Cosmo Hacks is open to students ages 13 and older, including middle school, high school, undergraduate, master’s, and PhD students. The Middle/High School division (ages 13–18) and College+ division (undergraduate, master’s, and PhD students) are judged separately.

Participants may compete individually or in teams of up to four students.

All teammates must be in the same division. Each participant may join one team and submit one final project.

Projects must be created during the official build window, December 19, 2026 at 10:00 AM CST through January 18, 2027 at 4:00 PM CST, and must represent the team's own work.

Each project must include a public GitHub repository containing the project code.

Each project must include a two to three minute demo video explaining the idea, how it was built, and how it works.

AI tools are allowed. Participants must understand what they built and be able to explain how AI was used in their project.

Participants may use public libraries, frameworks, APIs, development tools, and other resources. Any outside material should be credited when appropriate.

Plagiarism or submitting another person's work is not allowed.

Projects must be safe, legal, and appropriate for a student event.

Participants must treat other hackers, organizers, mentors, judges, sponsors, and volunteers respectfully. Harassment, discrimination, bullying, threats, or intentionally harmful behavior will not be tolerated.

Projects must be submitted through Devpost by 4:00 PM CST on January 18, 2027 to be eligible for judging.

Projects receive a base score out of 100: creativity, functionality, technical implementation, impact and theme fit, and presentation are worth 20 points each. Earn 3 bonus points per team per workshop, verified through the attendance form. Attend live to qualify. If a time zone conflict prevents live attendance, explain it on the form, watch the recording, and submit a short takeaway. The bonus is capped at 3 points per team per workshop, regardless of how many teammates attend. See the full rubric, score guide, and tie-breakers. Judges use external 0–20 score sheets; organizers average project scores and add verified workshop bonuses separately.

Cosmo Hacks organizers may remove or disqualify participants or projects that violate these rules.

Workshop attendance forms and recording takeaways are due by January 18, 2027 at 4:00 PM CST. Eligibility checks and remote judging take place January 18–22, after submissions close at 4 PM CST on January 18, and results are announced January 23 at 10:00 AM CST / 4:00 PM UTC. The event opens during the Opening Ceremony on December 19 at 10:00 AM CST. Both opening and closing ceremonies will be hosted live or have their slides published on the website, Devpost, and Discord; the event is fully online.