hackathon-resources

🛠 Free useful things to help build your hackathon project (or any project, for that matter)! Want to share something that helped you a lot? Contributions are welcome! Remember, properly credit any resources based on the licenses they provide and that in the interest of fairness don't start hacking before the event!

Table of Contents

1. Standard Boilerplates
2. Libraries/Packages
3. Platforms/APIs/Cloud Computing Services
4. Design Tools
5. Backend/Database
6. Hardware Specific
7. Deployment/Web Hosting
8. Collaboration Tools/Other

Also see Contribution Guidelines, Credits, and Where Else Should I Look?.

Standard Boilerplates

Name	Technology/Framework	Use	Language(s)
MLH Flask Starter	Flask	backend/web dev, API creation	Python
MLH Node.js Starter	Node.js	backend/web dev	JavaScript
Sahat's Hackathon Starter	Node.js	web dev	JavaScript
h5bp's HTML5 Boilerplate	HTML5	web dev	JavaScript
React Boilerplate	React	frontend/web dev	JavaScript
Electron-React Boilerplate	React	frontend/web dev	JavaScript
hitherejoe's Android Boilerplate	Android	mobile app dev	Java
Kriasoft's React Starter Kit	React	frontend/web dev	TypeScript
Google's Web Starter Kit	HTML5	web dev	JavaScript
erikras' React-Redux Universal Hot Example	React	web dev	JavaScript
PatrickJS' Angular Starter	Angular	frontend/web dev	JavaScript
coryhouse's React Slingshot	React	frontend/web dev	JavaScript
Ant Design's Ant Design Pro Boilerplate	React	frontend/web dev	TypeScript
dhg's Skeleton Boilerplate	CSS	frontend/web dev	CSS
SimulatedGREG's Electron-Vue Boilerplate	Vue.js	frontend/web dev	JavaScript
Infinite Red's React Native Boilerplate	React Native	mobile app dev	TypeScript
Internet Development Studio's NextJS-Sass Starter	NextJS	frontend/web dev	TypeScript
Planter Basic	Vite.JS	frontend/web dev	JavaScript
Planter Svelte	Svelte	frontend/web dev	Svelte

Libraries/Packages

Name	Use	Language(s)
mholt's PapaParse	web dev	JavaScript
TensorFlow	machine learning	Python, Java
SciKit Learn	machine learning	Python
Keras	machine learning	Python
PyTorch	machine learning	Python
SciPy	math	Python
Pandas	data analysis	Python
Jest	testing, web dev	JavaScript
Enzyme	testing, web dev	JavaScript
Redux	state management, React, web dev	JavaScript, HTML, CSS
Redux Router	routing, Redux, web dev	JavaScript, HTML, CSS
Dash	data visualization	Python
PyGame	game engine	Python
Pillow	image manipulation	Python
Nodemailer	sending emails	JavaScript

Platforms/APIs/Cloud Computing Services

Name	About
IBM Cloud	cloud service
Microsoft Azure	cloud service
Google Cloud	cloud service
Amazon Web Service	cloud service
API list	API repo
Any API	API repo
Postman	API client
Insomnia REST	API client

Design Tools

Name	Use
Google Fonts	fonts
Google Material	icons, UI components
Figma	protoypes, design collaboration
Invision	prototypes, design collaboration
LucidChart	prototypes, diagrams
the Noun Project	icons
flaticon	icons
OpenMoji	icons
Blueprint.js	UI components, React
UIKit	UI components
Milligram	CSS framework
Semantic UI	UI components
Bootstrap	UI components + utilities
Flutter	widget-based UI
logomakr	logos + designs
Unsplash	stock images
Free Font Library	fonts
Use & Modify	fonts
Velvetyne	fonts

Backend/Database

Name	Use
mongoDB	database
Redis	database
CockroachDB	database
jackyzha0's nanoDB	similar to Redis but with MongoDB style documents, database
Django	backend, Python-based
Express.js	backend, Node.js-based
Flask	backend, Python-based
Fastify	backend, Node.js-based
Socket.io	real-time communication, backend, frontend

Hardware Specific

Name	Use
Arduino Web Editor	code editor
Digikey Scheme-it	schematics
Adafruit Learn	tutorials + learning
Raspberry Pi Imager	installing OS
EasyEDA	PCB design

Deployment/Web Hosting

Name	Use
Netlify	hosting and serverless backend for web apps/static sites
GitHub Pages	host site directly from a GitHub repository
Heroku	Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Cloudflare	CDN and DDoS mitigation
Firebase	Google's mobile app dev platform

Collaboration Tools/Other

Name	Use
GitHub Student Development Pack	student access to coding resources
Google Colaboratory	good for TensorFlow/Python, collaborative code editing
Glitch	full-stack web dev, collaborative code editing
GitHub Desktop	Git client
GitAhead	Git client
Notion	project planning
Trello	project planning
Miro	virtual whiteboard
Excalidraw	virtual whiteboard
diagrams.net/draw.io	chart creation
Kinopio	chart creation/project planning
Xournal++	note-taking/drawing
Dev Starter Pack	save on some paid software (e.g. one year free)

Contribution Guidelines

If you've found this useful, consider sharing your own knowledge!

• Share a Resource

  Open up a pull request adding your resource to one of the above tables; and in the PR message specify the name of the table, name of the resource, the technology/framework(s), type (type being the area in tech your resource falls under, see above for examples), and the programming language(s) that your resource uses.

• Share a Code Snippet

  Create a new file that has the language, and a blurb of the purpose as the title. Inside the file, make sure you comment as much as possible - so that it's clear to know what your code is doing.

Credits

See something here that you'd like taken down? Please open up a pull request removing the item and specifying a reason for your decision.

Where Else Should I Look?

If you're interested in applying "YAGNI" ("You aren't gonna need it") principles to your development process, check out How to Save Time at a Hackathon by Paul Melnikow. There is also an extensive list of tools put together by nyhackathons here. Major League Hacking also maintains a list of free perks here. Finally, there's Free resources for building hackathon apps quickly from Develop Intelligence and The Hackathon Toolbox that discuss some good resources too.