The Hackathon Where We Mostly Just Talked
2 days ago
- Chrome now has a built-in AI LLM that runs locally without server calls or API keys.
- The hackathon team built Photoslider, a tool that lets users adjust abstract attribute sliders (e.g., mystery, brightness) to modify images instead of writing prompts.
- All code was written by an AI agent (Gemini CLI) based on verbal descriptions; the team spent most time discussing design and architecture.
- The experience shifted the main difficulty from debugging code to maintaining architectural coherence while building at 10× speed.
- The author proposes a new hackathon format called "The Iron Vibecoder" that tests participants' ability to keep architecture clean under pressure.
- The format includes a mid-event twist (e.g., adding real-time features) to stress-test whether the architecture can flex without turning into spaghetti.
- The author calls for participants, judges, twist ideas, and sponsors to help run this experimental hackathon.
- A reader comments expressing excitement and interest in participating.