🌳🪻✨ WELCOME TO KNIGHT HACKS IX ✨🌸🌲

See https://2026.knighthacks.org/ for more information!

Deep within the mystical woods, a new legend stirs...

Florida's best hackathon, Knight Hacks IX, awakens beneath a canopy of glowing trees and forgotten magic...

During this 36-Hour coding adventure, hackers will harness the power of workshops, swag, tech talks, side quests, free food, games, and community to restore balance to the enchanted forest! Our beloved forest guardians are in peril, and it is YOUR quest to answer the call. In a world where algorithms are spells and bugs are curses, every hacker must choose their path...

Break the curse or let the forest fall!!!

Requirements

To Be Eligible for Judging:

  1. Teams must submit their projects to Knight Hacks IX’s Devpost by Sunday, October 11th at 10:00 AM
  2. Teams must stop committing changes to GitHub by Sunday, October 11th at 11:00 AM.
  3. All Devpost submission requirements must be met.

How to Submit on Devpost:

The Knight Hacks IX’s Devpost can be accessed via https://knight-hacks-ix.devpost.com/.

Devpost Submission Requirements:

✅ One team member should create the team and invite others on Devpost. (This determines team composition and prize distribution. Team members missing from the Devpost submission will not receive prizes.)

✅ Record and attach a demo video of your project.

✅ Select the sponsored and category prizes you’d like to be considered for. (Teams are automatically opted in to be judged for Tracks and Overall)

✅ Include a public GitHub repository link (private or missing repos will lead to disqualification.)

Devpost Submission Recommendations (not required!):

💡 Add screenshots, graphs, or visuals to showcase your work.

💡 Put effort into your project description: clear, detailed write-ups stand out to judges!

Important Note: Please use the same email on your Devpost submission that you used to register, so you can receive post-event project feedback!

For those unsure about how to use or submit on Devpost, please attend our Intro to Devpost Workshop on Saturday, October 10th at 11:00 PM. 

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$11,180 in prizes
Best Overall Hack (1st)
$3,600 in cash
1 winner

Apple Mac mini (M6, 2026) 16GB Unified Memory, 256GB SSD 4x + Knight Hacks IX Winner Trophy 4x

Best Overall Hack (2nd)
$2,000 in cash
1 winner

Samsung Odyssey OLED G5 G50SF 27" QHD 180Hz Gaming Monitor 4x + Knight Hacks IX Winner Trophy 4x

Best Overall Hack (3rd)
$1,240 in cash
1 winner

Wob Key Rainy 75 & HyperX Quadcast V2 4x + Knight Hacks IX Winner Trophy 4x

Most "Useful" Hack
$1,000 in cash
1 winner

Leafant Roomba & Mop 4x + Knight Hacks IX Winner Trophy 4x

Best Embedded Hack
$1,100 in cash
1 winner

Bambu A1 Mini 4x + Knight Hacks IX Winner Trophy 4x

Best AI Hack
$1,000 in cash
1 winner

Apple Watch SE3 4x + Knight Hacks IX Winner Trophy 4x

Best Game Dev Hack
$720 in cash
1 winner

Tenz or Faker Viper V3 Pro 4x + Knight Hacks IX Winner Trophy 4x

Best First-Time Hacker
$520 in cash
1 winner

AirPods 4 4x + Knight Hacks IX Winner Trophy 4x

SPONSOR CHALLENGES & PRIZES REVEALED AT OPENING CEREMONY!!
$0 in cash
1 winner

Join us at our opening ceremony in the Student Union at the University of Central Florida!!!

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Knight Hacks Team

Knight Hacks Team

Judging Criteria

  • Originality
    - Do you think the problem or topic space is unique? - Do you think the approach to the problem is original? - Have you heard of/seen this solution or project type before?
  • Technical Understanding
    - Do the presenters actually know what they’re talking about? - If they can’t explain something, do they successfully admit/callout the tools that helped them? - Did the hackers learn or grow this weekend? Did they admit to their technical challenges?
  • Functionality
    - Is the project polished, or still a proof of concept? - Does the project reliably work as intended and advertised? - Is the project end-to-end, or is it still largely fragmented?
  • Design
    - How appealing is the project to the eye? - Does it have good user experience? - Is the design intentional, or a bit random and inconsistent?
  • Wow Factor
    - Does this project give you hope for humanity? - If you were a company, would you acquire this project and give the team six figure salaries? - Do you want to show this project to your friends, family, coworkers, and/or social media?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

Invite others to compete

Hackathon sponsors

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