Happening now
Build with Heckr
Your AI mentor for the day. Describe your idea, get a step-by-step plan, and send screenshots when you're stuck.
Start building
The day
Schedule
- 11:00Doors open and check-in
- 12:00Hacking begins
- 13:30Pizza
- 15:30Projects due
- 15:45Judging starts
- 16:45Judging ends
- 17:00Close
Prize categories
Tracks
Need a starting point?
Themes
Optional prompts, one for each DEV Hacktoberfest 2026 challenge. Pick one, mix two, or ignore them all.
- 01
Build it for a friend
Pick one real person you care about and solve a real problem for them. Small is fine, as long as it matters to them.
DEV challenge ↗(opens in a new tab) - 02
Touch Grass
Use open AI to get people off their screens and out into the world, like a bird-call identifier that works on a trail with no signal.
DEV challenge ↗(opens in a new tab) - 03
Side Hustle
Build something small, specific and useful that someone would actually pay for: a freelancer, a local business, a niche hobby group.
DEV challenge ↗(opens in a new tab) - 04
Slow & Steady
Build something that rewards laziness: a tool that quietly does the boring work so you can do less.
DEV challenge ↗(opens in a new tab) - 05
Ghost in the Machine
Make something spooky, or something that honours the past in the spirit of Día de los Muertos.
DEV challenge ↗(opens in a new tab)
Everything in one place
Links
Code of conduct
Everyone here follows the MLH code of conduct (opens in a new tab). If something isn't right, tell an organiser in the room or email incidents@mlh.io.
Built by one of your organisers
Ownable
Build it. Ship it. Own it.
An AI mentor built by one of your organisers. It guides you step by step through building a real app with free, open-source tools, and shows the full cost before you start.
(opens in a new tab)Made possible by
Partners
