create-hackathon-app

Scaffold a complete hackathon project in under 60 seconds.

npx create-hackathon-app

What you get

Run one command, answer 12 questions, and walk away with:

A working full-stack codebase

• Frontend (Next.js, React, Vue, SvelteKit, and more)
• Backend (Express, FastAPI, NestJS, Go, and more)
• Database layer (Prisma, Mongoose, Supabase, Firebase)
• Auth (JWT, OAuth, NextAuth, Clerk, Auth0)
• Add-ons: Docker, WebSockets, AI module, Stripe, file uploads, email, rate limiting

A complete operational layer

• docs/PRESENTATION.md — slide-by-slide pitch guide, pre-filled with your project data
• docs/DELIVERABLES.md — submission checklist so you don't miss anything at 3am
• docs/DESIGN.md — design system guide, free tools, component checklist
• docs/JUDGING.md — judging rubric breakdown mapped to your tech stack
• pitch/PROBLEM.md — problem statement scaffold with validation questions
• pitch/SOLUTION.md — solution narrative for Devpost and slide 3
• pitch/DEMO_SCRIPT.md — 3-minute demo script with timing and backup plan
• pitch/TEAM.md — team intro slide content
• README.md — main project README, pre-filled
• hackathon.config.json — all your choices, stored for reference

Everything is personalized with your project name, team, hackathon name, and tech stack.

Demo

$ npx create-hackathon-app

  ╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
  ║     create-hackathon-app  🚀          ║
  ║   scaffold your project in seconds    ║
  ╚══════════════════════════════════════╝

? Project name (kebab-case): quiz-blitz
? One-line tagline: Real-time quiz battles for distributed teams
? Hackathon name: HackIndia 2025
? Hackathon date: Jan 25-26, 2025
? Team members: Aryan, Priya, Dev
? Problem statement: Remote teams lack engaging real-time collaboration tools
? Frontend framework: Next.js 14 (App Router)
? Backend framework: Node.js + Express
? Database: PostgreSQL + Prisma
? Authentication: JWT
? Add-ons: Docker, WebSockets
? Install dependencies now? Yes

  ✔ Frontend (Next.js 14)           340ms
  ✔ Backend (Node.js + Express)     120ms
  ✔ Database (PostgreSQL + Prisma)   80ms
  ✔ Auth (JWT)                       60ms
  ✔ Add-on: docker                   40ms
  ✔ Add-on: websockets               35ms
  ✔ Documentation + pitch files     200ms
  ✔ Git repository initialized
  ✔ Dependencies installed

  ✔ Project scaffolded successfully!

  Next steps:

    cd quiz-blitz
    cd backend && npm install && npm run dev
    cd frontend && npm install && npm run dev

  Explore your project:
    docs/         → Presentation guide, deliverables checklist
    pitch/        → Problem statement, demo script, team intro
    hackathon.config.json → Your project config

Why this exists

Every hackathon, teams spend the first 2-3 hours on setup:

• Choosing a stack and arguing about it
• Wiring up auth, CORS, database connections
• Figuring out what to submit, what the judging criteria are, how to structure the pitch
• Starting the README at midnight

This tool gives you all of that in 60 seconds so you can spend those hours building.

The generated docs and pitch templates encode what actually matters at hackathons — not just code scaffolding.

Supported stacks

Frontend

Next.js 14 · React + Vite · Vue 3 + Vite · SvelteKit · Nuxt 3 · Angular 17 · Astro · Remix · Solid.js · Qwik

Backend

Express · Fastify · NestJS · FastAPI · Django REST · Go + Gin · Rust + Actix · Spring Boot · Hono · None (frontend-only)

Database

PostgreSQL + Prisma · SQLite + Prisma · MongoDB + Mongoose · MySQL + Prisma · Supabase · Firebase · Redis

Auth

JWT · NextAuth.js · Clerk · Auth0 · OAuth Google · OAuth GitHub · None

Add-ons

Docker · WebSockets (Socket.io) · AI Module (OpenAI + Gemini) · Stripe · File Uploads (S3/Cloudinary) · Email (Resend/Nodemailer) · Rate Limiting

v1 (current): Full working code for Next.js + Express + PostgreSQL/Prisma + JWT + Docker. All other stacks generate the correct docs and structure; code templates expand in v2+.

Requirements

• Node.js >= 18

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome.

License

MIT — free forever.

Built by a senior who did 150+ hackathons and wanted to leave something useful behind.