We are so excited to announce the winners of the Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge: Touch Grass!
It was another week of record-breaking turnout, topping last week's Hacktoberfest Weekend Challenge. Thank you all for helping us make these challenges such a success.
Our Touch Grass theme asked you to build something with open-source AI at its core that gets people off the screen and into the world, and you delivered. We saw a laptop that sends you outside the moment the power cuts out, a field app that turns a walk into an investigation where you go out with a question and come back with evidence, a kids' plant treasure hunt that will never let poison ivy count as a win, and more than a few apps whose whole goal was to get you to put them down. Many of you took your projects outside and told us how it went, which made reviewing your builds a blast.
Thank you to everyone who participated. Your builds made a strong case for why open innovation matters, from models running locally with no signal to tools that keep your data on your own device.
Now, let's celebrate our winners!
🎉 Congratulations To…
Featured Category Winners
Best Use of TabPFN
Best Use of Tinker
Partner Category Winners
Best Use of Entire
Best Use of Temporal
Prizes
Our overall winner will receive:
- $250 USD
- DEV++ Membership
- Exclusive DEV badge
Our six featured category winners will each receive:
- $200 USD
- Exclusive DEV badge
Our ten partner category winners will each receive:
- $100 USD
- Exclusive DEV badge
All participants with a valid submission will receive a completion badge.
A huge thank you to our partners for making these prizes possible!
What's Next?
Hacktoberfest isn't over yet! Week 2: Side Hustle is happening now, and there's still time to enter:
Week 3 kicks off Monday, October 19, and Week 4 follows on Monday, October 26. Every challenge is a fresh start, so make sure to register so you don't miss an update:
Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge: Week 3
October 19, 2026The Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge: Week 3 runs October 19 to October 25. In honor of International Sloth Day, build something with open-source AI that rewards laziness: a tool for relaxation, an automation for a task you dread, or anything that makes life easier. $2,850 in prizes across 21 winners. New to Hacktoberfest this year? Instead of pull requests, you build a brand-new project with open-source AI at its core and write about it on DEV. Every challenge is a fresh start, so it's never too late to join.
Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge: Week 4
October 26, 2026The Hacktoberfest Open-Source AI Challenge: Week 4 runs October 26 to October 31. Build something spooky, or something that honors the past in the spirit of Día de los Muertos, with open-weight models or open-source AI. $2,850 in prizes across 21 winners. This is the final challenge of our Hacktoberfest series. This year's Hacktoberfest is all about building brand-new projects with open-source AI and open-weight models, and the theme is intentionally broad, so interpret it however you'd like!
See you next week 💚