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Build Small Hackathon — Reference Guide
"Think small. Solve real problems. Build with joy."
Hack window: June 5 – June 15, 2026
Overview
Build Small is a hackathon that pushes back against the trend of ever-larger AI models. Armed with at most 32 billion parameters, participants solve a real problem for someone they know — or build something delightfully weird. The app must be a Gradio app hosted as a Hugging Face Space. No giant LLMs. No B2B SaaS sprawl. Just small models, big ideas, and good vibes.
Tracks
🏡 Chapter One — Backyard AI
Build something useful for a real person you know: a neighbour, a parent, a small-business owner. The problem must be specific, the person must actually use the app, and the solution must honestly fit the small-model constraint.
Judging criteria:
- Problem is specific and real
- The person actually used it
- Honest fit between problem and the small-model constraint
- Polish of the Gradio app
🍄 Chapter Two — An Adventure in Thousand Token Wood
Build something delightful that wouldn't exist without AI — a toy, a tiny game, a strange interactive story, an art experiment. The AI should be doing the fun thing, not just assisting with the build. Strange is good. Joyful is the bar.
Judging criteria:
- Genuinely delightful (would you show a friend?)
- AI is load-bearing for the experience
- Originality of concept
- Polish of the Gradio app
The Three Constraints
| # | Rule | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Small Models Only | Total parameters ≤ 32B. Fits on a laptop. |
| 2 | Built on Gradio | App must be a Gradio app, hosted as a Hugging Face Space. |
| 3 | Show, Don't Tell | A short demo video + a social-media post are required as part of submission. |
Bonus Quests (Merit Badges)
None are required, but each earns extra points.
| Badge | Name | Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| 🔌 | Off the Grid | No cloud APIs — fully local inference |
| 🎯 | Well-Tuned | Uses a fine-tuned model published on Hugging Face |
| 🎨 | Off-Brand | Custom frontend pushing past the default Gradio look via gr.Server |
| 🦙 | Llama Champion | Model runs through the llama.cpp runtime |
| 📡 | Sharing is Caring | Agent trace shared on the Hub for the community |
| 📓 | Field Notes | Blog post or report written about the build and learnings |
Prize Pool
Main Track Awards — $18,000
| Place | Backyard AI | Thousand Token Wood |
|---|---|---|
| 🥇 1st | $4,000 | $4,000 |
| 🥈 2nd | $2,500 | $2,500 |
| 🥉 3rd | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| 4th | $1,000 | $1,000 |
🗳️ Community Choice (voted by Hugging Face community): $2,000
Sponsor Awards
| Sponsor | Prize |
|---|---|
| 🏮 OpenBMB | $10,000 total — 3 prizes per track ($2,500 / $1,500 / $1,000) |
| 🌀 OpenAI | $10,000 total — across all submissions ($5,000 / $3,000 / $2,000) |
| 🟩 NVIDIA Nemotron | 2× RTX 5080 GPUs for standout Nemotron builds |
| 🟢 Modal | $20,000 in credits ($10,000 / $7,000 / $3,000) |
Special Awards — $8,000
| Award | Prize | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 🎖️ Bonus Quest Champion | $2,000 | Most merit badges on a single submission |
| 🎨 Off-Brand Award | $1,500 | Best custom UI using gr.Server |
| 🐜 Tiny Titan | $1,500 | Best app on a model ≤ 4B parameters |
| 🎬 Best Demo | $1,000 | Great app + great demo video + great social post |
| 🤖 Best Agent | $1,000 | Best agentic app under the 32B cap |
| 🃏 Judges' Wildcard | $1,000 | Amazing entry that fits no category |
Timeline
| Phase | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ✅ Registration | May 7 – June 3, 2026 | Closed. Must have registered and joined the org. |
| 🚀 Hack Window Opens | June 5, 2026 | Two weekends to build, ship, and demo. |
| 🎙️ Live AMA | Mid-window | Ask sponsors and the Gradio team anything. |
| 🔒 Submissions Close | June 15, 2026 | Space link + demo video + social post locked in. |
| 🏆 Winners Announced | TBD | Per track, plus bonus-quest leaderboard. |
How to Participate
- Register (closed June 3, 2026) — If you joined the org, you're in.
- Find your people — Join the Gradio Discord for AMAs and teammates.
- Build & ship — Create your Gradio app and host it as a Space under the org.
- Submit — Drop your Space link, a short demo video, and a social post by June 15, 2026.
Useful Resources
| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| 📓 ML Intern | github.com/huggingface/ml-intern |
| 📚 Gradio Quickstart | gradio.app/guides/quickstart |
🛠️ Gradio gr.Server (Custom UIs) |
huggingface.co/blog/introducing-gradio-server |
| 🦙 Getting Started with llama.cpp | github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp |
| 🤗 Hackathon Org Page | huggingface.co/build-small-hackathon |
Strategy Notes
- Maximize merit badges: Combining badges like Off the Grid + Llama Champion + Off-Brand targets three separate bonus awards on top of the main track prize.
- Tiny Titan opportunity: A genuinely excellent app at ≤ 4B parameters competes for both a main track prize and the $1,500 Tiny Titan special award.
gr.Serveris underexplored: The Off-Brand Award ($1,500) and the merit badge reward custom UIs — this is a differentiator for anyone with frontend skills.- Document everything: The Field Notes badge and Best Demo award reward teams that ship thoughtful write-ups and polished videos alongside their app.