# Introduction Vibe Coding is heating up. Some people have been vibe coding before it was cool enough to have its own name. Regardless, building software using AI is front and center. We welcome these technical advancements into the Stacks ecosystem and celebrate them by holding a hackathon specifically focused on Vibe Coding. This also levels the playing field and empowers less-technical builders the opportunity to get into the game. Anyone can be a Vibe Coder. The competition focuses on **l**earning how to effectively build Stacks applications with AI-powered tools like Cursor and Claude Code. Vibe coding is a double-edged sword: it opens up the playing field for people to build applications and can make developers significantly more productive. On the flip side, if you code with AI the wrong way and let it take the reigns too much without knowing what you are doing, you'll write bad, messy code and have a bad time. AI coding tools are exploding and have the potential to drastically increase developer productivity. But they aren’t a replacement for knowing how to code. Making sure you approach it the right way will mean the difference between you generating buggy AI slop or building real projects in 1/10th the time. With workshops and resources on becoming a proficient AI-powered Stacks developer, the Stacks Vibe Coding Hackathon is your chance to learn how to build Stacks dapps with AI, practice your skills by building something awesome, and maybe win some prizes along the way. # Submission Requirements - Submit your project via DoraHacks and have it listed in the BUIDL gallery - Projects must be built on Stacks and utilize Clarity, or if not building an app with smart contract functionality, utilize Stacks tooling such as stacks.js or the Stacks API - GitHub repo with README accurately documenting your project - Functioning demo deployed and publicly accessible/usable - Demo/pitch video discussing your project # Timeline - Competition launches September 26th. The last day to submit projects is October 17th - Judging begins October 17th and concludes October 28th - [Updated] Winners announced on October 29th # Competition Structure The Stacks Vibe Coding Hackathon will focus on 3 key pillars, each focused on a different aspect of building your project. The key pillars will have corresponding workshops, along with office hours to learn more and get any questions answered. - Pillar 1 - Validate (September 29th - October 5th) - Pillar 2 - Build part 1 (October 6th-9th); Build part 2 (October 9th - 13th) - Pillar 3 - Pitch (October 13th - October 16th) # Prizes With a **$25,000 USD prize pool**, the hackathon rewards are: - 🥇 1st Place: $8,000 - 🥈 2nd Place: $5,000 - 🥉 3rd Place: $2,000 - 🏆 Special DeFi Bounty: Up to $5,000 (best DeFi project) - 🏆 Special Gaming Bounty: Up to $5,000 (best Gaming project) # Themes The Vibe Coding Hackathon is an open-submission hackathon, which means you can build whatever you want. But if you need some inspiration for categories, here are some to think about. - InfoFi/SocialFi - AI integration - Utility - Growth/Web2 transition - RWA - Gaming - DeFi When thinking about what to build, think about how we can accomplish the core mission of Stacks: to unlock the Bitcoin economy. What tools can we build that will make Bitcoin more useful or bring it to more people? # Judging Criteria The judge panel will evaluate and select 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners across the entire hackathon, plus select projects to receive the additional DeFi and Gaming bounties. Projects will be judged based on: **Validate** - Clearly defines the problem statement being solved - Demonstrates evidence of real user need (e.g. surveys, research, interviews) - Shows fit and relevance to the Bitcoin/Stacks ecosystem - Early signs of technical feasibility (prototype, proof-of-concept, or validation experiments) **Build** - Technical quality - Since this is an AI hackathon, this piece is especially important. Your project needs to work and be built well. And since you are using AI tooling, you should be able to build out quite a bit of functionality relatively quickly. Since productivity increases with AI, expectations do as well. - Security - Are there any glaring security holes in your design? Is your code well tested? - Ease of use - How easy is it to demo and use your project? Do you have a user-friendly demo and documentation? Overall, is the solution complete or have a working demo? - Bitcoin alignment - How much does this project have the potential to increase Bitcoin adoption or utility? **Pitch** - Clarity — communicates problem, solution, and value clearly - Strength of value proposition — why this matters and what makes it unique - Presentation quality — slides, demo delivery, confidence, ability to answer questions - Impact potential — adoption, scalability, or ecosystem growth opportunities # Who can apply? This hackathon is open to anyone and everyone that wants to build on Stacks with AI. It is open to both teams and individuals. # Developer Resources & Communication - **Participant Guide:** [Full guide of all resources needed for Hackathon](https://stacksfoundation.notion.site/stacksfoundation/Participant-Resource-Guide-27fd6d16860880698cf7d0bca10b2593) - **Telegram Group**: [https://t.me/+D8TLYngdvAxmMWFh](https://t.me/+D8TLYngdvAxmMWFh) - **Workshop Links:** - [Hackathon Overview (opening presentation)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGAoVkgkfig&lc=Ugx2TOfrWUPbZg18L2V4AaABAg) - [Validation Workshop](https://www.loom.com/share/6108b26c38b747efbd697e508a1cda04?sid=d70fbf8d-5670-4392-84bd-ba3fd12297df) - [Build Workshop (part 1)](https://www.loom.com/share/fd32670d766e49d2871e1fbff567201a?sid=c804697d-2323-45b4-a4b4-c4fc9f617693) - [Build Workshop (part 2)](https://vibecode-workshop.vercel.app/) - [Pitch Workshop](https://www.loom.com/share/5ec983bc39ce4aad97c62819ab65c8ef?sid=3f09a9d2-5af2-474b-85ef-72e4c8ea3d2f) - **Stacks developer docs** - [https://docs.stacks.co/](https://docs.stacks.co/) - **Hiro docs** - [https://docs.hiro.so/](https://docs.hiro.so/) - **LearnWeb3 Stacks Developer Degree** - [https://learnweb3.io/degrees/stacks-developer-degree/](https://learnweb3.io/degrees/stacks-developer-degree/)