Announcing the GitHub Actions Hackathon on DEV!
Tags: actionshackathon, actions, opensource, github
Published: 2020-08-13 17:08:24

---
title: Announcing the GitHub Actions Hackathon on DEV!
published: true
description: Join us for this opportunity to build projects with GitHub Actions while earning some great prizes and serious bragging rights!
tags: actionshackathon, actions, opensource, github
cover_image: https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/xnzigbzxrvzif1v7ge86.png
---

**We are thrilled to announce a new hackathon on DEV: GitHub Actions For Open Source!**

From now through to September 17, you’ll have the opportunity to win sweet prizes by building and sharing GitHub Actions that benefit open source. We want to check out all your awesome workflows. From API management to project management, and everything in between! Read on to learn more.

### What Are GitHub Actions?
GitHub Actions are individual tasks that, when combined, result in a custom workflow that’s all your own! 

GitHub Actions allow you to automate and customize your software development workflows. Actions are located in the same place you store code, collaborate with peers, solve issues, and ship open source software — GitHub! 

Whether you build a custom action or integrate an existing one into your workflow for the hackathon, we hope that you’ll walk away with a greater understanding of the value of GitHub Actions — for you and the open source community. 

We’re excited to see how you approach this challenge! [More on GitHub Actions here](https://docs.github.com/en/actions).

### Categories
The GitHub Actions Hackathon is calling for projects in these categories:

- **Maintainer Must-Haves:** make the lives of open source maintainers easier. 
- **DIY Deployments:** improve the deployment process for open source projects. 
- **Interesting IoT:** celebrating projects that integrate with IoT in some way
- **Phone Friendly:** workflows built for Mobile (PWA readiness, iOS/Android)
- **Wacky Wildcards:** anything that doesn’t fit in an above category (note, [truly wacky](https://twitter.com/tartanllama/status/1163927778376462337?lang=en) submissions are encouraged)

### Why Participate?
The core philosophy behind open source software is code, technology, and the services we use are stronger and more secure when peer-review is both solicited and easily accessible. To be truly involved in the open source community, you (of course) need to participate! GitHub Actions are the perfect way to contribute to open source while optimizing your workflows.

If that’s not incentive enough, we also have some sweet, sweet prizes!

### Prizes 

_**5 Grand Prize Winners**_ (one in each category):
- $1,500 USD gift card or equivalent
- $300 USD credit to the DEV Shop
- GitHub Swag Pack
- DEV Sticker Pack
- DEV “Actions Hackathon” grand prize winner badge

_**Runner-Up Prizes**_ (10 Total):
- $250 USD gift card or equivalent
- $150 USD credit to the DEV Shop
- GitHub Swag Pack
- DEV Sticker Pack
- DEV “Actions Hackathon” runner-up badge

_**Participants**_ (with a valid project):
- DEV Sticker Pack
- DEV “Actions Hackathon” participant profile badge

### How to Participate

There’s already an awesome library of [GitHub Actions](https://github.com/actions), so for this hackathon, we challenge you to submit workflows by leveraging _existing_ actions. You are, of course, welcome to create custom actions, too.

In order to submit a valid project, please follow the submission process and rules closely.

#### How To Submit
- Document your project journey along the way with the [#ActionsHackathon](https://dev.to/t/actionshackathon) tag.
- Submit your project as a DEV post by filling out [this template](https://dev.to/new/actionshackathon) to share your workflows (.yml) and/or code repository. 
- If you’re sharing a repository as part of your submission, please be sure the project includes [an open source license](https://choosealicense.com/) and README.

#### Additional Rules
_NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open only to 18+. Contest entry period ends September 17, 11:59 pm PT. Contest is void where prohibited or restricted by law or regulation. For Official Rules, see [Contest Announcement Page](https://dev.to/page/actions-hackathon-rules) and [General Contest Official Rules](https://dev.to/page/official-hackathon-rules)._

#### Community Support

The GitHub team will be available to help anyone who runs into issues or has questions related to GitHub Actions. You can reach the GitHub team by leaving a comment in the [GitHub Actions Hackathon help thread](https://dev.to/devteam/github-actions-hackathon-help-thread-1li4).

We also have a [community update thread](https://dev.to/devteam/share-your-github-actions-hackathon-updates-251m) where you can share your ideas and gather feedback as you begin making progress on your submission. We encourage you to share your progress along the way to generate more excitement and benefit from additional community feedback suggestions!

### Important Dates 🗓
- August 13: Hackathon Begins!
- September 17: Hackathon Submission Due at 11:59 PM PST.
- September 23: Hackathon Winners Announced

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**We can’t wait to see what you build. Happy coding!**