Build an agentic IDE skill, get it in front of the people who maintain OpenSearch, and walk away with cash, a stage at OpenSearchCon North America, and a shot at getting merged into the official repo.
$5,000
Total prize pool
June 15 – August 17, 2026
Date
1-2 members
Team size
About
What we’re building
Agentic AI is changing how developers interact with search and observability — and the tools to support it should be open, community-built, and available to everyone.
This hackathon brings technical resources together to create prebuilt agentic IDE skills covering search, observability & log analytics, and migration on the open source OpenSearch Project.
Skills that pass evaluation may be contributed to the official OpenSearch Agent Skills GitHub repository, giving your work visibility across the global developer community.
// your skill, running in the IDE
$ agent skill install ./log-triage-skill
Analyzing OpenSearch cluster context…
✓ Skill loaded: log-triage-skill v0.1 $ agent run "why did latency spike at 2am?"
Querying observability index, correlating traces…
✓ Root cause identified in 3 steps
$ agent skill install ./log-triage-skill
Analyzing OpenSearch cluster context…
✓ Skill loaded: log-triage-skill v0.1 $ agent run "why did latency spike at 2am?"
Querying observability index, correlating traces…
✓ Root cause identified in 3 steps
Submission criteria
What your skill should address
Submissions must focus on OpenSearch and tackle at least one of the following areas.
1
Solving new use cases that were difficult before
2
Improving user productivity
3
Solving customer pain points
4
Simplifying operations with OpenSearch
How the hackathon works
Timeline
One shot to get your idea in front of the judges before OpenSearchCon North America.
Teams are limited to 2 members. You can submit more than one idea but may only be part of one team.
July 15, 2026
Hackathon opens
Submit your ideas in the portal. Connect with potential teammates.
Max 2 members per team.
July 15 – Aug 17, 2026
Build and validate
Build and test your Agent Skill(s).
Produce a 5-minute demo video alongside production-ready code.
Aug 17, 2026
Submission deadline
Deadline to submit your agent skill! Entries are due on August 17th, 2026 by 11:59pm PST.
Sept 2026
OpenSearchCon NA
Selected winners spotlighted. First place winner may be invited to present their skill at the conference.
Evaluation framework
Judges score on five dimensions
Submissions are evaluated for enterprise-grade value and alignment with OpenSearch Project open source principles, by maintainers, collaborators, and OpenSearch Ambassadors.
Technical innovation – 25%
Does the skill use OpenSearch vector database or agentic capabilities in a novel way? Examples include advanced RAG patterns or multi-step reasoning.
Community creativity and utility – 25%
How innovative, original or resourceful is the use-case or the solution to which it can be applied?
How broadly can this skill be applied? Does it break down data silos or address common pain points for SREs, Search Engineers, or InfoSec Specialists?
Documentation and enablement – 15%
Is the README clear and actionable? Is there a 5-minute video that communicates value to a Tech Lead or CTO?
Vendor neutrality and portability – 15%
Is the skill free of proprietary dependencies? Does it run on any OpenSearch distribution, including self-managed, Docker, and Kubernetes?
Operational excellence – 20%
Is the code production-ready? Does it follow security best practices and deliver low-latency performance?
The judging process
Judges have been selected by the OpenSearch community, consisting of project maintainers, collaborators, and OpenSearch Ambassadors.
Why participate
Recognition and prizes
This isn’t a portfolio project that sits in a repo nobody looks at. Winners get a spotlight at OpenSearchCon North America in front of the exact community that decides what ships next in OpenSearch.
Open source recognition
Selected skills may be contributed to the official OpenSearch Agent Skills GitHub repository, giving you visibility across the global developer community.
OpenSearchCon NA spotlight
First place winner may be invited to present their agent skill at OpenSearchCon NA held September 22-24, 2026 in San Jose, CA.
Prizes
First place
\$1,500 USD cash prize and a travel stipend of up to \$2,000 to attend OpenSearchCon North America, held September 22-24, 2026 in San Jose, CA.
Winner may also be invited to present their skill live at the event.
Second place
$1,000 USD
First place
\$1,500 USD cash prize and a travel stipend of up to \$2,000 to attend OpenSearchCon North America, held September 22-24, 2026 in San Jose, CA.
Winner may also be invited to present their skill live at the event.
Third place
$500 USD
Please read the official contest rules for terms and conditions.
Common questions
FAQ
Can I submit more than one idea?
Yes. You can submit multiple ideas, but you may only be part of one team during the build phase.
Do I need a team to participate?
No. You can participate as an individual or with one other member. Teams are limited to a maximum of 2 members, and must reside in the United States.
What does the 5-minute video need to cover?
Your video should demonstrate the skill’s value clearly enough for a Tech Lead or CTO to evaluate it. Focus on the use case, the solution, and its measurable impact.
I live outside the United States, can I submit an entry?
We know this one stings if you’re not US-based. Register your interest anyway. You’ll be the first to hear when the global edition opens. This won’t be the last chance to get a skill upstreamed.
Get involved
Ideas open July 15. Team spots are capped at two people, and good ideas tend to find teammates fast. If you’ve been sitting on an OpenSearch skill idea, this is the deadline that makes you finally build it.
Submit Now
Questions? Slack: #hackathon-agent-skills
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. COMPLETION OF REGISTRATION AND PROMOTION DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED TO PARTICIPATE. Trade promotion is open to individuals who are legal U.S. residents 18 +. The promotion is a skill-based contest offered to eligible individuals in the tech field (such as, without limitation, Solution Architects, TAMs, ProServe Consultants, CSMs, Cloud Support Engineers, Engineers, the broader TFC community, etc.) who come together to create pre-built agentic IDE skills covering search, log/observability, and migration on the open source OpenSearch Project. Begins on or about 8:00 am PT on July 15, 2026 and ends approximately 11:59 pm PT on August 16, 2026. For prize and entry details, limitations and Official Rules. By entering, you agree to the Official Rules, Sponsor’s privacy policy, and the decisions of the Sponsor which are final and binding. Void where prohibited. SPONSOR: The Linux Foundation, Wilmington, DE.
