DEV Community

Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge: Week 2 Contest Rules

Contest Announcement

Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge: Week 2

Sponsored by Major League Hacking PBC Inc("Sponsor")

NO ENTRY FEE. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

We urge you to carefully read the terms and conditions of this Contest Landing Page located here and the Major League Hacking PBC Inc General Contest Official Rules located here ("Official Rules"), incorporated herein by reference. The following contest specific details on this Contest Announcement Page, together with the Official Rules, govern your participation in the named contest defined below (the "Contest").

Sponsor does not claim ownership rights in your Entry. The Official Rules describe the rights you give to Sponsor by submitting an Entry to participate in the named Contest. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Contest Announcement Page and the Official Rules, the Official Rules will govern and control.

Contest Name: Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge: Week 2
Entry Period: The Contest begins on October 12, 2026 at 12:00 PM PDT and ends on October 18, 2026 at 11:59 PM PDT (the "Entry Period")

How to Enter: All entries must be submitted no later than the end of the Entry Period. You may enter the Contest during the Entry Period as follows:

  1. Visit the Contest webpage part of the DEV Community Site located here (the "Contest Page"); and
  2. Follow any instructions on the Contest Page and submit your completed entry (each an "Entry").

You may submit one (1) Entry during the Entry Period. In the event that a participant submits more than one Entry, only the first Entry submitted will be considered for judging.

Required Elements for Entries: Without limiting any terms of the Official Rules, each Entry must include, at a minimum, the following elements:

  • A published submission post on DEV that uses the submission template and unique challenge tag (#hf26challenge) provided on the Contest Page.
  • A brand-new project built during the Entry Period that uses open-weight models and/or open-source AI tools (such as open-source agent harnesses, frameworks, or local inference) as a core part of the project.
  • A project that addresses the Week 2 theme, "Side Hustle," by offering something a real person or business would plausibly pay for.
  • A link to a deployed project or a video demo.
  • A link to, or embed of, the project's code repository.
  • An explanation of why open innovation matters for the project.

Prize Categories: In addition to the overall winner, Entries may be considered for one or more prize categories listed on the HF26 DEV Challenge Hub ("Prize Categories"). To be eligible for a Prize Category, an Entry must meaningfully incorporate that category's technology and identify the Prize Category in the submission post. An Entry may be considered for multiple Prize Categories, but each participant may win a maximum of one (1) prize in this Contest.

Judging Criteria: All qualified entries will be judged by a panel as selected by Sponsor as set forth in the Official Rules.

Judges will award eighteen (18) winners based on the following criteria:

  • Writing Quality (weighted most heavily)
  • Relevance to the Prompt and Theme
  • Creativity
  • Technical Execution
  • Use of Partner Technology (for Prize Category consideration only)

In the event of a tie in scoring between judges, the judges will select the entry that received the highest number of positive reactions on their DEV post to determine the winner.

Prize(s):

The prizes to be awarded from the Contest are as follows:

Overall Winner (1) will receive:

  • $250 USD
  • DEV++ Membership
  • Exclusive DEV Badge

Featured Prize Category Winners (6) will each receive:

  • $200 USD
  • Exclusive DEV Badge

Partner Prize Category Winners (11) will each receive:

  • $100 USD
  • Exclusive DEV Badge

Participant Winner (who submits a valid and qualified entry) will receive:

  • A completion badge on their DEV profile