Hacktoberfest (MLH) x Green Reliable Software Budapest: Greener Fields
About
HACK4EARTH 2.0 returns this October as a month-long Green + Open Software initiative.
Under the theme Greener Fields, builders will explore how open technology can make the systems we depend on more secure, efficient and resilient.
Participants will be free to define their own problem, stack and approach across three broad technical directions:
SECURE: cybersecurity, privacy, cryptography, software supply chains and trustworthy systems
EFFICIENT: green software, computing efficiency, cloud, data, AI and hardware
RESILIENT: food, water, energy, communications, climate and critical infrastructure
The hackathon itself is free to participate in and will run throughout October 2026, with online building, technical sessions, open-source activities and selected physical activity in Budapest.
Visit our main Hackathon page for detailed challenge outcomes.
Prize Categories
3 categories- View Best Use of Gemma 4
Best Use of Gemma 4
It’s time to see how much you can build with a lightweight, open model. Gemma 4 packs multimodal intelligence into an open-weights model that you can access through the Gemini API. So, what can Gemma 4 bring to your project?
- Multimodal Experience: Work with text and images to create an assistant that understands more of what users share.
- Focused AI Tools: Build a focused AI tool for learning, creativity, productivity, or your community.
- Rapid Prototyping: Experiment with an open model while using the Gemini API to move quickly from an idea to a working prototype.
Bring your idea to life… what will you build with Gemma 4 today?
Build with Gemma 4View category - View Best Open-Source AI Project
Best Open-Source AI Project
Exclusive Hacktoberfest 2026 Winner DEV Badge & MLH Swag Bag
Build an original project that uses open-source or open-weight AI as an important part of how it works. Teams could create an agent skill, build with an open-weight large or small language model, or build or adapt an open-source model harness.
Build with DigitalOceanView category - View HACK4EARTH 2.0 — Greener Fields | Final SubmissionEvent prize
HACK4EARTH 2.0 — Greener Fields | Final Submission
Community recognition + potential invitation to TraceLab (up to 3 selected teams)
Build for a greener future! Tackle SECURE, EFFICIENT or RESILIENT challenges. Submit your project on Kaggle before the deadline.
View category
