Hackathon Details
Midnight is early, which is exactly why it’s exciting.
We’re calling on builders, tinkerers, and developer experience nerds to help us shape the future of the Midnight ecosystem by creating tools that make it easier, faster, or just more fun to build here.
Whether it’s a CLI tool, SDK, dashboard, wallet integration, or something we haven’t yet imagined, if it helps other Midnight devs thrive, we want to see it!
What to Build
You can submit a project in one of the following categories:
1. DX (Developer Experience) Libraries
Make life easier for builders with tools like:
- A TypeScript helper for deploying contracts
- A Python SDK for interacting with the testnet
- A testing library with mocks/stubs
- Interoperability/token-exchange templates
2. CLI Tools
Give devs superpowers at the command line:
- CLI to manage shielded/unshielded balances
- Circuit compilation or dApp scaffolding tools
3. Dashboards / UI
Make the invisible visible:
- A Dune-style dashboard to visualize chain activity
- A Midnight block explorer
- ZK playgrounds, visual simulators, telemetry dashboards
4. Integrations
Plug Midnight into the tools devs already love:
- Wallet connectors (Lace, wagmi, RainbowKit, etc.)
- Hardhat or Foundry plugins
- GitHub Actions for CI/CD
- Metamask Snaps
5. NFT Design
As part of this hackathon, we invite you to shape the visual identity of how contributors and learners are recognized across the Midnight ecosystem through NFTs. The challenge isn’t just about art – it’s about creating meaningful representations of progress, achievement, and participation in a growing community and tool.
This contest is a chance to:
- Leave your mark on Midnight’s identity.
- Help shape a positive feedback loop, where learning and contributing are visibly rewarded.
- Take inspiration from Midnight’s developer branding on socials
- Example social post
- Create functional digital art that goes beyond aesthetics – these NFTs will live in different parts of the product/docs:
- Educational NFT achievements for an upcoming course/curriculum we’re calling Midnight Developer Academy
- Ecosystem recognition badges
- “Powered by Midnight” collection assets
Prize Opportunities
Each category offers up to $3,000 USD in ADA in discretionary prizes for top submissions. The NFT Design category has up to $500 USD in ADA. That’s a $12,500 pot of prizes! More than we’ve ever had before.
Prizes are awarded at the discretion of the judges. Some categories may award multiple prizes, while others may award just one, or none, if submissions do not meet the bar. We're rewarding quality, not just quantity.
Key Dates
- Hackathon Opens: May 19, 2025
- Registration Deadline: June 13, 2025
- Project Submission Deadline: June 16, 2025
- Pitches Call/Live Judging Event: June 20, 2025
- Winners Announced: June 23, 2025
Get your project started faster
Hackathon Requirements
How to Enter
You can submit a project in one of five categories:
Categories 1–4 (code-based submissions):
- Developer Experience Libraries: SDKs, helper libraries, testing frameworks
- CLI Tools: Command-line tools for building or managing Midnight assets
- Dashboards / UI: Block explorers, telemetry dashboards, playgrounds
- Integrations: Wallet connectors, CI/CD tools, dev tool plugins
To enter, your project must:
- Be submitted as open-source software under the Apache 2.0 license, an OSI-approved license
- Include a link to a public GitHub repository
- Be clearly designated for one category only
- Be presented during the live judging event on June 20
- Use original or appropriately attributed code with docs/tests for judging
Category 5 (NFT Design):
Help define how Midnight recognizes achievement and contribution through NFTs. Think:
- Educational NFT badges for the Midnight Developer Academy
- Ecosystem reputation NFTs
- “Powered by Midnight” art assets
To enter, your NFT submission:
- must be an image file or an animated GIF. It must not exceed 40mb. You are welcome to add subfiles to the NFT.
- Use the file format: JPEG, PNG, GIF, SVG, or MP4
- Have an artwork title and a brief description (max 100 words)
- Each NFT must be stored in a separate folder within a GitHub repository. If you wish to submit more than one NFT, it must be in a separate folder in the same repository. Submissions per participant are limited to a maximum of 3.
- Submissions must be original creations by the participant.
- Be original content. Not AI-generated content.
You may submit multiple distinct projects, but they must be materially different.
Judging Criteria
Categories 1–4 (Code-Based Projects)
- Impact (25%) – Does this make building on Midnight easier or more powerful?
- Reusability (25%) – Can other developers quickly adopt or extend it?
- Quality (25%) – Is the code robust, documented, and tested?
- Adoption Potential (25%) – Does it solve a real need for Midnight devs?
Category 5 (NFT Design)
- Creativity & Originality (25%) – Is the design unique and visually compelling?
- Technical Execution (25%) – Is the artwork clean, professional, and well-formatted?
- Relevance to Midnight (25%) – Does the concept align with our challenge themes?
- Impact (25%) – Does it provoke thought or capture Midnight’s mission?
You can review the full requirements in the Official Rules Document
Join the Community
Have questions? Need teammates? Jump into the #dev-corner channel on Discord and say hi! All activity will happen on Discord. This is a remote-first hackathon. You can build from anywhere.