Dates

August, 3rd 2026 - August 10th 2026

Judging Criteria and Winner Selection

Projects will be evaluated on the following:

  • Functionality — Does the tool actually work? Does it do what it claims to do, reliably?
  • Creativity  — How original or clever is the approach to the problem? Bonus points for tackling a pain point that isn't already well-solved.
  • Technical execution — Quality of the code, thoughtfulness of the architecture, and how well the team used their tools and time.
  • Real-world usefulness — Would an actual YouTube creator or editor want to use this? Does it save meaningful time or effort?

 

Bonus points: Extra points will be awarded to teams who demonstrate their tool actually running live and producing a real output — for example, actually generating a thumbnail, actually scheduling a real upload, actually pulling real analytics data — rather than only showing a mockup, screenshots, or a pre-recorded simulation. Judges want to see the tool do the thing, not just hear about it.