacktoberfest 2026 is officially live! 🎉

This year looks a little different. Hacktoberfest is now powered by Major League Hacking (MLH) and DEV, presented by DigitalOcean, and it's built around one idea:

AI belongs to everyone.

For the entire month, people around the world are coming together, online and in person, to discover, learn about, and build with open-source AI. Maybe you'll finally figure out what an "open-weight model" actually is. Maybe you'll catch your first livestream, try an AI tool you can run and inspect yourself, or build something with a friend at a local Fest.

Maybe you'll write your first skills.md, build an open-source agent, or fine-tune a model. Wherever you're starting from, there's a place for you this month.

Totally new to "Open-Source AI"? Here's what you need to know:

You don't need to be a developer, or to have ever touched open source, to take part in Hacktoberfest. A few quick definitions to get you going:

Open source means the code is public. Anyone can look at how a project is made, learn from it, use it, and help improve it.
Open-weight models are AI models whose "weights" (the learned knowledge that makes the model work) are publicly released, so anyone can download, run, study, and adapt them, rather than only accessing them through a company's app. Open-weight is not the same as open source.
Open-source AI tools are the building blocks around those models (agents, frameworks, and utilities) that are shared openly for anyone to use and improve.

Why does this matter? When AI is open, more people get to understand it, access it, and shape how it's used. That's what "AI belongs to everyone" is all about, and Hacktoberfest is a month-long invitation to come see for yourself.

A quick note on what's changed

When DigitalOcean launched Hacktoberfest in 2014, the formula was simple: open four pull requests, earn a t-shirt. That idea helped bring a whole generation of people into open source. 💜

But AI tools now make low-effort pull requests trivial to generate, and open-source maintainers have been paying the price. So this year, pull requests and merge requests no longer count toward Hacktoberfest rewards. Instead, the focus is on learning and building together, and on open source as a philosophy of transparency and collective ownership, not a PR count.

You can read more about the thinking behind this change on the Hacktoberfest Mission page.

📒 Start your sticker book

Everything you do this month, in person or online, earns virtual stickers in your Hacktoberfest sticker book. Collect enough virtual stickers, and real ones show up in your mailbox:

Stickers collected	Reward
3	A physical Hacktoberfest sticker pack, mailed to you
10	A bonus holographic sticker added to your pack
17	You're a Hacktoberfest Completionist, with an automatic raffle entry for a Hacktoberfest t-shirt or an Arduino Uno Q board

You can earn stickers by attending a Fest, checking into livestreams, joining Global Hack Week, submitting to DEV Challenges, joining the MLH Discord, taking the pre- and post-event surveys, and more. If you use an AI coding assistant, you can also earn one by installing and logging in to DevRelay, a tool that connects DEV and MLH right inside your agent session. The full list is on the Hacktoberfest Activities page.

Start your sticker book

Once you sign in with a free MyMLH account to start your sticker book, connect your DEV account to earn your first sticker!

🏙️ Join a Fest near you

This year there are 300+ community-hosted, one-day Fests happening in 60+ countries around the world. We can't recommend going in person enough, especially if you're just getting started. There's nothing like learning alongside people who are figuring it out with you. Here's what you get when you show up:

Hacktoberfest 2026 t-shirts, stickers, and swag, available in person while supplies last.
An official participation certificate and an "Attend a Fest" virtual sticker for your sticker book.
Your people. Meet others in your community who are curious about open-source AI.
Hands-on building with real hardware. Select Hack Days have Arduinos on hand, so you can take an open-source AI project off the screen and into the physical world.

Fests come in two flavors:

Meetups: talks, workshops, panels, and time to connect with others. No project or team required, which makes them a great first step if you're new.
Hack Days: mini-hackathons where you build with open-weight models or open-source AI tools, demo at the end of the day, and compete for prizes. Come solo or bring a team.

Find a Fest

🌐 Join online

Global Hack Week: Hacktoberfest

Can't make it to a Fest? Global Hack Week: Hacktoberfest brings the energy online from Friday, October 9 (12:00 PM EDT) through Thursday, October 15 (1:00 PM EDT).

It's a free, week-long virtual hacker festival, and a welcoming place to learn at your own pace:

Daily livestreamed workshops, with recordings on YouTube if you can't catch them live
Challenges of all kinds, from social and design challenges to technical ones that earn you points
Mini-events and community hangouts in the MLH Discord

Global Hack Week counts toward your sticker book too: you can earn stickers for completing the registration challenges, checking into a livestream, and more.

DEV Challenges

We're running five challenges throughout Hacktoberfest, all with cash prizes, and each submission earns you a virtual sticker. They're a great excuse to try something new and share what you learned along the way.

Hacktoberfest Weekend Challenge

We're kicking things off with a short-form weekend challenge. The prompt drops in just a few hours, and you'll have the weekend to build and submit.

Timezone	Launch Time (Local)	Submissions Due (Local)
PDT	Thursday, Oct 1 at 7:00 PM	Sunday, Oct 4 at 11:59 PM
EDT	Thursday, Oct 1 at 10:00 PM	Monday, Oct 5 at 2:59 AM
GMT	Friday, Oct 2 at 2:00 AM	Monday, Oct 5 at 6:59 AM
CEST	Friday, Oct 2 at 4:00 AM	Monday, Oct 5 at 8:59 AM
IST	Friday, Oct 2 at 7:30 AM	Monday, Oct 5 at 12:29 PM
JST	Friday, Oct 2 at 11:00 AM	Monday, Oct 5 at 3:59 PM
AEST	Friday, Oct 2 at 12:00 PM	Monday, Oct 5 at 4:59 PM

Open-Source AI Challenges: Weeks 1–4

After the weekend, we're inviting you to explore and build with open-source AI every week. Each week has its own theme:

Round	Dates
Week 1	October 5–11
Week 2	October 12–18
Week 3	October 19–25
Week 4	October 26–31

Pro tip: Week 1 wraps up right as Global Hack Week gets going, so the workshops you catch at GHW are perfect fuel for your Week 2 submission. 😉

Follow the #hf26challenge tag to see what everyone's making, and register early for each challenge so you don't miss any announcements.

DevRelay

We just launched something cool.

If you build with an AI coding agent, DevRelay connects it to DEV and MLH. Your agent knows which challenge or hackathon you've entered, helps you build for it, and lets you submit without leaving your session.

It can also get you partner coupons from MLH while you build, and we're adding more partners over time, so you can often deploy for free. Install it and log in to earn a sticker for your sticker book. 🎃

Get DevRelay

💜 Thank you to our sponsors

Hacktoberfest 2026 is presented by DigitalOcean and made possible by our sponsors: Tiger Data, Snowflake, MongoDB, Gauge, Solana, Render, GitHub, Sentry, Backboard.io, IBM, ElevenLabs, Paper Compute, Entire, Prior Labs, Google Cloud, Gemma, Qualcomm, Arduino, Mastra, Temporal, TLDR, and Thinking Machines.

Questions?

Check out the Hacktoberfest FAQ or reach out to hacktoberfest@mlh.io. For questions about a specific Fest, use the "Contact Host" button on its event page.

However you show up this month, whether you're curious, brand new, or a seasoned open-source contributor, we're so glad you're here. AI belongs to everyone. Let's explore it together. 🎃

Happy Hacktoberfest!

Join Us Live: Hacktoberfest 2026 Launch with Exclusive Swag! 🎃🚀

Jess Lee — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 23:21:18 +0000

Hacktoberfest officially kicks off October 1st! To celebrate, we are hosting an official launch livestream right on the DEV homepage.

Tune in to hear what's in store this month, get ready for both in-person and online events, and score exclusive swag for livestream attendees.

🗓️ Launch Details

When: Oct 1 at 3:00 PM UTC / 11:00 AM EDT / 8:30PM IST.
Where: Right on the DEV homepage or MLH Twitch.
Bonus Perk: Stick around for the stream to claim a special bonus sticker reserved for everyone who joins.

🚀 Get Ahead Before We Go Live

Set up your My Hacktoberfest account now so you are ready to check in the moment we go live.

🛠️ Jump Into Hacktoberfest Challenges

The Hacktoberfest Weekend Challenge launches Oct 2 at 2:00AM UTC and is the fastest way to jump in and start building.

If you don't have time this weekend, you can also check out all the other Hacktoberfest DEV Challenges happening throughout the month.

🎁 Earn Virtual Stickers, Get Real Stickers

Earning swag is simple! Sign in, show up, and start checking off the activities:

Set up your My Hacktoberfest account: It's free and takes just a minute. Sign in and add your address to receive your first two virtual stickers.
Complete a milestone: Install DevRelay, join a Fest, submit to a DEV challenge, check out a livestream, etc. The options are endless!.
Get a swag pack in the mail: Collect three virtual stickers by completing milestones and we'll mail you a real sticker pack.

Keep collecting to unlock even more swag!

See you on the stream tomorrow!!

What was your win this week!?

Jess Lee — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 13:00:00 +0000

👋👋👋👋
Looking back on your week -- what was something you're proud of?
All wins count -- big or small 🎉

Examples of 'wins' include:

Getting a promotion!
Starting a new project
Fixing a tricky bug
Cooking a meal without checking the recipe once 👩‍🍳

Happy Friday!

What was your win this week?!

Jess Lee — Fri, 18 Sep 2026 13:00:00 +0000

👋👋👋👋
Looking back on your week -- what was something you're proud of?
All wins count -- big or small 🎉

Examples of 'wins' include:

Getting a promotion!
Starting a new project
Fixing a tricky bug
Parallel parking on the first try 🚗

Happy Friday!

What was your win this week??

Jess Lee — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 13:00:00 +0000

👋👋👋👋
Looking back on your week -- what was something you're proud of?
All wins count -- big or small 🎉

Examples of 'wins' include:

Getting a promotion!
Starting a new project
Fixing a tricky bug
Finding money in an old jacket pocket 💸

Happy Friday!

What was your win this week?

Jess Lee — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 13:00:00 +0000

👋👋👋👋
Looking back on your week -- what was something you're proud of?
All wins count -- big or small 🎉

Examples of 'wins' include:

Getting a promotion!
Starting a new project
Fixing a tricky bug
Remembering it was someone's birthday without a calendar reminder 🎂

Happy Friday!

Preptember is here!! Plan a Fest for your local community.

Jess Lee — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 19:26:08 +0000

September marks the official start of Preptember, a month dedicated to organizers planning local gatherings and getting ready for Hacktoberfest.

This year, Hacktoberfest is entering a new chapter. We’re shifting away from open-source contributions and focusing on community-building and educating folks around open artificial intelligence. As the AI landscape rapidly evolves, we think it's more important than ever for people to learn about and have experience with open-source AI tools and open-weight models.

You can read our full announcement here:

A new chapter for Hacktoberfest

Jess Lee for Major League Hacking (MLH)

Aug 19

Hacktoberfest 2026: AI belongs to everyone

#hacktoberfest #opensource #ai #agents

226

3 min read

Host a Fest

We're supporting over 300+ in-person events (“Fests”) this year, which means we’re looking for hosts! You don't need a big team or a big budget to bring Hacktoberfest to your city. If you're part of a meetup group, a university club, or you and a couple of coworkers can book a conference room for a day, you have what it takes.

As a host, you’ll receive:

T-shirts and stickers for your Fest participants
Programming support to help shape the day
Promotion through our official Fests directory

Depending on which Fest format you choose, your event may be eligible for food and drink reimbursement as well.

How To Apply

Step One: Pick your Fest Format

Fests come in two formats and you get to choose:

Hacktoberfest Hack Day: a 3-12 hour mini-hackathon where participants create and submit projects to compete for Best Open-Source AI Project.
Hacktoberfest Meetup: flexible in format (talks, demos, workshops, etc). We rely on you, the host, to shape them in the way that best serves your community

Step Two: Apply to Host a Fest

Fill in the details of your Fest (format, region, etc) and your contact information on our application form.

Fest Application

Note: You do not need to have a venue locked in to begin your application!

We’re approving events on a rolling basis, with the goal of responding within a week. You’ll receive an email from us the moment your Fest is approved.

What happens after my application is approved?

Once your application is approved, your Hack Day or Meetup will be listed on our official Fest directory! As a host, you’ll want to focus on these next steps once your application is approved:

Secure a Venue: Once your application is approved, your in-person event needs a safe, accessible space. We’ll publish a separate post on tips and tricks to securing a venue, but for now we’d recommend reaching out to your company office manager, school administrator, or local meetup group for recommendations.
Plan your Fest: This is the fun part! Once a venue is locked, you get to start planning your Fest. Check out our Fest Planning Guide for support.
Show off your Swag: All Fest formats are eligible to receive Hacktoberfest swag. Wear your t-shirt with pride and stick your stickers, everywhere (save some for your Fest participants though)!

Can’t host? Find a Fest near you, or participate online.

We're approving Fests everyday, so check back regularly and sign up for a Fest near you. There's nothing more exciting to a Host than knowing that people want to show up.

Find a Fest

Throughout October, we’ll also host a full schedule of online activities (virtual workshops, DEV Challenges, livestreams, and more) so everyone can participate worldwide.

Happy Hacking 🎃

What was your win this week?!

Jess Lee — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 13:00:00 +0000

👋👋👋👋
Looking back on your week -- what was something you're proud of?
All wins count -- big or small 🎉

Examples of 'wins' include:

Getting a promotion!
Starting a new project
Fixing a tricky bug
Actually logged off at a reasonable hour for once 🌙

Happy Friday!

What was your win this week?!

Jess Lee — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 04:00:00 +0000

👋👋👋👋
Looking back on your week -- what was something you're proud of?
All wins count -- big or small 🎉

Examples of 'wins' include:

Getting a promotion!
Starting a new project
Fixing a tricky bug
Made coffee at home instead of spending too much at the coffee shop (twice) ☕

Happy Friday!

Hacktoberfest 2026: AI belongs to everyone

Jess Lee — Wed, 19 Aug 2026 15:38:17 +0000

We have some news we're excited to share today: Major League Hacking (MLH) and DEV are partnering with DigitalOcean to run Hacktoberfest 2026. This October, we’ll host over 300 in-person events (“Fests”) plus a global online event, all about building with open source and open-weight AI.

DEV and MLH have supported Hacktoberfest for years under DigitalOcean’s ownership. DEV provided a space to share maintainer and contributor learnings, while MLH has powered both in-person and online events. This year will be the first time MLH, DEV, and DigitalOcean are full partners in bringing Hacktoberfest to life.

From four PRs to a global tradition

Hacktoberfest started back in 2014 with a simple idea from DigitalOcean: open four pull requests in October, earn a t-shirt. It worked. Thousands of developers made their first open-source contribution during the month-long celebration. For many people reading this, Hacktoberfest was the door that opened open source to them in the first place. It certainly was for a lot of us at MLH.

But a good thing can require a refresh. Over the years, that same PR-counting format started to work against the community. Maintainers began to burn out under the volume of low-effort, box-checking pull requests they were receiving. That problem only got worse as AI tools made it trivially easy to generate a PR without generating any real value. The event meant to make maintainers' lives easier started doing the opposite.

We didn't want to keep running that version of Hacktoberfest. So we're trying something new.

Hacktoberfest 2026

This year, we’re not counting PRs. Hacktoberfest is focused on giving everyone the tools and knowledge to learn, experiment, and build with open artificial intelligence: write your first open-source skills.md, build your own open-source agent, fine-tune an open-weight model, or just follow your curiosity wherever it takes you.

We believe open innovation deserves the same priority as proprietary tools for a healthy ecosystem, especially now that AI is part of how most of us build software every day. We're seeing changes to access, pricing, and policy occur overnight, completely out of individual control. Open source AI doesn't eliminate these risks, but it offers transparency and resilience. That's the kind of foundation we want to help you build on.

Hacktoberfest 2026 is about meeting you wherever you are in your open-source AI journey, because we believe AI belongs to everyone.

To make this a reality, we're working with organizers to host over 300 in-person Fests worldwide. We'll provide the swag, while you get to build with your community.

We’re looking for hosts!

Here's the thing about Fests: every single one starts with someone deciding to organize it.

You don't need a big team or a big budget to bring Hacktoberfest to your city. If you're part of a meetup group, a university club, or you and a couple of coworkers can book a conference room for a day, you have what it takes. Organizers will receive:

T-shirts and stickers for participants
Programming support to help shape the day
Promotion through a searchable gallery on hacktoberfest.com, plus MLH and DEV's marketing and social channels

We're confirming applications on a rolling basis. We're aiming to confirm within a week of receiving a completed application. The best way to be first in line is to raise your hand now.

Host a Fest

👉 Bonus: if you host a Hacktoberfest Hack Day, we’ll provide funding to help cover food and drink, as well as additional prizes for your Fest!

Get involved

If organizing isn't for you right now, there's still a place for you in this:

Join a Fest. Sign up to be notified about local Fests near you, and keep an eye out for the global online event running throughout October.
Sponsor Hacktoberfest. Sponsors make Hacktoberfest possible. If your company wants its brand in front of a massive global community of software creators, tell your Marketing and DevRel teams. This is the year to be part of the new chapter.

We look forward to sharing more updates in the coming weeks!