hackathon-rules.md•2.98 kB
# Hackathon Rules and Submission Criteria
## Team Presence Requirements
### Friday and Saturday Attendance
- Doors open at **6:00 PM on Friday**
- Everyone entering must have a valid Luma ticket matching a government-issued ID
- Security will check IDs at the door
- **All teams must be present during kickoff at 6:30 PM** (required for API credits)
- Teams must also be present Saturday starting in the afternoon
### Overnight Policy
- Teams are free to stay overnight at the YC office or return home after kickoffs
- **No reentry after 12 midnight on Friday**
- Doors reopen Saturday at 8 AM (IDs and tickets checked again)
## Team Requirements
### Team Size
- Maximum **4 members per team**
- All members must be physically present for at least 50% of the hackathon
- Not all team members need to be present for demos
- At least one team member must demo in front of judges Saturday evening
## Code and Submission Rules
### Prior Code Policy
- Submissions may NOT use code written prior to 48 hours before the hackathon start
- More than 2/3 of your submission must be created during the event
- This allows initial planning and layout ahead of time while maintaining fair competition
- We reserve the right to interpret this rule and disqualify violations
### Features and Additions
- Your submission may be a feature or addition to a larger project (not recommended)
- Submissions must stand alone from anything produced prior to the hackathon
- Cannot be simple iterative improvements (e.g., just adding AI across a product)
- Can be something like an MCP server enabling an agent to complete a novel task
### Presentation Guidelines
If your submission is part of a larger project:
- You may briefly demo the larger project for context
- Maximum 1/3 of presentation time on prior work
- You will only be judged on the standalone portion created during the hackathon
- Your submission will not benefit from being part of a larger project
## Repository Requirements
### Public Access
- Project repos must be made **public prior to submission**
- Must remain public for the duration of judging
- Can adjust privacy settings after judging concludes
- If submission is part of a larger project, entire project repo must be public
### Code Review
- We will review code and commit histories
- All submissions checked for compliance with stated rules
## Conduct Rules
### Expected Behavior
- Be respectful of the space and other participants
- Comply with reasonable requests from event organizers
- No interference or sabotage of other competitors
### Prohibited Behavior
- No hate, violence, yelling, or vandalism
- No excessive passive aggressiveness
- No messing with the AI vending machine
- Violators will be removed by security
## Important Notes
- We reserve the right to interpret all rules as we see fit
- Disqualification may occur without cause or notice for rule violations
- Focus on creating innovative, standalone solutions during the hackathon