Before the Hackathon

Going toAttending your first Hackathonhackathon can befeel an overwhelming experience,overwhelming, especially if you'you’re anew beginner.to However,building takingprojects under time pressure. This guide outlines what to expect and how to prepare so you can focus on learning, building, and enjoying the first step can be the hardest one, so let's start with the basics to help you through the process.experience.

What is a Hackathon?

A hackathon is a time-boxed event, typically 12–48 hours, where participants design and build a software or hardware project from scratch. Hackathons are events, typicallycommonly hosted by companiesuniversities, companies, or universities,tech thatcommunities.

• Participants work individually or in teams

• Projects are built during the event timeframe

• Events often include themed tracks (e.g., AI, sustainability, fintech)

• Teams present demos to judges at the end

• Awards are given for creativity, impact, or technical execution

Because of the limited time, judges prioritize:

• Original or compelling ideas

• Clear problem–solution alignment

• Functional demos with strong presentation

A polished concept with a working demo usually lastscores anywherehigher between 12-48 hours. Inthan an in-personambitious hackathon,but theincomplete participants will build a project from scratch, and can usually work in teams. There are usually different "tracks" you can compete in, and prizes for those that stand out. Due to the time constraint,  judges tend to look for projects with unique or interesting ideas rather than something complete or complex. system.

How to Prepare

1. SetDefine aYour Goal

Before goingattending, to the hackathon, you should have an idea ofdecide what yousuccess wantlooks tolike accomplishfor outyou. ofCommon it.goals Doinclude:

you

have

• Building a specific idea you'you’re passionate toabout

  make?
Do
• you want to be more strategic to aim for a win? Or do you want to use the hackathon as an opportunity to network, or experiment with

  Learning a new technology?technology Manyor peopleframework

  have
different
• reasons

  Networking theywith wantpeers and sponsors

• Competing to gowin toa hackathons,prize

  so
it's

also important to define what goal you want if

If you are workingjoining inas a team.team, align on a shared objective early. Misaligned expectations are a common source of hackathon friction.

2. Set Up Your Development Environment

Hackathon time is extremely limited. Environment setup during the event wastes valuable building time.

Before the hackathon:

• Install your IDE or editor

• Install required languages/runtimes (Node, Python, etc.)

• Install Git and setup your GitHub credentials

• Verify package managers work (npm, pip, etc.)

• Test a minimal project build/run locally

You may not write project code beforehand, but preparing your tooling is always allowed and strongly recommended.

2.3. DownloadChoose SoftwareYour Tech Stack in Advance

InAvoid a hackathon, your time can become very limited. Although you're not allowed to do any coding beforehand, being prepared for what you're going to code can save valuable time. If you don't have the software downloaded already, downloading essential tools and getting familiar with them can help you by the time the hackathon officially starts. Examples include an IDE, Git (especially if you're working in a group), and anydebating languages or frameworks youduring planthe hackathon.

Select:

• Primary language

• Frontend framework

• Backend framework

• Database (if needed)

• Hosting/deployment option

The best stack is usually:

• Familiar to useyour thatteam

• Fast to prototype with

• Easy to deploy

Hackathon Execution Strategy

Strive for Simplicity

Time constraints are notthe alreadydefining onfactor yourof computer. hackathons.

3.Prioritize:

Decide

on
• a

  A Languagenarrow and/problem scope

• One or Framework
  two core features

• SimilarlyA toworking above,end-to-end makingflow

  key
decisions

beforehand

Avoid:

can

help
• you

  Complex savearchitectures

  time
in
• a

  Over-engineering

  hackathon
without
• even

  Large writingfeature asets

  single
line

of

UI code.Matters ThisMore canThan simplyYou beThink

whatever

Judges languagetypically you feel the most comfortable in, but it can also be one that is best suited forsee your project orfor team.only 1–2 minutes.

IfA youstrong followUI:

• Makes the project immediately understandable

• Signals completeness and polish

• Improves perceived quality

Focus on:

• Clean layout

• Clear user flow

• Visual feedback or animations

• Demo-friendly screens

A visually compelling interface significantly improves judging outcomes.

Use a Monorepo When Possible

For small teams under time pressure, a monorepo simplifies coordination.

Advantages:

• Single repository setup

• Shared types and models

• Easier deployment

• Faster onboarding for teammates

Frameworks like Next.js, Supabase, or full-stack templates allow frontend and backend development in one codebase, reducing integration overhead.

Collaborate with Branches and Frequent Merges

Parallel development is essential in short events.

Best practices:

• Each feature on its own branch

• Merge frequently into main

• Resolve conflicts early

• Keep main deployable

Avoid long-lived branches, integration issues compound quickly in hackathons.

Final Thoughts

Hackathons are intense by design. Expect fatigue, uncertainty, and time pressure, these tips,are younormal shouldparts be a bit more prepared whenof the hackathonexperience.

begins.

Focus Ifon:

you

still
• feel

  Learning

  lost,
though,
• don't

  Building fret!something Thefunctional

  nature
of
• hackathons

  Collaborating caneffectively

  feel
exhausting,
• which

  Presenting clearly

Even if your project is whyincomplete, it'sthe importantskills toand manageexperience expectationsgained accordingly.are the real outcome.