# Build Small Hackathon: Complete Resource & Rule Guide

This document serves as a comprehensive summary and structured guide for the "Build Small" hackathon hosted by Hugging Face. 

The event aims to redirect focus from large API-based models back to the era of tinkerable, locally tunable open-weight models.

## 1. Hackathon General Rules

- Model Size Limit: All models used in the hackathon must be strictly under 32 billion parameters. You may use a combination of multiple models, but each individual model must have a total parameter count (not just active parameters) below 32 billion.
- Platform & Submission: Submissions must be deployed as a Gradio App and hosted within the official Hugging Face hackathon organization. Docker-based environments are permitted as long as the underlying interface relies on a Gradio Space.
- Demo Video Requirement: Participants must submit a demo video demonstrating the app's functionality. This ensures the app can be evaluated even if API limitations or GPU exhaustion prevent judges from running it live.
- Social Proof Requirement: Participants are required to create a social media post showcasing their application and include the link to this post in the README file of their Gradio Space.
- App Limitations: Participants may submit as many applications as they want; however, if relying on the provided Zero GPU resources, participants are limited to a maximum of 10 Zero GPU applications per user.

## 2. Tracks and Themes
The hackathon features two primary tracks aimed at stimulating different forms of creativity and utility:
 
### Backyard AI

Practical, problem-solving applications built to improve daily life for the creator or someone close to them.

eg. A custom storybook generator for a child, a personal study tutor, or a receipt/bill parser.


### Thousand Token Wood

Whimsical, delightful, and highly creative AI-native applications that push the boundaries of fun and engagement.

eg. Interactive AI games, out-of-the-box entertainment tools, desktop pets.

## 3. Prizes and Awards Structure

With a total of 29 different ways to win, the prize pool includes a robust mix of cash, credits, and hardware.

- Total Cash Pool: $48,000 USD distributed across multiple sponsor-specific categories.
- Compute & Credits: 20,000 Modal credits.
- Hardware: Two NVIDIA RTX GPUs.
- Subscriptions: 1-Year ChatGPT Pro subscriptions.

### General

Each of the 2 tracks has the following prizes:

- 1st place: $4000
- 2nd place: $2500
- 3rd place: $1500
- 4th place: $1000
- Community choice (most upvotes): $2000

No additional criteria

### OpenBMB

$5k dedicated to Backyard AI and $5k to Thousand Token Wood. \

- 1st place: $2500
- 2nd place $1500
- 3rd place: $1000

Participants must build with MiniCPM models.

### OpenAI

$10000 across all submissions

- 1st place: $5000
- 2nd place: $3000
- 3rd place: $1000

Requires Codex-attributed commits in the connected GitHub repository or space.

Using Codex holistically (e.g. fine-tuning models, complex agents) ranks higher.

### nvidia

2x RTX 5080 GPUs across all submissions.

- Best space (as judged by nvidia team)
- Community engagement (likes/ interactions)

Participants must use Nemotron models.

### modal

$20000 modal credits across all submissions for best use of Modal’s platform (as judged by the modal team):

- 1st place: $10000 credits
- 2nd place: $7000 credits
- 3rd place: $3000 credits

Participants must use the modal platform for either the development or runtime of their application and note this in the space README.


### bonus awards

Additional criteria that participants can optionally meet to be eligible for extra prizes.

#### Off brand

$1500

The best custom UI pushing past the default Gradio look. gr.Server is your friend.

#### tiny titan

$1500

The best app built on a genuinely tiny model, less than ≤4B parameters.

#### best demo

$1000

The full package: great app, great demo video, great social post.

#### best agent

$1000

The best agentic app, under the 32B cap, of course.

#### Bonus Quest Champion

$2000

The most bonus criteria met! 

If there is a tie then the award will go to the most ambitious, highest quality submissions, despite the extra constraints!


#### judges wildcard

$1000

For the entry that's amazing but fits no category. We know you're out there.


## submitting

- ensure the appropriate criteria are met!
- join the build small hackathon organisation
- upload your submission as a space to the build small hackathon organisation.
- create a demo video demonstrating your space and why it is great! no humility here, sell it! upload the video to youtube, upload it as a file to the space, or put it somewhere else that is public (so we can watch it).
- post about it on social media!
- Update the README of your space with a link to the social media post and the demo video.
- Update the README frontmatter with tags detailing which tracks and badges you wish to be considered for.
- Add a short description to the readme explaining the idea, how you built it, the tech you used.