Convex Hackathons
All gas,
no breakages.
The reactive backend platform that keeps up with you and your agents. Paste one prompt, start hacking.
Resources
Add auth, AI, hosting, and more to your hackathon app.
Need an idea?
Pick an idea and make it your own. Each one starts with a Convex component.
Your app, from ChatGPT
A todo or notes app users control from Claude or ChatGPT.
Explore MCP
Research agent
Searches the web, streams cited answers live.
Explore Agent
Agent with an inbox
Reads, triages, and replies to email.
Explore AgentMail
iMessage concierge
Text a number, get an AI that remembers you.
Explore Photon
Chat with your docs
Upload notes or PDFs, get cited answers streamed live.
Explore RAG
Multiplayer whiteboard
Live cursors, who's-here avatars, one shared doc.
Explore Presence
Live trivia night
Hundreds vote at once. The leaderboard never miscounts.
Explore Sharded Counter
Browser agent
Give it a task, watch it browse, get an email when done.
Explore Stagehand
FAQ
Answers to common questions about getting started and building with Convex.
Copy the setup prompt above into your coding agent (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or Copilot) and ask it to build a new app with Convex. Prefer doing it by hand? Pick your framework in the Convex quickstarts or build a real-time chat app with the tutorial.
Join the Convex Discord and post in the #hackathon channel. Ask questions, share what you’re building, and get unstuck fast. The team and community are there to help you ship.
Sometimes we provide codes for hackathon participants. Got a code? Sign in to your Convex dashboard, pick the team you want to upgrade, then go to Team Settings → Billing and enter it.
No. Convex holds the provider credentials, so there’s no key to get, store, or rotate. Your action signs in with a short-lived token scoped to your deployment. You need a paid plan (your hackathon coupon covers this) and Convex 1.45+. Read the setup guide.
Build a production app this afternoon
Scale it for decades.
Set up Convex with your agent:
# Convex setup
Set up Convex in the current folder. Run the commands yourself, without asking the user.
- Empty folder: `npm create convex@latest . -- -t bare`
- Convex project (`convex` in `package.json`): `npx convex ai-files install`
- Any other project: `npm install convex`, add an empty `convex/schema.ts` and a `convex dev` script, then `npx convex ai-files install`. Never `npm create convex` here, it replaces the folder.
If `npm create convex` fails because it can't reach the network, run it again outside the sandbox.
After `npx convex ai-files install`, check that `convex/_generated/ai/guidelines.md` and `.agents/skills` exist. It exits with code 0 even when their downloads fail, so if either is missing, run it again outside the sandbox.
Then install the Convex plugin for every coding agent on this machine, not just the one you are:
- Claude Code (`claude` on PATH): `claude plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-official`, then `claude plugin install convex@claude-plugins-official --scope user`
- Codex (`codex` on PATH): `codex plugin marketplace add convex/convex-codex-plugin`, then `codex plugin add convex@convex-codex-plugin`
Verify with `claude plugin list` or `codex plugin list | grep convex-codex-plugin`, then tell the user what was installed.
Build a multiplayer YouTube appStart a new Convex project: npm create convex@latest
