Hackathon
When Butterbase runs a hackathon, you register with a code from the organizers, submit your project through the submit_hackathon_entry MCP tool, and can review your entry in the dashboard.
Before you submit
Section titled “Before you submit”- Connect MCP — Follow MCP Setup so your assistant can call Butterbase tools with your API key.
- Get a submission code — Organizers share a per-hackathon code (for example after you sign up). You need it on your first successful submission so your account is bound to that hackathon.
- Know your
app_id(recommended) — Use thelist_appstool and copy theidof the app you are entering (for exampleapp_abc123). See Why include app_id below.
Submitting with MCP
Section titled “Submitting with MCP”The tool submit_hackathon_entry appears in your MCP tool list whenever some hackathon row has starts_at ≤ now ≤ submission_deadline (the same rule as accepting a submission without a slug). Visibility does not depend on the admin is_active flag alone. Calendar ends_at is separate from submissions closing at submission_deadline.
First time: binding + fields
Section titled “First time: binding + fields”On the first call, include:
submission_code— The plaintext code from organizers.data— An object whose keys match the hackathon field schema (project name, demo URL, description, and any optional fields the hackathon defines).
If you are not sure which fields are required, call once with submission_code and an empty data: {}. The API responds with 422 and returns field_schema so you can fill required keys and retry.
Updates
Section titled “Updates”Submissions upsert: calling again with new data updates your entry and bumps version. After your first successful submission, submission_code is no longer required (you are already a participant).
Optional: hackathon_slug
Section titled “Optional: hackathon_slug”If several hackathons exist, pass hackathon_slug to target a specific one. Otherwise the currently active hackathon is used.
Why include app_id
Section titled “Why include app_id”Pass app_id (the Butterbase app you built) on every submission when you can.
Automated leaderboard scoring works like this:
- Up to 50 points for a valid demo URL hosted on
*.butterbase.dev. The hackathon schema may mark one field withis_urlfor this check; otherwise thedemo_urlkey indatais used. - Up to 50 additional points for Butterbase features detected on the app tied to
app_id(database, functions, deployed frontend, auth users, storage, OAuth, realtime, integrations, and more).
If app_id is omitted, only the demo URL is scored; the feature portion is zero, so your total is usually much lower than comparable entries that linked an app.
Human judges can also verify your real project faster when the submission is linked to a concrete app.
Use list_apps to find app_id, then call submit_hackathon_entry with app_id alongside data.
View your submission
Section titled “View your submission”Open dashboard.butterbase.ai/hackathon while signed in. You will see deadlines, your submitted fields (read-only), and the current version. Use MCP again to update the entry.