MCP's 1st Birthday - Hosted by Anthropic and Gradio

With additional support from:

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The MCP revolution continues. The June 2025 version of Hackathon was a huge success with over 4200 registrations, 1 Millions+ free API credits for participants, and $15000+ awards in cash. Six months later, we are bringing you the next edition of this world event! When we launched this hackathon in June 2025, MCP was experimental. Six months later, OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google have adopted it. The revolution we started is now mainstream—be part of the second wave.

To qualify for prizes, you MUST:

• ✅ Be a member of this organization (click "Request to join this org" above)
• ✅ Submit your apps to this organization
• ✅ Include appropriate track tags in your Space README
• ✅ Include a link to your social media post about your project
• ✅ Submit by November 30, 2025, 11:59 PM UTC

Join our Discord Community → Channel: agents-mcp-hackathon-winter25🏆 for latest information and active support during the hackathon.

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🚀 Quick Start (3 Easy Steps)

1️⃣ Join & Register
→ Click "Request to join this org" (top right) + Complete registration form

2️⃣ Pick Your Track
→ [Track 1: Building MCP] or [Track 2: MCP in Action]

3️⃣ Start Building (Nov 14)
→ See submission examples | Join HF Discord for help | Access resources

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Join us for the definitive AI agents and Model Context Protocol (MCP) development event—now bigger, better, and more accessible than ever. Build cutting-edge agentic applications powered by Gradio 6, leverage vibe coding to accelerate development, and compete for some of the most amazing 🤑cash prizes and credits.

Why Participate?

What's New This Year

• Powered by Gradio 6 with enhanced mobile capabilities and visual editing
• 3 full weekends to build (Nov 14 - Nov 30)
• Three new categories: Productivity, Multimodal, and Games
• Vibe coding friendly — We welcome vibe-coding nd support the movement with our very own gradio vibe editor
• Social amplification — share your work, gain visibility
• FREE API Credits coming soon from major AI Inference providers

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Since our June'25 hackathon, MCP has gone from experimental to mainstream:

• ✨ OpenAI officially adopted MCP, later announced Apps SDK built on top of it (DevDay 2025)
• 🪟 Microsoft integrated MCP into Windows 11 (Build 2025)
• 🧠 Google DeepMind joined the ecosystem (Demis Hassabis's tweet)

MCP is no longer experimental—it's the foundation of modern agentic AI. This is your opportunity to build on the protocol that's reshaping how AI systems connect to the world.

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🔧 Track 1: Building MCP Build MCP servers that extend LLM capabilities. It can be a gradio app or not. Read: Any Gradio app can be an MCP server—create tools for data analysis, API integrations, specialized workflows, or novel capabilities that make AI agents more powerful. What to Build: MCP servers Tool integrations Protocol extensions Multi-tool systems Three Categories: Enterprise MCP Servers - Tag: "building-mcp-track-enterprise" Consumer MCP Servers - Tag: "building-mcp-track-consumer" Creative MCP Servers - Tags: "building-mcp-track-creative" Track Tag: "building-mcp-track-" Examples of tagging your app to participate under a specific track: See example 💰 Prize Pool: 🥇 First Place: $1,500 USD 🥈 Second Place: $500 USD

🤖 Track 2: MCP in Action Create complete AI agent gradio applications that showcase autonomous reasoning, planning, and execution. Use MCP tools, vibe coding, or traditional development—whatever brings your agent vision to life. Three Categories: Enterprise Applications - Tag: "mcp-in-action-track-enterprise" Customer Applications - Tag: "mcp-in-action-track-consumer" Creative Applications - Tags: "mcp-in-action-track-creative" Track Tag: "mcp-in-action-track-" Examples of tagging your app to participate under a specific track: Enterprise | Customer | Creative 💰 Prize Pool (Per Category): 🥇 First Place: $2,500 USD 🥈 Second Place: $1,000 USD 🥉 Third Place: $500 USD

You can submit the same app to multiple tracks! (See example)
You can submit multiple entries! Build as many projects as you want.

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🏆 Main Track Prizes

Building MCP:

• 🥇 First Place: $1,500 USD
• 🥈 Second Place: $500 USD

MCP in Action (3 prizes per category × 3 categories):

• 🥇 First Place: $2,500 USD (×3 categories)
• 🥈 Second Place: $1,000 USD (×3 categories)
• 🥉 Third Place: $500 USD (×3 categories)

⭐ Special Awards

• 🌟 Community Choice Award: $1,000 USD (most social engagement)
• 🏢 Sponsor Choice Awards: (announced with sponsors)
  • Modal Innovation Award: Build with Modal and stand to win $2,500 cash award for the best project!
  • Google Gemini special category award: Build with Gemini API and stand to win $15,000 worth of Gemini API credits from Google!
• 🤗 Hugging Face Merch: For most engaging participants and community builders

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API & Compute Credits (Details announced soon):

• We are securing API credits for participants from major AI providers
• Access to latest and strongest LLMs from major providers

Announcements rolling out weekly. Follow @Gradio for the latest updates.

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📅 Pre-Hackathon Phase

October 13 - November 13

• Sponsor announcements rolling out
• Educational content releases
• Registration opens
• Community building

🔨 Hackathon Period

• November 14 (Friday, 12:00 AM UTC) - 🚀 Hackathon opens!
• November 14/15 - 📺 Kickoff stream on YouTube (time TBA)
• November 17-28 - 💬 Office hours with Gradio team and sponsors
• November 30 (Saturday, 11:59 PM UTC) - ⏰ Final submissions due

🏅 Post-Hackathon Phase

• December 1-14 - 👨‍⚖️ Judging period
• December 15 - 🎉 Winners announcement and showcase

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All Tracks - General Requirements

1. Publish your project as a Hugging Face Space in this organization
2. Add the appropriate track tag to your Space README.md:
   • "building-mcp-track-xx" for Track 1
   • "mcp-in-action-track-xx" for Track 2
3. Include a link to your social media post (X, LinkedIn, etc.) about your project
4. Include a demo video (1-5 minutes) showing your project in action. For example, look at some of the submissions from the Hackathon in June:
   • Example 1
   • Example 2
   • Example 3
5. Original work only - All work must be created during the hackathon period (Nov 14-30)

Track-Specific Requirements

🔧 Track 1: Building MCP

• Must be a functioning MCP server
• Can be a gradio app
• Include video showing integration with an MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.)
• Document the tool's purpose, capabilities, and usage

🤖 Track 2: MCP in Action

• Must demonstrate autonomous Agents behavior (planning, reasoning, execution)
• Must use MCP servers as tools
• Must be a gradio app
• Bonus points for showcasing advanced Agent features like Context Engineering, RAG, etc
  • Learn more: Anthropic | LangChain | dbreunig
• Show clear user value and practical application

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Projects will be evaluated on:

• Submissions should be complete - HF Space + Social media post + Documentation in the Space readme + Demo Video recording of your Space
• Design/Polished UI-UX - How polished, intuitive, and easy-to-use the app is?
• Functionality - To what extent did the app uses the relevant Gradio functionalities (Gradio 6, MCPs, Agentic Chatbots etc)?
• Creativity - How innovative or original is the project idea and implementation?
• Documentation - How well communicated is the implementation in the README and/or demo video?
• Real-world impact - How much potential does the project have for real-world usefulness or application?

Community Choice Award based on:

• Social media engagement (likes, shares, comments)
• Space interactions (Discussions tab) on Hugging Face
• Discord community engagement

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💻 Resources & Getting Started

📚 Click to see Technical Documentation

Official Documentation

• Getting Started with MCP in Gradio
• Gradio 6 Documentation
• Building Mobile-First AI Apps
• Custom Components Guide
• Vibe Coding with Gradio
• Agent Development Patterns

Educational Content

• Video Tutorials: Coming soon
• Blog Posts / Guides: Case Studies from June Hackathon
• Office Hours: Live sessions with experts (schedule announced soon)

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❓ Frequently Asked Questions

❓ I'm new to MCP. Can I still participate?

Absolutely! We provide comprehensive tutorials on MCP and will have office hours throughout to support participants.

🛠️ Can I use vibe coding tools like Bolt, Lovable, or Cursor?

Yes! Use any tools that help you build. We celebrate results, not just process.

🔨 Do I need to build everything from scratch?

No. You can use existing libraries, frameworks, and tools. Just ensure your core contribution is original and created during the hackathon.

👥 Can I participate solo or do I need a team?

Both! Participate individually or in teams of 2-5 members.

🔄 What if I participated in the June hackathon?

Welcome back! Build something new or significantly evolve your previous project. Previous winners are eligible.

💻 Is there a specific programming language requirement?

Gradio is Python-based, but you can integrate other languages/services as needed.

❓ How do I get help during the hackathon?

Discord support, office hours, documentation, and community help available throughout.

🎯 Can I submit to multiple tracks?

Yes! Submit the same project to multiple tracks or create multiple separate projects.

📱 What counts as "mobile-first"?

Responsive design, touch optimization, mobile-appropriate interactions. Doesn't need to be a native app—PWAs and responsive web apps qualify.

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👥 Connect & Community

• 💬 Discord: Join #agents-mcp-hackathon-winter25🏆
• 🐦 Twitter/X: @Gradio
• 💼 LinkedIn: Gradio

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⚖️ Policies & Rules

📋 Click to see Policies & Guidelines

By participating, you agree to:

• Code of Conduct
• Submission Guidelines
• Intellectual Property Policy

Important Rules:

• ✅ All submissions must be original work
• ✅ Projects must be created between November 14-30, 2025
• ✅ Open source licenses encouraged (MIT, Apache 2.0, etc.)
• ✅ Participants retain IP rights to their work
• ✅ By submitting, you grant Hugging Face/Gradio right to showcase your work

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