hackathon

The word "hackathon" is a portmanteau of the words "hack" and "marathon", where "hack" is used in the sense of exploratory programming, not its alternate meaning as a reference to breaching computer security.

OpenBSD's apparent first use of the term referred to a cryptographic development event held in Calgary on June 4, 1999,{{cite web|url=http://www.openbsd.org/hackathons.html|title=OpenBSD Hackathons|publisher=OpenBSD|access-date=2015-04-10|language=en}} where ten developers came together to avoid legal problems caused due to export regulations of cryptographic software from the United States.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} Since then, a further three to six events per year have occurred around the world to advance development, generally on university campuses.

For Sun Microsystems, the usage referred to an event at the JavaOne conference from June 15 to June 19, 1999; there John Gage challenged attendees to write a program in Java for the new Palm V using the infrared port to communicate with other people who are using Palm and register it on the Internet.

In the mid to late 2000s, hackathons became more widespread. Companies and venture capitalists saw them as a way to develop new software technologies quickly and target new areas for innovation and funding. Some major companies were born from these hackathons, such as GroupMe, which began as a project at a hackathon at the TechCrunch Disrupt 2010 conference; in 2011 it was acquired by Skype for $85 million. The software PhoneGap began as a project at the iPhoneDevCamp (later renamed iOSDevCamp) in 2008;{{cite web|title=PhoneGap: It's Like AIR for the IPhone|last=Johnson|first=Dave|date=2008-09-18|url=http://phonegap.com/2008/09/18/phonegap-it%E2%80%99s-like-air-for-the-iphone/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310003249/http://phonegap.com/2008/09/18/phonegap-it%E2%80%99s-like-air-for-the-iphone/|archive-date=2013-03-10|publisher=PhoneGap Blog|language=en}} the company whose engineers developed PhoneGap, Nitobi, refocused itself around PhoneGap, and Nitobi was bought by Adobe in 2011 for an undisclosed amount.{{cite web|title=Adobe Acquires Developer Of HTML5 Mobile App Framework PhoneGap Nitobi|last=Rao|first=Leena|date=2011-10-03|url=https://techcrunch.com/2011/10/03/adobe-acquires-developer-of-html5-mobile-app-framework-phonegap-nitobi/|access-date=2023-11-20|publisher=TechCrunch|language=en}}

Hackathons typically start with communication via a presentation or a web page from the hosting organization that mentions the objectives, terms, and details of the hackathon. Developers register to participate in the hackathon and are qualified after the organization screens their background and skills.

When the hackathon event begins, the participating individuals or teams start their programming work. The administrator of the hackathon is typically able to answer questions and offer help when their issues come up in the event.

Hackathons can last several hours to several days. For hackathons that last 24 hours or longer, especially competitive ones, eating is often informal, with participants often subsisting on food like pizza and energy drinks. Sometimes sleeping is informal as well, with participants sleeping on-site with sleeping bags.

At the end of hackathons, there are usually a series of demonstrations in which each group presents their results. To capture the great ideas and work-in-progress often people post a video of the demonstrations, blog about results with screenshots and details, share links and progress on social media, suggest a place for open source code and generally make it possible for people to share, learn from and possibly build from the ideas generated and initial work completed.

There is sometimes a contest element as well, in which a panel of judges select the winning teams, and prizes are given. At many hackathons, the judges are made up of organisers and sponsors. At BarCamp-style hackathons, that are organised by the development community, such as iOSDevCamp, the judges are usually made up of peers and colleagues in the field. Such prizes are sometimes a substantial amount of money: a social gaming hackathon at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference offered $250,000 in funding to the winners, while a controversial{{cite web|title=The "Biggest Hackathon Prize In History" Was Won By Cheaters|url=http://valleywag.gawker.com/the-biggest-hackathon-prize-in-history-was-won-by-che-1469710101|publisher=Valleywag|first=Sam|last=Biddle|date=November 22, 2013|url-status=dead|access-date=November 24, 2013|archive-date=November 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131124211611/http://valleywag.gawker.com/the-biggest-hackathon-prize-in-history-was-won-by-che-1469710101}} 2013 hackathon run by Salesforce.com had a payout of $1 million to the winners, billed as the largest-ever prize.{{cite news|title=Two Harvard University Alum Win Disputed Salesforce $1M Hackathon Prize At Dreamforce [Updated]|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/11/21/two-harvard-university-alum-win-salesforce-1m-hackathon-prize-at-dreamforce-for-mobile-service-to-create-reports/|work=TechCrunch|first=Alex|last=Williams|date=November 21, 2013|access-date=2023-11-20|language=en}}

Some hackathons focus on a particular platform such as mobile apps, a desktop operating system, web development or video game development.

Mobile app hackathons like Over the Air, held at Phoenix Park, Ireland, can see a large amount of corporate sponsorship and interest.{{cite web|title=Hackers Get Hired At Bletchley Park|date=2011-09-19|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/09/16/hackers-get-hired-at-blet_n_966246.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926233338/http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/09/16/hackers-get-hired-at-blet_n_966246.html|archive-date=2011-09-26|url-status=dead|publisher=HuffPost Tech UK|language=en}}{{cite web|url=http://www.techventure2011.com/hackathon|title=Mobile App Hackathon - TechVenture 2011|date=21 December 2011|access-date=16 March 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111221093855/http://www.techventure2011.com/hackathon|archive-date=21 December 2011|language=en}}

Music Hack Day, a hackathon for music-related software and hardware applications, is a popular event, having been held over 30 times around the world since 2009.{{cite web|url=http://musichackday.org/|title=Music Hack Day homepage|publisher=Musichackday.org|access-date=2013-10-09|archive-date=2020-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510224716/https://musichackday.org/|url-status=dead}} Also Music Tech Fest, a three-day interdisciplinary festival for music ideas bringing together musicians with hackers, researchers and industry, features a hackathon.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-27067106|title=Music Hackathon at Music Tech Fest in Boston|publisher=BBC.com|date=2014-04-20|access-date=2015-03-05|work=BBC News|last1=Rich|first1=L. J.|language=en}} Similarly, Science Hack Day, a hackathon for making things with science, has been held over 45 times in over 15 countries around the world since 2010.{{cite web|url=http://sciencehackday.org/|title=Science Hack Day homepage|publisher=Sciencehackday.org|access-date=2014-12-09}}

Hackathons have been held to develop applications that run on various mobile device operating systems, such as Android,{{cite web|url=http://androidhackathon.org/|title=Android Hackathon|publisher=Android Hackathon|date=2010-03-13|access-date=2013-10-09|archive-date=2013-10-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006065812/http://androidhackathon.org/|url-status=dead|language=en}} iOS{{cite web|url=http://www.iosdevcamp.org/contest/|title=iOSDevCamp 2011 Hackathon|publisher=Iosdevcamp.org|access-date=2013-10-09|url-status=dead|archive-date=2010-07-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100722030856/http://www.iosdevcamp.org/contest/}} and MeeGo.{{cite web|url=https://metalab.at/wiki/N9_Hackathon|title=N9 Hackathon|language=de|publisher=Metalab.at|access-date=2013-10-09}} Hackathons have also been held to develop video-based applications and computer games.{{cite web|url=http://seehub.me/2011/11/nordeus-2011-game-development-hackathon/|title=Nordeus 2011 Game Development Hackathon|publisher=Seehub.me|access-date=2013-10-09|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029001801/http://seehub.me/2011/11/nordeus-2011-game-development-hackathon/|archive-date=2013-10-29}} Hackathons where video games are developed are sometimes called game jams.

"TV Hackfest" events have been held in both London{{cite web|url=http://www.hackfest.tv/|title=TV Hackfest homepage|publisher=Hackfest.tv|access-date=2013-10-09|archive-date=2012-08-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120831174641/http://www.hackfest.tv/|url-status=dead}} and San Francisco,{{cite web|url=http://www.techzone360.com/topics/techzone/articles/2012/12/19/320277-tv-hackfest-brings-hackathon-2013-apps-world-event.htm|title=Article on TV Hackfest San Francisco|publisher=Techzone360.com|date=2012-12-19|access-date=2013-10-09}} focusing mainly on social television and second screen technologies. In TV Hackfests, challenge briefs are typically submitted by content producers and brands, in the form of broadcast industry metadata or video content, while sponsors supply APIs, SDKs and pre-existing open source software code.{{cite web|url=http://www.hackfest.tv/thechannel-TV-Hackfest.pdf|title=PDF of Feature article on TV Hackfest in AIB The Channel|access-date=2013-10-09|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140226044303/http://www.hackfest.tv/thechannel-TV-Hackfest.pdf|archive-date=2014-02-26}}

Hackathons have also been used in the life sciences to advance the informatics infrastructure that supports research. The Open Bioinformatics Foundation ran two hackathons for its member projects in 2002 and 2003, and since 2010 has held 2-day "codefests" preceding its annual conference.{{cite web|url=http://www.open-bio.org/wiki/Hackathon|title=OBF Hackathons|publisher=Open-bio.org|date=2013-03-12|access-date=2013-10-09}} The National Evolutionary Synthesis Center has co-organized and sponsored hackathons for evolutionary bioinformatics since 2006.{{cite web|url=http://informatics.nescent.org/wiki/Main_Page#Hackathons|title=NESCent-sponsored Hackathons|publisher=Informatics.nescent.org|access-date=2013-10-09}}{{cite journal |author=T Hill |date=2007-12-14 |title=Hilmar Lapp, Sendu Bala, James P. Balhoff, Amy Bouck, Naohisa Goto, Mark Holder, Richard Holland, et al. 2007. "The 2006 NESCent Phyloinformatics Hackathon: A Field Report." Evolutionary Bioinformatics Online 3: 287–296 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/117693430700300016 |journal=Evolutionary Bioinformatics |publisher=Sage Journals |volume=2007 |issue=3 |access-date=2025-02-14}} {{Anchor|BioHackathon}} BioHackathon{{cite web|url=http://www.biohackathon.org/|title=biohackathon.org|publisher=biohackathon.org|access-date=2013-10-09}} is an annual event that started in 2008 targeted at advancing standards to enable interoperable bioinformatics tools and Web services. Neuroscientists have also used hackathons to bring developers and scientists together to address issues that range from focusing on a specific information system (e.g., Neurosynth Hackathon{{cite web|url=http://hackathon.neurosynth.org/|title=hackathon.neurosynth.org|publisher=hackathon.neurosynth.org|access-date=2013-10-09|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202224713/http://hackathon.neurosynth.org/|archive-date=2013-12-02}} and the Allen Brain Atlas Hackathon{{cite web|url=http://community.brain-map.org/display/hackathon/2012+Allen+Brain+Atlas+Hackathon|title=2012 Allen Brain Atlas Hackathon - Hackathon - Allen Brain Atlas User Community|publisher=Community.brain-map.org|date=2012-09-04|access-date=2013-10-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202222320/http://community.brain-map.org/display/hackathon/2012+Allen+Brain+Atlas+Hackathon|archive-date=2013-12-02|url-status=dead}}) and providing reserved time for broad scientific inquiry (e.g., Brainhack),{{cite web|url=http://www.brainhack.org/|title=Brainhack.org|publisher=Brainhack.org|access-date=2013-10-09}}{{Cite journal|last1=Craddock|first1=R. Cameron|last2=Margulies|first2=Daniel S.|last3=Bellec|first3=Pierre|last4=Nichols|first4=B. Nolan|last5=Alcauter|first5=Sarael|last6=Barrios|first6=Fernando A.|last7=Burnod|first7=Yves|last8=Cannistraci|first8=Christopher J.|last9=Cohen-Adad|first9=Julien|last10=De Leener|first10=Benjamin|last11=Dery|first11=Sebastien|date=2016-03-31|title=Brainhack: a collaborative workshop for the open neuroscience community|journal=GigaScience|volume=5|issue=1|page=16|doi=10.1186/s13742-016-0121-x|issn=2047-217X|pmc=4818387|pmid=27042293|doi-access=free}} to using specific challenges that focus hacking activity (e.g., HBM Hackathon).{{cite web|url=http://humanbrainmapping.org/hackathon|title=HBM Hackathon - Organization for Human Brain Mapping|publisher=Humanbrainmapping.org|access-date=2013-10-09}}

There has been an emergence of 'datathons' or data-focused hackathons in recent years.{{cite web|title=Datathon 2020 the International Sata Science Hackathon|url=https://www.datasciencesociety.net/datathon|website=Data Science Society|access-date=16 December 2020}}{{cite web|title=Datathon 2020|url=https://www.datarepublic.com/data-hackathons|website=Data Republic|access-date=16 December 2020|archive-date=25 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125232024/https://www.datarepublic.com/data-hackathons|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=WiDS Datathon 2021|url=https://www.widsconference.org/datathon.html|website=Women in Data Science|access-date=16 December 2020}} These events challenge data scientists working with others attending to together use creativity and data analysis skills and platforms to build, test and explore solutions and dashboards which analyse huge datasets in a limited amount of time. These are increasingly being used to deliver insights in big public and private datasets in various disciplines including business,{{cite web|title=KPMG Datathon Challenge|url=https://home.kpmg/my/en/home/services/data-and-analytics/datathon-challenge.html|website=KPMG Malaysia|date=2 January 2020|access-date=16 December 2020|archive-date=23 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923182950/https://home.kpmg/my/en/home/services/data-and-analytics/datathon-challenge.html|url-status=dead}} healthcare{{cite web|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/?term=datathon|website=PubMed: US National Library of Medicine|access-date=16 December 2020|title=Datathon - PMC - NCBI}}{{cite journal|last1=Aboab|first1=Jerome|last2=Celi|first2=Leo|last3=Charlton|first3=Peter|last4=Feng|first4=Mengling|title=A "datathon" model to support cross-disciplinary collaboration|journal=Science Translational Medicine|date=6 April 2016|volume=8|issue=333|page=8|doi=10.1126/scitranslmed.aad9072|pmid=27053770|pmc=5679209|url=}} news media{{cite web|title=Hack the News Datathon|url=https://www.datasciencesociety.net/hack-news-datathon/|website=Data Science Society}} and for social causes.{{cite web|title=Datathon for Social Good|url=https://www.ourcommunity.com.au/datathon|website=Our Community|access-date=16 December 2020}}

There have been hackathons devoted to creating applications that use a specific language or framework, like JavaScript,[http://downcityjs.com/ DownCityJS, the Providence JavaScript Hackathon] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325175133/http://downcityjs.com/|date=2014-03-25}} Node.js,{{cite web|url=http://www.nodeknockout.com|title=Node Knockout|first=Node|last=Knockout|website=www.nodeknockout.com|access-date=16 March 2018}} HTML5[https://hackathon.5apps.com/ HTML5 App Hackathon] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325173454/https://hackathon.5apps.com/|date=2014-03-25}}, May 5–6, 2012, Berlin, Germany and Ruby on Rails.{{cite web|url=http://punehackathon.pbworks.com/w/page/19872985/FrontPage|title=Pune Rails Hackathon: July 29-30, 2006|publisher=Punehackathon.pbworks.com|access-date=2013-10-09}}

Some hackathons focus on applications that make use of the application programming interface, or API, from a single company or data source. Open Hack, an event run publicly by Yahoo! since 2006 (originally known as "Hack Day", then "Open Hack Day"), has focused on usage of the Yahoo! API, in addition to APIs of websites owned by Yahoo!, like Flickr.[http://code.flickr.com/blog/2008/09/03/open-hack-day/ Open! Hack! Day!], Flickr blog, September 3, 2008 The company's Open Hack India event in 2012 had over 700 attendees.[http://developer.yahoo.com/blogs/ydn/purple-bangalore-inside-yahoo-open-hack-india-2012-52837.html Purple in Bangalore – Inside Yahoo! Open Hack India 2012] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021180616/http://developer.yahoo.com/blogs/ydn/purple-bangalore-inside-yahoo-open-hack-india-2012-52837.html|date=2013-10-21}}, Pushpalee Johnson, August 11, 2012, YDN Blog Google has run similar events for their APIs,{{cite web|url=http://vivacity.lnmiit.ac.in/hackathon.html|title=Google Hackathon • Vivacity 2015|publisher=Vivacity|date=2014-12-25|access-date=2015-01-10|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150126012015/http://vivacity.lnmiit.ac.in/hackathon.html|archive-date=2015-01-26}} as has the travel guide company Lonely Planet.{{cite web|title=Melbourne Hack Day: List Of Presentations And Winners|url=http://lplabs.com/melbournehack/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ListOfPresentationsAndWinners|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110422202934/http://lplabs.com/melbournehack/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ListOfPresentationsAndWinners|archive-date=2011-04-22}}

The website Foursquare notably held a large, global hackathon in 2011, in which over 500 developers at over 30 sites around the world competed to create applications using the Foursquare API.[http://blog.foursquare.com/2011/09/20/the-hackathon-heard-round-the-world/ The hackathon heard round the world!] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301135347/http://blog.foursquare.com/2011/09/20/the-hackathon-heard-round-the-world/|date=2012-03-01}}, Foursquare blog, September 20, 2011 A second Foursquare hackathon, in 2013, had around 200 developers.[http://blog.foursquare.com/2013/01/08/if-you-build-it-they-will-come-check-out-all-the-cool-new-things-you-can-do-with-foursquare-hackathon/ If you build it, they will come. Check out all the cool new things you can do with Foursquare! #hackathon] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130429155637/http://blog.foursquare.com/2013/01/08/if-you-build-it-they-will-come-check-out-all-the-cool-new-things-you-can-do-with-foursquare-hackathon/|date=2013-04-29}}, Foursquare blog, January 8, 2013 The IETF organizes Hackathons for each IETF meetings which are focused on IETF Internet Draft and IETF RFC implementation for better inter-operability and improved Internet Standards.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ietf.org/hackathon/|title=IETF Hackathon|website=www.ietf.org|access-date=2017-12-18}}

There have been a number of hackathons devoted to improving government, and specifically to the cause of open government.[http://govfresh.com/2011/08/open-government-hackathons-matter/ Open government hackathons matter] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416234413/https://govfresh.com/2011/08/open-government-hackathons-matter/|date=2021-04-16}}, Mark Headd, govfresh, August 24, 2011 One such event, in 2011, was hosted by the United States Congress.[http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2011/12/08/in-hackwetrust-the-house-of-representatives-opens-its-doors-to-transparency-through-technology/ In #HackWeTrust - The House of Representatives Opens Its Doors to Transparency Through Technology], Daniel Schuman, Sunlight Foundation blog, December 8, 2011 Starting in 2012, NASA has been annually hosting the International Space Apps Challenge.

In 2014, the British government and HackerNest ran DementiaHack,[http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/nicolearbour/2014/08/08/toronto-dementia-hackathon-12-14-september/ Toronto dementia hackathon 12-14 September], Dr. John Preece, British Foreign & Commonwealth Office Blogs, August 8, 2014 the world's first hackathon dedicated to improving the lives of people living with dementia and their caregivers.[https://www.gov.uk/government/world-location-news/toronto-hackathon-to-target-dementia-challenges-with-innovative-ideas Toronto hackathon to target dementia challenges with innovative ideas], British High Commission Ottawa, GOV.UK, July 25, 2014[http://www.betakit.com/hackernest-hooks-up-with-british-consulate-general-toronto-for-new-dementiahack/ HackerNest hooks up with British Consulate-General Toronto for new DementiaHack], Joseph Czikk, Betakit, August 12, 2014 The series continues in 2015, adding the Canadian government and Facebook as major sponsors.{{Cite web|title=DementiaHack - HackerNest|url=http://hackernest.com/dementiahack|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141216091759/http://hackernest.com/dementiahack/|url-status=dead|archive-date=2014-12-16|access-date=2015-09-03}}

The Global Game Jam, the largest video game development hackathon,{{cite web|title=About the Global Game Jam|url=http://globalgamejam.org/about|website=GlobalGameJam|access-date=19 April 2016|date=2013-09-13}} often includes optional requirements called 'diversifiers'{{cite web|title=Global Game Jam Diversifiers|url=http://globalgamejam.org/global-game-jam-diversifiers|website=GlobalGameJam|access-date=19 April 2016|date=2014-01-21|archive-date=2014-01-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124211239/http://globalgamejam.org/global-game-jam-diversifiers|url-status=dead}} that aim to promote game accessibility and other causes.

VanHacks is an annual hackathon that is part of Vancouver Startup Week.{{cite web|url=https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-startup-week-2019|title=Here's everything you can expect at Vancouver Startup Week|publisher=Daily Hive|date=2019-07-18|accessdate=2020-06-02}} The focus of the hackathon is creating solutions for local non-profit organizations from the Vancouver area over the course of 36 hours. VanHacks was created in 2016 by TTT Studios.{{cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/2559959/vancouver-hackathon-looks-to-create-tech-solutions-for-local-charities/|title=Vancouver hackathon looks to create tech solutions for local charities|publisher=Global News|date=2016-05-05|accessdate=2020-06-02}}{{cite web|url=https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vanhack-hackathon-vancouver/|title=VanHacks hackathon aims to find tech solutions for local charities|publisher=Daily Hive|date=2017-12-19|accessdate=2020-06-03}}

Various hackathons have been held to improve city transit systems.[https://montrealgazette.com/technology/aboard+transit+hackathon+express/5869790/story.html All aboard the transit hackathon express] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108050332/http://www.montrealgazette.com/technology/aboard+transit+hackathon+express/5869790/story.html|date=2012-01-08}}, Roberto Rocha, The Gazette, December 16, 2011 Hackathons aimed at improvements to city local services are increasing, with one of the London Councils (Hackney) creating a number of successful local solutions with a two-day Hackney-thon.{{cite web|url=https://www.publictechnology.net/articles/news/hack-ney-thon-provides-new-apps-council|title=Hackney Hackathon succeeds in new services|access-date=17 July 2015|date=2014-11-20}} There have also been a number of hackathons devoted to improving education, including Education Hack Day{{cite web|url=http://educationhackday.org/|title=Education Hack Day|publisher=Education Hack Day|access-date=2013-10-09}} and on a smaller scale, looking specifically at the challenges of field work based geography education, the Field Studies Council{{cite web|url=http://www.field-studies-council.org/news/fieldwork-hackday-a-real-success.aspx|title=Page Not Found - FSC|website=www.field-studies-council.org|access-date=16 March 2018|archive-date=23 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923144856/http://www.field-studies-council.org/news/fieldwork-hackday-a-real-success.aspx|url-status=dead}} hosted FSCHackday.{{cite web|url=http://fschackday.org/|title=fschackday.org|publisher=fschackday.org|access-date=2013-10-09}} Random Hacks of Kindness is another popular hackathon, devoted to disaster management and crisis response.[https://archive.today/20130126113758/http://www.informationweek.com/news/government/enterprise-apps/225402115 NASA, Microsoft, Google Hosting Hackathon], Elizabeth Montalbano, InformationWeek, June 7, 2010

ThePort{{cite web|url=http://theport.ch/|title=THE Port|publisher=theport.ch|access-date=2017-12-13}} instead is a hackathon devoted to solving humanitarian, social and public interest challenges. It's hosted by CERN with partners from other non-governmental organizations such as ICRC and UNDP.

In March 2020, numerous world-wide initiatives led by entrepreneurs and governmental representatives from European countries resulted in a series of anti-crisis hackathons Hack the Crisis, with first to happen in Estonia,{{cite web|url=https://estonia.ee/estonia-organized-a-public-private-e-hackatlon-to-hack-the-crisis/|title=Estonia organized a public-private e-hackatlon to hack the crisis|date=23 March 2020|access-date=16 December 2020}} followed up by Poland,{{cite web|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/digital/news/anti-crisis-hackers-join-forces-to-find-covid19-solutions/|title=Anti-crisis hackers join forces to find COVID-19 solutions|date=18 March 2020|access-date=16 December 2020}} Latvia, and Ukraine. Beginning in 2020, the Michal Sela Forum has run hackathons to develop technology to help prevent domestic violence.{{cite news|last1=Strichman|first1=Nancy|title='May her memory be a revolution'|url=https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/may-her-memory-be-a-revolution/|access-date=24 November 2022|work=The Times of Israel|date=April 7, 2022}}

A number of hackathons around the world have been planned in memory of computer programmer and internet activist Aaron Swartz, who died in 2013.{{cite news|last=Rocheleau|first=Matt|title=In Aaron Swartz' memory, hackathons to be held across globe, including at MIT, next month|url=http://www.boston.com/yourcampus/news/mit/2013/10/in_aaron_swartz_memory_hackathons_to_be_held_across_globe_including_at_mit_next_month.html|newspaper=Boston Globe|access-date=17 October 2013}}{{cite web|last=Doctorow|first=Cory|title=Aaron Swartz hackathon|date=17 October 2013|url=http://boingboing.net/2013/10/17/aaron-swartz-hackathon.html|publisher=Boing Boing|access-date=17 October 2013}}{{cite web|last=Sifry|first=Micah L.|title=techPresident|url=http://techpresident.com/news/24422/first-post-greased|publisher=Personal Democracy Media|access-date=11 October 2013}}{{cite web|title=Aaron Swartz Hackathon|url=http://aaronswartzhackathon.org/|access-date=30 October 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140329125421/http://aaronswartzhackathon.org/|archive-date=29 March 2014}}

Some hackathons are intended only for programmers within a certain demographic group, like teenagers, college students, or women.[http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/159/female-hackathon Female Geeks Flex Their Skills At Ladies-Only Hackathon], Jed Lipinski, Fast Company, September 14, 2011

Hackathons at colleges are usually annual or semiannual events that are open to college students at all universities. They are often competitive, with awards provided by the university or programming-related sponsors.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

PennApps at the University of Pennsylvania was the first student-run college hackathon; in 2015 it became the largest college hackathon with its 12th iteration hosting over 2000 people and offering over $60k in prizes.[http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2015/09/03/student-hackathon-wells-fargo-penn-apps-upenn.html World's largest student hackathon descends on Wells Fargo Center], Philadelphia Business Journal[https://web.archive.org/web/20150927094444/http://articles.philly.com/2015-09-07/news/66271516_1_computer-penn-state-students-rowan-university Student computer whizzes compete at PennApps Hackathon], Philly.com The University of Mauritius Computer Club and Cyberstorm.mu organized a Hackathon dubbed "Code Wars" focused on implementing an IETF RFC in Lynx in 2017.{{Cite news|url=https://uomcc.wordpress.com/2017/09/13/code-wars/|title=Code Wars|date=2017-09-13|work=University Of Mauritius Computer Club|access-date=2017-10-20|language=en-US}}{{Cite news|url=https://codarren.com/2017/09/uom-codewars-2017-fun-code/|title=UoM CodeWars 2017 - Real life code implementations ! - Codarren|date=2017-09-26|work=Codarren|access-date=2017-10-20|language=en-GB|archive-date=2017-10-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020135551/https://codarren.com/2017/09/uom-codewars-2017-fun-code/|url-status=dead}}

Bitcamp, held at the University of Maryland, College Park since 2014, is another large hackathon with over 1,000 high school and college students attending each year.{{cn|date=April 2025}}

ShamHacks at Missouri University of Science and Technology is held annually as an outreach activity of the campus's Curtis Laws Wilson Library. ShamHacks 2018{{Cite web|url=https://hackathon.mst.edu/|title=ShamHacks: Missouri S&T hackathon|last=Goetz|first=Nicole|date=1 September 2017|website=ShamHacks|access-date=4 April 2018}} focused on problem statements to better quality of life factors for US veterans, by pairing with veteran-owned company sponsors.{{Cite news|url=http://www.phelpscountyfocus.com/the_focus_insider/article_5bdc168a-10c8-11e8-9919-27f757762b62.html|title=ShamHacks' first hackathon benefits veterans and students|last=Sheeley|first=Andrew|date=15 February 2018|work=Phelps County Focus|access-date=5 April 2018}}

Some companies hold internal hackathons to promote new product innovation by the engineering staff. For example, Facebook's Like button was conceived as part of a hackathon.{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-engineering/stay-focused-and-keep-hacking/10150842676418920|title=Stay focused and keep hacking|website=www.facebook.com|access-date=16 March 2018}}

Some hackathons (such as StartupBus, founded in 2010 in Australia) combine the competitive element with a road trip, to connect local tech communities in multiple cities along the bus routes. This is now taking place across North America, Europe, Africa and Australasia.{{Cite news|url=http://www.83degreesmedia.com/features/startup080613.aspx|title=Local Talent Drives Startup Culture In Tampa Bay|work=83Degrees|access-date=2017-08-15}}

{{Distinguish|Scrum (software development)#Sprint}}

In some hackathons, all work is on a single application, such as an operating system, programming language, or content management system. Such events are often known as "code sprints", and are especially popular for open source software projects, where such events are sometimes the only opportunity for developers to meet face-to-face.A.Sigfridsson, G. Avram, A. Sheehan and D. K. Sullivan [https://ulir.ul.ie/bitstream/handle/10344/1903/2007_Sigfredsson.pdf?sequence=2 "Sprint-driven development: working, learning and the process of enculturation in the PyPy community"] in the Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Open Source Systems, Limerick, Ireland, June 11–13, 2007, Springer, pp. 133-146

Code sprints typically last from one week to three weeks and often take place near conferences at which most of the team attend. Unlike other hackathons, these events rarely include a competitive element.

The annual hackathon to work on the operating system OpenBSD, held since 1999, is one such event; it may have originated the word "hackathon".{{Citation needed|date=March 2016}}

Over the years hackathons have come under severe criticism, with multiple observers questioning the adequacy of hackathons to deliver impactful technological solutions. A major part of the reserve towards hackathons has to do with the lack of viability and sustainability of solutions they develop,{{Cite web|title=Towards a Feminist Hackathon: The "Make the Breast Pump Not Suck!" » The Journal of Peer Production|url=http://peerproduction.net/issues/issue-8-feminism-and-unhacking-2/peer-reviewed-papers/towards-a-feminist-hackathon-the-make-the-breast-pump-not-suck/|access-date=2022-02-26|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Why Hackathons Suck (and don't have to)|url=https://www.thoughtworks.com/en-us/insights/blog/why-hackathons-suck|access-date=2022-02-26|website=www.thoughtworks.com|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Sankaran|first=Vijay|date=2019-11-15|title=This is why hackathons are essentially useless|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90430416/this-is-why-hackathons-are-essentially-useless|access-date=2022-02-26|website=Fast Company|language=en-US}} as clearly shown by recent empirical research. A study examining 11,889 U.S. based events revealed that only seven percent of projects had any activity six months after the hackathon ended.{{Citation|last1=McIntosh|first1=Lukas|title=Do Hackathon Projects Change the World? An Empirical Analysis of GitHub Repositories|date=2021-03-03|url=https://doi.org/10.1145/3408877.3432435|work=Proceedings of the 52nd ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education|pages=879–885|place=New York, NY, USA|publisher=Association for Computing Machinery|doi=10.1145/3408877.3432435|isbn=978-1-4503-8062-1|access-date=2022-02-26|last2=Hardin|first2=Caroline D.|s2cid=232126213|url-access=subscription}} Another global study found that only about five percent of all projects developed during hackathons continued for more than five months.{{Cite journal|last1=Nolte|first1=Alexander|last2=Chounta|first2=Irene-Angelica|last3=Herbsleb|first3=James D.|date=2020-10-14|title=What Happens to All These Hackathon Projects? Identifying Factors to Promote Hackathon Project Continuation|url=https://doi.org/10.1145/3415216|journal=Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction|volume=4|issue=CSCW2|pages=145:1–145:26|doi=10.1145/3415216|s2cid=201933485|url-access=subscription}} Hackathons have been thus associated with the production of short-lived software products often denominated as vaporware.{{Cite web|date=2012-03-30|title='Vaporware Is the New Minimal Viable Product,' Declares Hype Up Weekend|url=https://observer.com/2012/03/vaporware-is-the-new-minimal-viable-product-declares-hype-up-weekend/|access-date=2022-02-27|website=Observer|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Broussard|first=Meredith|author-link=Meredith Broussard |date=2015-07-08|title=The Dirty Secret About Hackathons|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/07/the-secret-lives-of-hackathon-junkies/397895/|access-date=2022-02-27|website=The Atlantic|language=en}} Hackathons have been equally criticized for their failure to contemplate the complexity of issues that they seek to solve, developing technologies that do not address underlying societal and political causes of a problem.{{Cite web|last1=Gregg|first1=Melissa|last2=DiSalvo|first2=Carl|date=2013-11-21|title=The Trouble With White Hats|url=https://thenewinquiry.com/the-trouble-with-white-hats/|access-date=2022-02-26|website=The New Inquiry|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2012-12-11|title=On Hackathons and Solutionism|url=http://davidsasaki.name/2012/12/on-hackathons-and-solutionism/|access-date=2022-02-26|website=david sasaki|language=en-US|archive-date=2012-12-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214033948/http://davidsasaki.name/2012/12/on-hackathons-and-solutionism/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite book|last=Taylor|first=Linnet|chapter=There is an App for That: Technological Solutionism as COVID-19 Policy in the Global North|date=2021-03-01|title=The New Common: How the COVID-19 Pandemic is Transforming Society|pages=209–215|doi=10.1007/978-3-030-65355-2_30|pmc=7978704|isbn=978-3-030-65354-5}} The use of hackathon participants as de facto unpaid laborers by some commercial ventures has been criticized as exploitative.{{Cite magazine|title=Sociologists Examine Hackathons and See Exploitation|url=https://www.wired.com/story/sociologists-examine-hackathons-and-see-exploitation/|magazine=Wired|language=en-us|issn=1059-1028|access-date=2020-11-26|first=Erin|last=Griffith|date=2018-03-20}}{{cite book|author1=Dariusz Jemielniak|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yLDMDwAAQBAJ|title=Collaborative Society|author2=Aleksandra Przegalinska|date=18 February 2020|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-35645-9}}

High-profile hackathons have also been the object of controversies. A team at the September 2013 TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon presented the TitStare app, which allowed users to post and view pictures of men staring at women's cleavage.{{Cite web|title=Meet 'Titstare,' the Tech World's Latest 'Joke' from the Minds of Brogrammers|url=http://www.thewire.com/technology/2013/09/titstare-tech-worlds-latest-brogrammer-joke-techcrunch-disrupt/69171/|website=The Wire|access-date=2015-11-09|date=2013-09-09|archive-date=2015-12-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208180755/http://www.thewire.com/technology/2013/09/titstare-tech-worlds-latest-brogrammer-joke-techcrunch-disrupt/69171/|url-status=dead}} TechCrunch issued an apology later that day.{{Cite news|title=An Apology From|url=https://techcrunch.com/2013/09/08/an-apology-from-techcrunch/|website=TechCrunch|date=8 September 2013|access-date=2015-11-09|last1=Tsotsis|first1=Alexia}} A November 2013 hackathon run by Salesforce.com, billed as having the largest-ever grand prize at $1 million, was accused of impropriety after it emerged that the winning entrants, a two-person startup called Upshot, had been developing the technology that they demoed for over a year and that one of the two was a former Salesforce employee. Major League Hacking expelled a pair of hackers from the September 2015 hackathon Hack the North at the University of Waterloo for making jokes that were interpreted as bomb threats, leading many hackers to criticize the organization.{{cite web|title=When Jokes go too Far.|url=http://news.mlh.io/when-jokes-go-too-far-09-19-2015|website=Major League Hacking|author=Mike Swift|access-date=2016-06-06|date=2015-09-19}} As a result of the controversy, Victor Vucicevich resigned from the Hack the North organizing team.{{cite web|title=Leaving Hack the North|author=Victor Vucicevich|website=Medium|url=https://medium.com/@vicvu/leaving-htn-ec62e0343c91|access-date=2016-06-06|date=2015-09-23}}

• AEC Hackathon
• MHacks
• HackMIT
• GovHack
• Junction (hackathon)
• HackTX

{{Mediawiki|Hackathons}}

• Game jam
• Installfest
• Editathon
• Charrette
• Startup Weekend
• Campus Party
• Capture the flag (cybersecurity)
• List of mathematics competitions
• Mathethon
• Computer-Based Math

{{reflist|30em}}

{{commons category|Hackathons|Hackathon}}

• {{cite web|title=Media-Making Strategies to Support Community and Learning at Hackathons|publisher=MIT Center for Civic Media|date=June 30, 2014|url=http://civic.mit.edu/blog/natematias/media-making-strategies-to-support-community-and-learning-at-hackathons}}
• [https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/demystifying-the-hackathon "Demystifying the hackathon"] from Mckinsey, October, 2015.

Category:Hacker culture

Category:Internet slang

Category:OpenBSD

Category:Software developer communities

Category:Software development events

Hackathons