#hackthekitty is coding.kitty's free online hackathon, built around one brief: make something that helps cats. It is also a good way to learn how hackathons work, and how to turn two weeks and an idea into a project you can show people.
What a hackathon is
A hackathon is a time-limited event where people build a project from scratch around a theme, then submit it to be judged. The name mixes 'hack', in the sense of building something quickly and cleverly, with 'marathon'.
Many hackathons happen in one room over a weekend. #hackthekitty runs online, so anyone can join from anywhere, and it runs for fourteen days rather than two. A longer window changes the game: there is time to plan, test and polish, so judges can expect a finished, documented project rather than a demo held together with tape.
How #hackthekitty works
The first edition started on 24 June 2026 and ran for fourteen days, to 7 July. It is free to enter, with no entry fee, and you sign in with Discord.
The theme: World Cat Domination Day
Not evil domination: helpful domination. Cats already run the internet, and the theme asks you to help them run things better. Any project that helps cats fits, for example:
- an app that helps stray cats find homes;
- a tool that makes vet visits calmer;
- a platform that connects shelters with people who want to adopt.
The rules
- Build alone or with one teammate. Teams are capped at two people, and each person joins only one team.
- Use any tech. A web app, a mobile app, a game, a command-line tool, hardware: whatever suits the idea. Third-party libraries and APIs are fine, as long as you respect their licences.
- Fit the theme and create a positive impact.
- Build it during the hackathon. Planning beforehand is allowed, but every line of your own code must be written during the event. An old project with a new name doesn't count.
AI coding tools are allowed too, but the project has to show your own thinking. One that is entirely AI-generated, with no meaningful human direction, scores poorly.
What you submit
Each entry includes the source code (a GitHub repository or a ZIP file), a video demo, and documentation in English. The project has to install and run reliably on the platform it was built for. Judges see only a reference ID, not your name, so the project has to speak for itself.
How projects are judged
Projects are scored against six weighted criteria:
| Criterion | Weight |
|---|---|
| Technical execution | 25% |
| Innovation and creativity | 20% |
| Theme relevance | 15% |
| Security | 15% |
| UX/UI | 15% |
| Documentation | 10% |
Two things stand out. First, technical execution and innovation together make up less than half the score. The other 55% rewards things that are easy to leave until the last day: a clear interface, sensible security and a good README. Second, security is worth as much as theme relevance. A judge who finds an API key committed to your repository will notice.
Planning a two-week project: a worked example
Say you and a teammate pick the first idea from the theme: an app that helps stray cats find homes. The biggest risk in any hackathon is scope. 'A full adoption platform' won't be finished in fourteen days; 'shelters list cats, and people can search and send an enquiry' can be.
That smaller version is your minimum viable product (MVP): the least you can build that still solves the problem end to end. Write it down before any code:
- A shelter can add a cat with a photo, a name and a short description.
- Anyone can browse cats near them.
- An interested person can send the shelter an enquiry.
Everything else, such as accounts for adopters, chat, or matching cats to lifestyles, goes on a 'later' list. If the MVP is done early, pull from that list.
A plan for the two weeks might look like this:
| Days | Focus | Done when |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | Plan and set up | Repo, README outline, deployed 'hello world' |
| 3-8 | Build the MVP | All three steps work end to end |
| 9-10 | Security and edge cases | Secrets out of code, inputs checked |
| 11-12 | Polish the UX | Works on a phone, clear errors |
| 13 | Documentation and demo video | Someone else can run it from the README |
| 14 | Buffer | Submit early |
Deploying something on day one sounds premature, but it means you never face a last-minute surprise when the real app has to run somewhere new.
Small habits that score points
Keep secrets out of the repository from the first commit. Put them in an environment file that Git ignores:
# .gitignore
.env
node_modules/# .env (never committed)
MAPS_API_KEY=your-key-hereThen write a README that answers the questions a judge will have in the first minute:
## Stray Match
Helps shelters list stray cats and helps
people near them find one to adopt.
## Run it locally
1. Copy `.env.example` to `.env` and add a key.
2. `npm install`
3. `npm run dev`Neither takes long, and together they speak to two of the six criteria.
Working as a pair
A two-person team works best when you split by area rather than by task list: one person owns the interface, the other owns the data and the server, and you agree early on how the two talk to each other. Commit small changes often, so neither of you spends an afternoon untangling the other's work.
Solo is a fine choice too. You lose a second pair of hands, but you never wait for anyone, and a tightly scoped solo project can beat an over-ambitious team one.
Why join
The script's reasons hold for almost any hackathon:
- Build something real. A deadline and a judge are closer to real work than a tutorial is.
- Practise your skills, especially the ones outside your comfort zone.
- Meet people who like cats and code, including future teammates.
- Get featured online, and win prizes.
There is also the portfolio: a finished, documented project with a demo video is far more convincing to an employer than a list of courses. The hackathon's website is where you share ideas, find a teammate and stay up to date.
Common mistakes
- Starting too big. Pick an MVP you could build in half the time.
- Leaving the README and demo to the last hour. They are part of the score and the first thing a judge sees.
- Committing secrets. Once a key is in the Git history, deleting the file doesn't remove it. Revoke the key and make a new one.
- Reusing an old project. It breaks the rules and makes the entry ineligible.
- Working flat out for fourteen days. Steady progress beats a crunch; burnout helps nobody ship.
Key takeaways
- #hackthekitty is a free, online, fourteen-day hackathon with one theme: build something that helps cats.
- Enter solo or with one teammate, using any tech, and write all your code during the event.
- Judging covers technical execution, innovation, theme, security, UX/UI and documentation, so polish matters.
- Scope a small MVP first, deploy early, and keep a 'later' list for the extras.
- Keep secrets out of Git and write a README that lets a judge run your project in minutes.
