Most hackathons end with a prototype and a presentation. Shipaton 2026 is doing things a little differently by challenging builders to go one step further: release a real app to real users.

From August 1 through September 30, developers, founders, designers, and student builders worldwide are challenged to launch a brand-new mobile app on the App Store, Google Play, or Samsung Galaxy Store.

But what happens between your first idea and the final app? What decisions do you make along the way? What challenges do you overcome? What lessons do you learn?

These are just some of the questions that RevenueCat and HackerNoon want you to answer in the #Shipaton Writing Contest.

What Exactly is the #Shipaton Writing Contest?

As an official Shipaton Build-in-Public partner, HackerNoon is inviting participants to document the work behind their apps through the #Shipaton Writing Contest.

Publish build logs, technical deep dives, RevenueCat integrations, product decisions, growth experiments, launch stories, and lessons learned for a chance to win from an additional $2,500 Writing Contest Prize Pool.

These writing prizes are separate from Shipaton’s official awards, which means eligible builders can compete for both.

#Shipaton Writing Contest at a Glance

The writing contest runs alongside Shipaton 2026, so your articles should document a real app you are building for the hackathon.

• Timeline:
  • Submissions open: August 1, 2026
  • Submissions close: September 30, 2026
• Contest tag: #shipaton
  • Every submission to the #Shipaton Writing Contest must carry the #shipaton tag to be considered.

#Shipaton Writing Contest: Prize Breakdown

How to Enter the #Shipaton Writing Contest

Step 1: Register for Shipaton 2026

Join Shipaton through its official Devpost page.

Read the participation requirements carefully and make sure your project follows the appropriate Shipaton category and submission rules.

Step 2: Create Your HackerNoon Account

Sign up for HackerNoon or log in to your existing account.

Step 3: Start Building in Public

You do not have to wait until your app is finished to start writing.

Introduce your idea, share your progress, explain the decisions shaping your product, and document the challenges you encounter along the way.

Note: You are encouraged to publish multiple stories throughout Shipaton. Every eligible story published during the contest period can be considered, so return whenever you reach a meaningful milestone, learn something valuable, run an experiment, or encounter a problem worth explaining. All stories must be submitted with the #shipaton tag.

Step 4: Complete Your Official Shipaton Submission

Publishing on HackerNoon does not replace your Shipaton entry.

You must still submit your app through the official Devpost process before the Shipaton deadline.

What Can You Write About?

Your story should help readers understand what you built, how you built it, and what happened along the way.

The following are some potential angles:

• Introduce Your Idea: Explain the problem you are solving, who your app is for, and why you decided to build it.
  • Example: Why I’m Building [App Name] for Shipaton 2026
• Publish a Build Log: Document a sprint, feature, milestone, or week of development.
  • Example: How I took [App Name] from Idea to Prototype: Lessons from Week One of My Shipaton Build
• Share a Technical Deep Dive: Break down your architecture, frameworks, APIs, infrastructure, engineering decisions, and technical trade-offs.
  • Example: The Technical Architecture Behind My Shipaton App

We’re big fans of Technical detail on HackerNoon, and we’ve written about why they’re non-negotiable for anyone building in public and also shared some tips on how to approach them here.

• Explain Your RevenueCat Integration: Show how you implemented subscriptions, in-app purchases, pricing, trials, paywalls, entitlements, or ads.
  • Example: How I Integrated RevenueCat Into My First Subscription App
• Share a Pivotal Product or Design Decision: Discuss your approach to onboarding, accessibility, navigation, user experience, app-store presentation, or feature prioritization.
  • Example: How User Feedback Changed My App Before Launch
• Publish a Postmortem: Review the complete Shipaton experience, including what worked, what failed, and what you would do differently.
  • Example: My Shipaton 2026 Postmortem: Mistakes, Metrics, and Next Steps

We are not only looking for the most successful app.

A technical breakthrough, intelligent pivot, failed growth experiment, difficult integration, or well-documented mistake can produce a winning story.

Ready, set, ship.