Hackathon · Ask The W

Decide what to build. Agents carry the work.

Bring an idea. Answer why, what, and who. Agents ask what they need to know, you answer, and the context grows. Agents build from it: documents, research, and a working preview. Your answers are the work.

Start your free trial Join the Discord

September 10 to 17, 2026Prizes announced and emailed September 18

What to do · Five steps

Answer what the project needs. Agents build from it.

Start your free trial
Open the trial link and sign in with Google or an email link. No card. The trial is the full product for 30 days, including agent runs.
Bring an idea to Wizard
Your own idea, or a problem you keep running into. Wizard shapes it into directions you can compare.
Answer the W Card
Why, what, who, when, where, and how. Check Build a working preview. Check Autopilot to let agents start work without asking you first.
4
Build the context
Work through these in order. Check each one off as you go. Each one counts.
- Open Way. Finish the first move that needs you, and record the decision with its reasoning.
- Answer the open questions in Workspace.
- Open the working preview in Workspace when it is ready.
- Read the competitive analysis in World.
- Ask W in chat when you are stuck.
- Invite a teammate or a friend to the project from Wire.
- Propose a feature request in Discord: what Ask The W should do next.
- Use Download all in Workspace and build with any tool you like.
0 of 8 done
Post what you made
In Discord, and on X with your W Card and @askthewhq. A preview link, a public W Card, a screenshot of your coding agent working with the project, or the files you downloaded from Workspace.

Prizes · Three winners

Three prizes.

Best context

$25 gift card

The person who built the most useful context on one project.

Most bugs

$25 gift card

The person with the most confirmed bugs sent through the bug form.

Founder's pick

Build with the founder

A one-hour build session on the idea the founder most wants to build with you.

How we judge

Best contextWe count, on your one project and inside the window: open questions answered in Workspace, decisions recorded in Way with their reasoning, notes and files added, questions asked of W, and teammates invited. Then we read the top three and pick the project whose answers and decisions are the most specific and useful. If you built something elsewhere from your export, link it in your Discord post. It counts in the read.
Most bugsOne point per confirmed bug sent through the bug form. Confirmed means we can repeat it, or it is plainly wrong on the page. Duplicates go to the first report. Typos count one each. Design opinions do not count, so post those in Discord.
Founder's pickThe published W Card the founder most wants to build with you: a clear why, what, and who, and first moves that make sense. Share it on X and tag @askthewhq so we see it.

Rules

WhoAnyone with an Ask The W account. One account per person. The Ask The W team is not eligible.
WhenSubmissions close Thursday, September 17, 2026 at 12:00 PM PT. Prizes are announced and emailed on Friday, September 18.
HowOne project per person counts for Best context. One person can win more than one prize. The Ask The W team judges, and its decisions are final.

Submit · Three ways

Show what you made.

Post in Discord

One post per thing you made, with a link or a screenshot. Copy this so we can count it quickly.

What I made:
Link or screenshot:
Project name:
W Card link:

Share your W Card on X

Publish your W Card at askthew.com/showyourw, then post it and tag @askthewhq so we see it.

My W Card for [project]: [link]
Why, what, who, when, where, and how, in one card.
Built with @askthewhq

Post on X

Report bugs through the form

Use the bug form. It is also pinned in Discord. Never paste passwords, keys, or private data. If the form is down, email support@askthew.com.

Product and page:
What I expected:
What happened instead:
Steps to repeat it:

For developers: connect your coding agent

Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor can read your project and push decisions back through the Ask The W coding plugin. Your trial project works with it.

Claude Code

/plugin marketplace add AskTheWAI/claude-plugins
/plugin install askthew-paid@askthew

Codex

codex plugin marketplace add AskTheWAI/codex-plugin --ref main
codex plugin add askthew

Cursor

Add @askthew/mcp-plugin under Customize, then MCP. Full steps are on the plugin page.

Then connect the project

Ask your agent to connect to Ask The W. Open the link it gives you, confirm the code, and choose your project.

Questions: Discord or support@askthew.comThis event is void where prohibited. You must be 18 or older. One account per person. The Ask The W team is not eligible. Ask The W judges and its decisions are final. Prizes have no cash alternative. Winners are responsible for any tax. Use is also under the Terms and Privacy. Discord, X, and Google are not sponsors.