• Hackathon begins: Saturday, September 5 at 12:00 PM EDT
• Submissions close: Sunday, September 6 at 6:00 PM EDT

1. Participants may compete individually or as a team.
2. All team members must register individually for the hackathon.
3. The hackathon is open online worldwide. Attendance at an in-person build station requires separate confirmation from the relevant venue team.
4. All project work must begin after the official hackathon start time.

1. Previously built or substantially pre-existing projects are not eligible.
2. Every project must use AO throughout the development process and demonstrate that usage in the final demo.
3. Each project may enter only one track.
4. Participants must own the work they submit. Open-source libraries, APIs, models, datasets, and other third-party tools may be used when properly credited.
5. Plagiarism, fabricated results, copied submissions, or misrepresentation of project progress will result in disqualification.
6. Participants must follow applicable laws and must not build projects intended to cause harm, invade privacy, or misuse personal or financial information.
7. Organizers may verify repositories, commit history, AO usage, demos, and other submission materials before confirming eligibility.

The hackathon offers $10,000 in cash prizes and partner credits. Prize distribution is listed on the hackathon homepage. Winners must satisfy all eligibility and submission requirements. Partner credits may be subject to the relevant partner's platform terms.

AO usage is mandatory for eligibility and will be verified through the submission and demo. Eligible projects will be judged on:

• Practical use case and user value
• Working end-to-end product
• Agent autonomy and tool use
• Reliability and exception handling
• Measurable improvements in accuracy, cost, speed, or completion rate
• Alignment with the selected track
• Early traction or user validation
• Demo clarity

Judging may take up to one week after submissions close. This period may be shortened or extended depending on the number of eligible submissions. Judges' decisions are final.

All participants, organizers, judges, partners, and venue teams must be treated respectfully. Harassment, discrimination, threats, intimidation, or disruptive conduct will not be tolerated online or at any in-person build station.

Participants must follow venue instructions and respect other attendees, equipment, and property. Anyone who violates this code of conduct may be removed from the event and disqualified.

Organizers may clarify these rules or resolve situations not explicitly covered here when necessary to protect participants and maintain fair judging.