Wikimania

2026:Hackathon

(Redirected from Hackathon)
Translate this page; This page contains changes which are not marked for translation.

🗼 Wikimania 2026 will provide two opportunities of creativity, collaboration, and innovation set against the vibrant city of Paris, France. A vital part of Wikimania is the creation of collaboration and learning spaces for technical contributors, curious Wikimedians and knowledge enthusiasts. During this year’s Wikimania, the technical space will host an event where developers, designers, researchers, editors, and community builders from around the world meet to collectively address technical challenges faced by the Wikimedia community.

The technical event will have two main components:

  • Team Challenges (pre-event and July 21-22): A hackathon-style event focused on team challenges that will bring together developers and non-developers, Wikimania attendees and the local technical community. Please see the Team Challenges page for more details.
  • Hackathon (July 23-25): Similar to previous years, the Hackathon will provide an opportunity for the Wikimedia community to collaborate on technical projects and solve problems together.We want to enable newcomers, especially from non-developers backgrounds, to come to meet the Wikimedia communities and bring their own fresh point of view and skillsets! The Hackathon is open to Wikimania participants. Full details are described below.

Program & Schedule

The hackathon will run from Thursday, July 23 to Saturday, July 25 and will be held in The Loft. During these days, there will be:

July 23, 2026

Workshops*

* These are the only workshops that will be scheduled during the hackathon, given space constraints, no additional sessions or workshops will be scheduled.

July 24, 2026

  • 930am - 7pm: Hacking
  • 1 - 2:30pm: Lunch

July 25, 2026

Note: All times indicated are the local time in Paris, France.

Developer Corner

Throughout the hackathon there will be “Developer Corner”, where Wikimania participants can have a developer help them with a bot, script, or submitting a bug or wish. If you’d like support from an experienced developer, please stop by!

Registration and Participation

Registration

All registered Wikimania attendees are welcome to participate in the hackathon. Please come join us in The Loft from July 23 to 25!

Identifying a project to work on

If you already know what you’d like to hack on during the Wikmania Hackathon, you can  propose a project by adding it  to the event’s Phabricator board, under the “Proposed Hackathon projects” column.Make sure to indicate area’s where you could use support or would benefit from a different skill set!

If you’re looking for a project to work on, you can find inspiration by:

  • Checking out the hackathon’s Phabricator board: Are there any projects that you’d like to contribute to? Comment on the ticket or reach out to the person who proposed it!
  • Looking through the Community Wishlist: The Community Wishlist allows Wikimedians to identify tools or technical improvements that would facilitate their editing work. If you’d like to make someone’s wish a reality, we recommend looking through those tagged “hackathonable” or those with the status of “community opportunity”

Remember: Participating in the hackathon does not require coding skills! There are other key skills such as translation, documentation, project management, UX/UI design and many others that are greatly appreciated!

If you’re still not sure how to get involved, please talk to the one of the event organizers who would be happy to connect you to a project that would benefit from your skills.

Pitching your project during the opening ceremony

During the Hackathon Opening Ceremony (July 23 from 930 - 11am CEST in The Loft), there will be an opportunity for all in-person participants to “pitch” their project or their skillset.

Each pitch should:

  • Last no more than 30 seconds
    • At the 30 second mark, the host and other participants will begin clapping to indicate that the time is up
  • Use the microphone provided, otherwise those watching the livestream will not hear
  • Be entirely an oral update, slides or visuals will not be supported
  • Include the following details
    • Your (user)name
    • What you’re planning to work on
    • What kind of support you need
    • How other participants can contribute
    • How other participants can reach out to you
  • Be added to the Opening Ceremony Etherpad, so that participants can refer back to the pitches and more easily find the projects they want to work on
  • Bonus: If it’s your first time at the hackathon, let the room know so that others can reach out to welcome you!The goal of the pitches is not to perfectly describe the project, but rather to give enough detail so that others understand the work, how they might contribute and who to reach out to.

Presenting your project during the closing showcase

During the Hackathon Closing Showcase (July 25th from 4-5pm CEST in the Amphitheatre) there will be an opportunity for all in-person participants to present the outcomes of the projects that they worked on during the hackathon. It is not necessary to have a completed project to present, this is an opportunity to present prototypes, lessons learned, updates and demos.

Each project presentation should:

  • Respect the specific timeline provide
    • Once the set amount of time for the presentation has been reached, the host and the other participants will begin clapping to indicate that time is up
  • Use the microphone provided, otherwise those watching the livestream will not hear
  • Tell us about your project
    • Why you created it
    • What problem is solves
    • What is left to do
    • How others can use it or contribute
  • Use a shared laptop (provided by the organizers), individual laptops will not be connected to the AV system due to time limitations
  • Be added to the Closing Showcase’s Etherpad, including any relevant links so these can be accessed during the presentation

Some tips and tricks for project presentations:

  • Limit the number of links you want to share
    • Needing to open multiple links can be stressful
    • Links take time to load, plan for that in your overall presentation time
  • Make sure your links are publicly accessibly
    • This means that any Google Doc links should provide access to “Anyone with the link”
  • Practice your presentation
    • The time will go by faster than you expect, especially if you’re waiting for your demo or links to open
    • You’ll need to hold a microphone and manage the laptop, this is important to consider if you need to type as part of your demo
  • Be ready to walk on stage immediately after the previous person has finished, time is limited and waiting between presenters takes up valuable time

Note: Based on the number of participants who would like to present during the closing showcase, the above timelines and details may be altered to better accommodate all presenters.

Highlighting translation, documentation and mentorship

The Wikimania Hackathon is a unique space, taking place in parallel to the largest yearly gathering of Wikimedians. The hackathon seeks to create a space where “more good code” is created and coding is a key way to contribute to this goal, but it’s not the only one!

At this year’s hackathon, we seek to highlight the range of ways that participants can contribute to technical projects, by placing an emphasis on translation, documentation and mentorship. So, whether you’re an experienced technical contributor or simply curious about how you might participate in the hackathon space, read on!

Translation

Documentation

Mentorship

  • Context: In the 2026 Developer Satisfaction Survey, a number of community members highlighted the importance of mentorship and feedback loops for retaining newcomers and sharing skills among experienced contributors. Mentorship can exist in many forms, from structured internships programs (such as Outreachy and Google Summer of Code), to informal peer learning and sharing, which often occurs during hackathons. We would like to encourage this informal peer mentorship during this event.  

To celebrate these contribution areas, small prizes will be given to the participant who makes the most significant contribution in each of these categories. This is an informal celebration, so participants will be asked to make their own judgements about what counts as a “significant contribution”. The winner will be selected by fellow participants through a Menti poll on the afternoon of Saturday, July 23rd.

How to Prepare

  • Bring Your Laptop: Don't forget your computer and charger to be able to participate fully (we’ll provide stickers!).
  • If you’re a developer, set up your laptop with a development environment you might need: Follow the instructions on the laptop setup page to find out more about our development environments (e.g.: creating a Phabricator account, Git, Gerrit, and more).
  • If you have a non-developer background: Make sure to have your favorite design, graphics, music and/or software installed and ready to go!
  • Browse Resources: if you are a newcomer, please feel free to check out and try your hands on some of these resources before attending the hackathon.
  • Browse Projects: Check out the submitted projects on Phabricator. See what others are planning and find ideas that match your skills and interests. The project tag is Wikimania-Hackathon-2026.
  • Join the Conversation: Connect with other participants before the event through our communication channels.

Volunteers

The Hackathon is run by and for its participants. You can help make it a great experience for everyone!

  • Documentation: Help take notes during the opening and closing sessions. Feel free to document other technology track related sessions using etherpad.
  • Photography: Capture moments and upload them to the Hackathon Commons Category. Be sure to follow the event's photography policy.
  • Blogging: Write about the hackathon experience, the projects you've seen, or the people you've met.
  • Help Desk: Assist others with questions, directions, or technical queries.

Communicate

The following channels are used to connect with other participants. You only need to join one chat platform, as they are bridged together.

Chat:

  • Telegram (Wikimedia Hackathon group)
  • Matrix (#wikimedia-hackathon:matrix.org)
  • IRC (#wikimedia-hackathon)

Social Media: Use the hashtag #wmhack on Mastodon and other platforms.

On-wiki discussion: Use the Hackathon talk page or the Team Challenges talk page for questions.

Code of Conduct

To ensure a positive and inclusive environment, all Hackathon participants must adhere to the Code of Conduct for technical spaces. We prioritize respect and cooperation among attendees. Failure to comply may result in being asked to leave the event. Let's work together to create a welcoming and safe experience for everyone.

Media

Organizing Team


This team coordinates all aspects of the Wikimania Hackathon. They support project organizers, mentors, and participants, and ensure that technical contributors have a welcoming space to collaborate. They are also responsible for the Hackathon pages on the Wikimania wiki and managing tools like Phabricator for project submissions.


Retrieved from "https://wikimania.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=2026:Hackathon&oldid=570767"