A challenge is born.
DigitalOcean launches Hacktoberfest: open four pull requests in October, earn a t-shirt.
October 2026 · 300+ eventsIn person and online
Hacktoberfest 2026: AI belongs to everyone.
Bring Hacktoberfest to your city. Host a one-day fest to give your community the tools and knowledge to experiment and build with open source AI. Snacks and swag, on us.
The story so far
From four PRs to 300+ events.
What began as a simple pull-request challenge has grown into one of the largest developer traditions in the world. Here’s how we got here and where we will go next.
A generation joins open source.
Thousands of developers made their first contribution and discovered the power of community! As the ecosystem grew, maintainers started to face a massive flood of activity and burnout from the rise of low-effort PRs.
A new chapter.
Under the stewardship of long-time partners Major League Hacking (MLH) and DEV, Hacktoberfest refocuses on high-value, meaningful learning. Online and local events (Fests) everywhere, all about building with open source AI.
The mission
Why we’re doing this.
Hacktoberfest has always been about empowering people to build open software together. For years, that energy was measured by pull requests and developers making their first open-source contributions. But open source was never defined by a PR counter. Open source is a philosophy centered on transparency and collective ownership.
In an era where AI tools make low-effort PRs easier than ever to generate, maintainers face unprecedented volume and noise. This year, Hacktoberfest is focused on high-value, meaningful learning: giving everyone the tools and knowledge to experiment and build with open artificial intelligence.
By joining Hacktoberfest, online or in-person, you can expect to learn about open-weight models, open source agents, and more. We believe open innovation must be prioritized alongside proprietary tools for an ecosystem to remain healthy and resilient. Instead of counting PRs, you’ll write your first skills.md, build your own open-source agent, fine-tune an open-weight model, or go wherever your curiosity takes you.
Hacktoberfest 2026 is about meeting you wherever you are in your open source AI journey because we believe AI belongs to everyone.
Get involved
Help make it happen.
Every Fest comes to life through local organizers raising their hands and sponsors providing their support. If you want to help shape Hacktoberfest 2026, we’d love to have you on board.
Bring Hacktoberfest to your city.
Anyone can host a Fest. Are you part of a local meetup group? University club? Or perhaps you and a few coworkers have the power to book a conference room… let’s bring Hacktoberfest to your community.
Every Fest is eligible for stickers, swag, and programming support. Hack Day hosts also receive funding to help cover their event.
Host a FestBack open source AI.
Tell your Marketing and Dev Rel teams about Hacktoberfest.
Sponsors make the swag and in-person Fests possible. Be part of this new Hacktoberfest chapter and get your brand in front of our massive global community of software creators.
Common questions
Everything else, answered.
Hacktoberfest works differently this year, and a new format always comes with questions. We have the answers: here’s what to know about hosting a Fest, taking part, and what comes next.
What is Hacktoberfest?
Hacktoberfest is a global celebration of open source that runs throughout October. This year, Hacktoberfest is run by Major League Hacking (MLH) and DEV in partnership with DigitalOcean.
How is Hacktoberfest 2026 different from previous years?
Hacktoberfest 2026 will feature 300+ in-person and online community events worldwide focused on hands-on building, experimentation, and learning with open-source AI and open-weight models. In previous years, Hacktoberfest focused on counting individual contributions to open-source projects.
What is a “Fest”?
A Fest is an official, in-person Hacktoberfest event lasting up to 12 hours, designed to bring local developer communities together to learn and build with open-source AI.
How do community members apply to host a Fest?
Organizers can apply via the host portal. Visit our organizer guide to learn more about the Fest hosting process.
