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.mddocumenting 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.
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