Your first hackathon — Hackcache

Never done one? What the 48 hours are really like, how to find a team or enter solo, and how to finish with something you're proud of.

You belong here

If this is your first hackathon, you are in good company. At Hack the North, one of the biggest student hackathons in the world, as many as a third of its 1,000+ attendees are first-timers. Major League Hacking, the student hackathon league, puts it simply: "everyone at the hackathon, regardless of their experience level, is in the same boat as you."

HackCache '26 is open to anyone: in school, in college, working, or in between. You do not need a computer science degree, and you do not need to write code. Even if you do not win, you come away with a working project to show on your CV or LinkedIn, a verifiable certificate the moment you submit, and the experience of building something real in two days.

What a hackathon actually is

You and up to two teammates pick a problem, build a working first version of a solution in a fixed time, and show it to judges. It is not an exam and nobody expects a finished product. What wins is one idea that clearly works , explained well.

How HackCache '26 works, start to finish

Now until 20 October: register. On the event page, alone or as a team.

After registering: your dashboard. Open it from the "Open your dashboard" link on the event page. It holds your ticket, your team's 6-character team code , and the button to add teammates.

Thursday 22 October: the problem statements arrive, along with the prompt pack, playbooks and pitch deck templates.

Friday 23 October, midnight IST: the 48 hours begin. It is fully online, so you build from wherever you are. You do not need to be at your desk the whole time; only the final deadline is fixed.

Saturday 24 October, before midnight IST: submit four links from your dashboard: your code on GitHub, a live link to your project, a demo video of up to 5 minutes, and a short pitch deck. Submitting is final, so check every link first.

After the deadline: judging. Six judges from industry and academia score every project online, against the same five criteria. Results are announced on the event page, and every team that submits gets a verifiable certificate.

Solo or with a team?

Teams can be 1, 2 or 3 people.

Solo is completely fine. You make every decision quickly, but everything is on you, so choose a smaller idea.

A team of two or three can split the work: one person builds, one designs and tests, one researches and tells the story. Mixed skills beat three people with the same skill.

Register now, add teammates later. The team leader can add up to two teammates from the dashboard at any time until the hackathon starts, and each one gets an email. So if you are still looking, register alone and add them when you find them.

Finding teammates. Join the HackCache WhatsApp group from the event page and introduce yourself. Devpost, which hosts thousands of hackathons, advises saying "what role you can play on the team before joining". A good introduction is short and specific, for example:

Hi everyone, I'm Aisha, a second-year B.Com student in Pune. I'm good at research, writing and making slides in Canva, and I've tried Lovable once. Looking for a builder to team up with on the Banking & Finance theme.

The team code. Any teammate with your team's 6-character code can submit on the team's behalf, so the whole team is not stuck if the leader's laptop dies at the last minute. Share it inside your team only.

You do not have to code

Every team needs people who never touch the code. Here is what they do:

Builder: makes the app, usually with an AI app builder that turns plain English into a working website.

Designer: decides the screens, the flow from one step to the next, and the words on every button.

Researcher: talks to real people who have the problem, and finds the facts that make it convincing.

Storyteller: writes the video script, records it, and makes the pitch deck.

Look at how you are judged: Innovation, Technical Execution, Design & UX, Impact and Presentation. Only one of the five is about the build itself. Most of the score is earned by the people who understand the problem, shape the experience and tell the story.

Working together online

Set up three things on day one: one group chat, one video call link you all reuse, and one shared Google Doc. In the doc, write your one-sentence pitch, who does what, the links (app, GitHub, deck) and a running to-do list.

Agree on your hours before the event. Devpost's advice is to "be mindful of team members' time and commitments outside of the hackathon". Someone may have classes, work or family on Friday. Plan around it rather than being surprised by it.

Check in briefly and often. A 10-minute call at the start, around lunch, in the evening and the next morning keeps everyone on the same plan.

Give each decision an owner. The builder has the final say on the app, and the storyteller on the video and deck. Arguing for an hour costs more than either choice.

Be specific and kind. "The share button is hard to find on a phone" helps. "The design is bad" does not. Celebrate small wins, like the first time the link works on someone's phone.

Look after yourself

Sleep. In a well-known study, people who had been awake for 17 to 19 hours performed some tests as badly as, or worse than, people at 0.05% blood alcohol. A tired team breaks working apps. Because HackCache is online, you can sleep in your own bed, so do: plan at least six hours on Friday night, or take it in shifts as a team.

Eat real meals and drink water. Step away from the screen for a few minutes every hour or two, and go outside at least once a day.

Tell people in advance. Let your family, flatmates or manager know the dates, so the weekend is protected.

Get ready this week

Create a GitHub account and try one AI app builder. Our guide "Your working demo in 48 hours" explains which tools to use and their limits.

Check your setup: laptop and charger, a stable internet connection, and a backup such as your phone's hotspot.

Find a quiet spot and earphones with a mic, for recording your demo video.

Block the time in your calendar for 22, 23 and 24 October.

Common first-timer worries

"I've never written code." Most of the score is not the code, and the rules allow AI. AI app builders turn plain-English instructions into a working web app, so a team can build without opening a code editor. You do need to be able to explain what you built.

"What if my idea isn't good enough?" Small ideas done completely beat big ideas done halfway. A working demo of one clear idea is what judges reward.

"What if we don't finish?" Submit what you have. MLH's advice to first-timers is to present your work even when it is incomplete, because that is where the learning happens. Every team that submits gets a certificate.

"Can I prepare in advance?" Yes: learn a tool, form a team, practise on the four themes. The project itself is built during the 48 hours, from the problem statements released on 22 October.

"Do I have to be online for all 48 hours?" No. Work when your team agrees to, sleep, and take breaks. Only the submission deadline is fixed.

"Is it only for students?" No. School students, college students and working professionals are all welcome.

Help during the event

Ask in the WhatsApp group, or use Contact Us on the event page. Ask early: a question on Friday costs you minutes, and the same question at 11 p.m. on Saturday can cost you the submission.

Next step: read "Your working demo in 48 hours" in the Guides section of the event page. It is the hour-by-hour plan for the weekend itself.

More Hackcache guides

The event

Hackcache

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