t.a.c Internal Hackathon · Q2 2026

The Niha Builder Challenge

One dev. One problem. Ship it. A solo hackathon where you pick a real platform problem, build it end-to-end like an AI-native engineer, and ship production-ready code that’s demo-ready, mergeable, and tested.

23
Challenges
8
Streams
7
Days
Solo
No Teams
₹25K
Top Reward
🚀

It’s on — Mon 4 May, 12:00 AM IST

The Niha Builder Challenge — Q2 2026 — opens registrations at midnight IST on Monday 4 May and runs for 7 days, with the deadline extended to Mon 11 May at 10:00 AM IST. Pick one of 23 challenges across 8 streams (Platform API, Governance Engine, Niha CLI ⚡, Web Core, Web Governance, AI Conversation, Agent System, Scaffolding). Solo only. Zero blocking dependencies. Tiered rewards — everyone who scores 50+ gets paid. Live countdown below — set your alarm.

⏱ Registrations open in
0
Days
0
Hours
0
Mins
0
Secs
Registrations Open
Mon 4 May 2026 · 12:00 AM IST
Submissions Close
Mon 11 May 2026 · 10:00 AM IST
Reward Tiers
Everyone who meets the minimum bar gets paid. No lottery, no “top 3 only.” Multiple winners per tier are expected.
🏆
Level 1 — Builder
₹25,000
Score 90–100. Production-grade. Zero known bugs. Full edge case coverage. Could merge to main today.
🥈
Level 2 — Contributor
₹15,000
Score 70–89. Solid implementation. Tests pass. Demo works. Minor gaps acceptable.
🥉
Level 3 — Starter
₹10,000
Score 50–69. Core functionality works. Has tests. Demoable. Some edge cases missing.
Below 50 → ₹0 + written feedback. Resubmissions encouraged. Speed/Quality/Teaching bonus recognition (no extra cash) for first Level 1, highest score, and standout helpers.
How It Works
Mon 4 May → Sun 10 May — 7 days, end to end.
📣
Mon 4 May
Announce & Claim
Registrations open at 12:00 AM IST. Pick one (first-come-first-served), claim it in the Teams channel: “I’m taking Challenge #N”.
📝
Tue 5 May
Setup & Plan
Fork from main, create branch challenge/{N}-{your-name}, read the brief, set up your env, ask questions.
🔨
Wed 6 – Sat 9 May
Build & Test
4 working days. Follow .dev/conventions/. Use AI tools heavily. Write tests as you go. Daily stream-owner office hours.
🚀
Mon 11 May
PR & Demo — Deadline 10:00 AM IST
Submit a single PR to main with code, tests, and CLAUDE.md updates. Record a demo video or schedule a 10-minute live walkthrough.
🎧
Mon 11 May+
Judging & Rewards
Auto-checks gate → 2 judges score per dimension → per-dimension feedback within 24h. Everyone scoring 50+ gets paid.
Judging Criteria
5 dimensions, 20 points each, 100 total. Two judges score every dimension independently — if they disagree by more than 5 points, a third judge breaks the tie.
✅
Functionality 20 pts
Does it work end-to-end, not just the happy path? Acceptance criteria met. Edge cases handled. Graceful errors.
🛠
Code Quality 20 pts
Reads like production code. Follows .dev/conventions/. Type-safe, no security issues, no dead code.
🧪
Testing 20 pts
Can someone refactor it without fear? Unit + integration tests. Edge cases covered. Coverage >60% (Level 2), >80% (Level 1).
🧱
Integration & Architecture 20 pts
Could it merge tomorrow without breaking anything? Uses platform patterns (MCP, bridge, config cascade). Clean API boundaries.
🎥
Demo & Documentation 20 pts
10-minute demo showing end-to-end flow. PR description explains what/why/how. CLAUDE.md updated where needed.
⚙️ Pre-Judging Auto-Checks (pass/fail gate)
Before any human review, your PR must pass: pytest (Python), vitest (TypeScript), ruff + eslint linting, and no hardcoded secrets. Fail the gate → the rubric isn’t scored.
View full scoring rubric, reward tiers & score calculator →

Rules & Guidelines

1
Solo only. No teams, no pair programming. One challenge per person — pick wisely.
2
Claim it in the channel. Post “I’m taking Challenge #N” in the Teams channel. First-come-first-served. If you drop out, the challenge reopens 48h later.
3
Branch convention. Fork from main, create branch challenge/{N}-{your-name}, e.g. challenge/03-ravi.
4
Follow SIE standards. Code in .dev/conventions/ (Python, TypeScript, architecture, testing, security). Linting and full test suite must pass in CI.
5
Use AI tools heavily — but understand every line. “The AI wrote it” isn’t an acceptable demo answer. AI-assisted is fine; AI-generated-and-not-understood is not.
6
Ship one PR to main. Code, tests, CLAUDE.md updates, PR description (what / how to run / how to test / edge cases / known limits), plus a 10-min demo (recorded or live).
The Challenges
23 real problems across 8 streams. Pick one. Read the brief. Ship it solo.
23 challenges 8 streams 255 stories zero blocking deps
Participate
Registration is quick (2 min). Your Project Workspace unlocks during build week for idea, solution, and delivery.
1
Register
2
Idea Brief
3
Solution Plan
4
Project Delivery
Step 01

Register Your Interest

Sign up today — takes 2 minutes. Come back during the week for the remaining steps.

I'm registering for The Niha Builder Challenge — Q2 2026 (Mon 4 May → Mon 11 May, 10:00 AM IST). I understand this is a solo hackathon (no teams), I'll follow .dev/conventions/, ship a single PR with code + tests + demo, and present a 10-minute walkthrough if asked.
🎉

You're in!

Registration complete! Your spot is secured. Here's what comes next during build week:

📋
Day 1
Setup, claim challenge in Teams
🔨
Days 2–5
Build with AI, write tests as you go
🚀
Days 6–7
Submit PR + 10-min demo
REGISTRATION CONFIRMED
You can close this page and come back anytime. We'll remember you. Bookmark this page to quickly access your Project Workspace during build week.
Step 02

Define Your Problem

Great solutions start with a clearly understood problem. Research it well.

A concise name for the problem (max 80 chars)
0/80
Make sure you've claimed this challenge in the Teams channel — first-come-first-served.
What is happening? When? What are the pain points?
Which people, teams, or roles experience this?
Data or interviews validating this is a real problem.
How is this handled today?
How significant would solving this be?
Minor irritation Transformative
Step 03

Design Your Solution

You have 1 week. Think MVP. Think AI-first. Think shipped.

How does it work? How is AI involved?
Select all that apply
Be concrete
3–5 core features, one per line
Languages, frameworks, platforms
What are you NOT building this week?
Step 04

Submit Your PR

A single PR to main on the challenge/{N}-{your-name} branch. CI must be green.

What to submit
✶ Single PR to main from branch challenge/{N}-{your-name}
✶ All source code + unit and integration tests (must pass CI)
✶ Updated CLAUDE.md if you added new components
✶ PR description: what you built / how to run / how to test / edge cases / known limits
✶ 10-minute demo — recorded video or availability for live walkthrough
Link directly to your PR. Branch must follow challenge/{N}-{your-name}. CI must be green before judging.
Loom, YouTube (unlisted) — 10 minutes max. Required if you can’t do a live walkthrough.
If applicable — preview deployment, Vercel, Render, etc.
Optional — useful for design-system or UX-heavy challenges.
Walk judges through what the app does
What was hardest? How did AI help?
What % was AI-generated or AI-assisted?
I confirm this is my original work built during the challenge week. I'm available for Demo Day and consent to the project being showcased internally.
🏆

Submission Received!

Your project is in the running. Judges will review after the deadline — shortlisted teams will be invited to Demo Day.

What Happens Next

→ Judges review all submissions after the deadline
→ Shortlisted teams invited to live Demo Day
→ Winners announced early next week (23–27 Mar)
Build what changes everything.

The Niha Builder Challenge — t.a.c Internal Hackathon · Q2 2026

Full codebase access. 7 days. Ship something real.

Scale without losing clarity, quality, or trust.