Overview
The Codex x TwitchCon Hackathon is an online hackathon run on Devpost in partnership with OpenAI and Twitch. Participants build projects for streamers and their communities on Twitch using OpenAI Codex. The goal is to create useful and creative experiences that help chat play along, help streamers create together, or add new elements to the content they stream. Participants leave with a working project and hands-on experience building with Codex.
The hackathon is positioned as a way for developers to shape how streamers and viewers experience live content on Twitch, with AI as a building tool.
Key dates
- Start: October 23, 2026
- Deadline: November 2, 2026 at 2:00pm PST
- Winners announced: Live at TwitchCon San Diego on November 15, 2026
Prizes
The hackathon offers $25,000 in total prizes:
- 1st place: $10,000 in cash and stage time at TwitchCon
- 2nd place: $6,000 in cash and stage time at TwitchCon
- 3rd place: $4,000 in cash and stage time at TwitchCon
- Runner-ups: $2,500 each for two winners, with stage time at TwitchCon
The top 5 projects will be showcased on the Codex Booth stage at TwitchCon San Diego.
What to build
Projects must connect to Twitch, for example through the Twitch API, EventSub, chat, Extensions, or overlays, and must be built with OpenAI Codex. The organizers suggest three directions:
- Streamer collaboration: tools that help streamers talk, play, or create together on stream.
- Audience participation: features that let chat join in, such as a Twitch Plays game, live polls, or streamer distractions.
- Content enhancements: tools built around what is being streamed, such as a dice roller for tabletop streams, a live sports overlay, or a tool for IRL and science streams.
These are starting points rather than templates. Judges are looking for original ideas, and projects can be ambitious or small and scrappy.
Who can participate
Participants must be above the age of majority in their country of residence. Companies and professional organizations are excluded. The hackathon is open to all countries and territories, subject to standard exceptions.
Format
The hackathon is fully online. Participants build their projects during the submission period and use Codex to help set up the Twitch API, EventSub, and chat integrations.
Submission requirements
Each submission must include:
- A code repository URL on GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket. The repository must contain all source code, assets, and instructions needed to run the project. It may be public or private, but private repositories must be hosted on GitHub or GitLab and shared with the hackathon team.
- A demo video of up to 3 minutes showing the project working on Twitch and how Codex was used. The video must be uploaded to YouTube and set to publicly visible.
- A project description explaining the features, functionality, and how Codex was used.
- A Codex session ID for the thread where most of the build took place. Participants can find it by typing /status in Codex.
Judging criteria
Projects are evaluated by a panel of qualified judges on four criteria:
- Innovation and idea: how creative and novel the concept is, and how it differs from existing ideas.
- Potential impact: how useful or entertaining the project is for streamers and their communities.
- Technological implementation: how well the project is built and how well it uses Codex.
- Design: how easy the project is to use and how fun it is to watch.
Getting started
Participants should sign in to Codex and start a new thread for their project. Build resources are available at dev.twitch.tv. The Example Chatbot guide is recommended for those who want a chatbot running quickly. Questions can be asked in the TwitchDev Discord, and general questions and updates are shared in the #codex-twitchcon-hackathon channel. Other questions can be sent to the hackathon manager by email.
Event details
The hackathon is managed by Devpost and is tagged under communication, gaming, and machine learning/AI. At the time of the page capture, 264 participants had joined.
