Port Mortem 2026 - Hackathon

Raptor — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 11:37:20 +0000

Port Mortem 2026 — Rewrite Real Software. Prove It Still Works.

The software industry is entering a new era.

AI can now rewrite thousands of lines of code across programming languages in minutes. Companies are investing heavily in AI-assisted migrations—from C/C++ to Rust, TypeScript to Go, Python to Rust, and beyond.

But there's a major problem.

Generating a port is easy.

Proving that the rewritten software behaves exactly like the original is hard.

That's precisely what Port Mortem 2026 is about.

Organized by Hackathon Raptors, Port Mortem is a 72-hour online international hackathon where participants port real-world open-source projects into another programming language while demonstrating behavioral equivalence through testing, benchmarking, documentation, and engineering discipline—not just AI-generated code.

Why Port Mortem?

Modern AI coding assistants can generate working code incredibly fast.

However, production software isn't judged by whether it compiles.

It is judged by questions like:

Does every feature still behave correctly?
Does the original test suite still pass?
Are concurrency semantics preserved?
Are performance characteristics maintained or improved?
Is the implementation idiomatic in the target language?
Can another engineer confidently maintain it?

Port Mortem is designed around these questions.

Instead of rewarding who generates the most code, the hackathon rewards teams that can prove their migration is correct.

About the Hackathon

🌍 Global Online Hackathon
⏳ 72 Hours
💰 $1,800 Prize Pool
👥 Solo or Teams of up to 4
🎓 Open to students, professionals, researchers, and developers worldwide
💸 Completely Free to Participate

Whether you're a systems programmer, backend engineer, open-source contributor, Rust enthusiast, Go developer, or simply interested in AI-assisted software engineering, Port Mortem offers a unique engineering challenge.

What You'll Build

Every participating team will:

Select a real open-source repository.
Rewrite it into a different programming language.
Preserve the original functionality.
Validate correctness using the original test suite whenever possible.
Benchmark the new implementation.
Document architectural decisions and implementation trade-offs.
Submit the completed migration for evaluation.

Unlike many hackathons, success isn't determined by flashy demos.

The emphasis is on engineering quality, correctness, reproducibility, and maintainability.

Migration Tracks

Participants can choose from eight migration tracks:

Track A

C → Rust

Track B

Zig → Rust

Track C

TypeScript → Go

Track D

Python → Rust

Track E

Go → Rust

Track F

JavaScript → Go or Rust

Track G

C → Zig

Track H

Open Pair (Any Language → Any Language)

This gives participants the flexibility to work on the language ecosystem they enjoy most while tackling real engineering problems.

Submission Requirements

Each team must submit:

Public GitHub Repository
Complete Working Implementation
Build Instructions
Benchmark Report
DECISIONS.md documenting architectural choices
Differential Testing / Fuzzing Artifacts (where applicable)
Demo Video

The project should build with a single documented command and be publicly accessible during judging.

Judging Criteria

Projects are evaluated using a weighted scoring system.

Functionality & Reliability (40%)

Successful build
Correct execution
Test suite compatibility

Behavioral Equivalence (30%)

Migration accuracy
Differential testing
Benchmarking
Performance analysis

Code Quality (20%)

Idiomatic implementation
Maintainability
Documentation
Engineering practices

Innovation (10%)

Creative improvements
Better architecture
Valuable enhancements

Bonus Points

Teams can earn additional points for:

Differential fuzzing
Discovering bugs in the original project
Exceptional engineering documentation
Minimal unsafe code

AI Tools Are Allowed

Port Mortem embraces modern development workflows.

Participants are free to use:

GitHub Copilot
Cursor
Claude Code
Aider
Continue
Local LLMs
Other AI coding assistants

However, AI-generated code alone won't win.

Teams are expected to justify architectural decisions, validate correctness, and demonstrate engineering rigor.

Rules

Some important rules include:

Team size: 1–4 members
All development must occur during the official 72-hour event.
AI coding assistants are permitted.
Public GitHub repository required.
Projects must build using one documented command.
Source-language runtime wrappers or proxy implementations are not allowed.
Teams should preserve the original test suite wherever feasible.
Open-source licenses must be respected.
Plagiarism or pre-existing ports may result in disqualification.

Important Dates

Event	Date
Registration Opens	29 June 2026
Registration Deadline	31 July 2026 (6:00 PM IST)
Hackathon Kickoff	31 July 2026 (11:30 PM IST)
Submission Deadline	3 August 2026 (11:30 PM IST)
Judging	3–13 August 2026
Winners Announced	14 August 2026
Community Choice Winner	22 August 2026

Prizes

🏆 Total Prize Pool: $1,800 USD

🥇 Grand Prize

$800

🥈 Runner-Up

$400

🥉 Third Place

$200

🐞 Bug Catcher Award

$100

Awarded to the team that discovers and documents the most impactful bug in the original repository through differential testing.

❤️ Community Choice Award

$300

Selected through community voting.

Every participant who successfully completes the event will also receive a Participation Certificate.

Who Should Join?

Port Mortem is ideal for:

Systems Programmers
Rust Developers
Go Developers
Backend Engineers
Compiler Enthusiasts
Open Source Contributors
Performance Engineers
Security Researchers
AI Engineers
Students looking to work on real-world software engineering problems

If you've ever wanted to contribute to a serious software migration project—or explore how AI can assist large-scale code transformations while maintaining engineering quality—this hackathon is for you.

Join the Community

All announcements, repository releases, rule clarifications, FAQs, submission guidelines, and live support will be shared exclusively on the Hackathon Raptors Discord.

👉 Website: https://coderesurrection.com/2026

👉 Hackathon Raptors: https://raptors.dev

👉 Discord: https://discord.gg/XPfcH7VT2H

Final Thoughts

Port Mortem isn't just another "build anything" hackathon.

It's a challenge centered on one of the most important engineering problems emerging in the AI era: software migration with provable correctness.

If you're excited about cross-language development, open source, testing, systems programming, or AI-assisted engineering, this is an excellent opportunity to build something technically meaningful while competing for $1,800 in prizes.

Registration is now open. Assemble your team, choose your migration track, and get ready to resurrect code.

DEV Community: Hackathon Raptors