🎃 What Is Hacktoberfest 2026?
Hacktoberfest is a month-long celebration of open source that brings developers, students, creators and technology communities together.
For 2026, the event is centered around open-source AI and open-weight models, with activities available both online and in person. Anyone can participate, whether you're just starting your development journey or already have experience building software.
You can participate through:
💻 Online activities
🤖 Open-source AI challenges
🎥 Livestreams
🏆 DEV Challenges
🌎 Global Hack Week
🏙️ Local Hacktoberfest Fests
🛠️ Hack Days and Meetups
And yes, there are rewards and swag opportunities along the way.
📝 How To Register for Hacktoberfest 2026
The registration process is quite simple.
Step 1️⃣ — Go to Hacktoberfest
Start with the official website:
https://hacktoberfest.com/
Avoid registering through random websites or links promising guaranteed swag.
Step 2️⃣ — Sign In With MyMLH
Hacktoberfest 2026 uses MyMLH for participant registration.
According to the official Hacktoberfest website, signing in with your MyMLH account is the first step. It is free and takes only a short time.
Once you sign in, your Hacktoberfest participant dashboard becomes your central place for tracking activities and rewards.
Step 3️⃣ — Add Your Postal Address
This step is very important if you want to receive the physical sticker pack.
Hacktoberfest gives you two stickers simply for:
- Signing in with MyMLH
- Adding your postal address
You then need to complete at least one additional eligible activity to unlock the first physical sticker pack.
So don't just register and forget about your account.
🎁 How Do You Get FREE Swag?
This is probably the biggest reason many people are interested in Hacktoberfest.
The 2026 reward system works through virtual stickers and milestones.
The official online participation page says that you start with two stickers:
🎟️ Sign in 🎟️ Add your address
Then you can earn additional stickers through activities.
Once you collect three virtual stickers, a physical sticker pack is sent to you.
That means:
2 stickers = Sign-up + Address
+1 sticker = Complete an eligible activity
🎁 3 stickers = Physical sticker pack
🔥 What Activities Can Earn Stickers?
There are multiple ways to earn virtual stickers during Hacktoberfest 2026.
🎥 Livestreams
You can attend Hacktoberfest livestreams and check in using the code shown during the session.
There are milestones for attending:
1 livestream
3 livestreams
5 livestreams
Hacktoberfest launch livestream
Each eligible activity can contribute a sticker to your sticker book.
🏆 DEV Challenges
Another way to participate is through DEV Challenges.
Hacktoberfest has a launch-weekend challenge followed by four weekly open-source AI rounds.
The current schedule includes:
Launch Weekend: October 2–4
Week 1: October 5–11
Week 2: October 12–18
Week 3: October 19–25
Week 4: October 26–31
You'll need a DEV account to enter these challenges.
Connecting your DEV account to MyMLH is optional, but Hacktoberfest recommends doing it because it allows you to earn credit for DEV Challenge participation and receive a special DEV badge.
🌎 Global Hack Week
You can also participate in Global Hack Week: Hacktoberfest.
There are multiple sticker milestones associated with Global Hack Week, including:
Completing registration challenges
Checking into a livestream
Earning 15 points
Earning 30 points
Earning 75 points
So even if you're not comfortable contributing to an open-source repository, you have several ways to participate.
🏙️ What If I Want To Attend a Hacktoberfest Event?
You can also participate in person.
There are 300+ Fests happening around the world.
A Fest can be either a Hack Day or a Meetup.
🛠️ Hack Day
A Hack Day is essentially a mini hackathon.
You can build a project using open-weight models and/or open-source AI tools and present your project at the end.
There can also be prizes for winning projects.
🤝 Meetup
A Meetup is more focused on community interaction and learning.
It may include:
Technical talks
Workshops
Panels
Discussions
Networking
You don't necessarily need to build a project to attend a Meetup.
🎁 What About FREE T-Shirts and Swag?
Here's where you need to be careful.
Hacktoberfest does have physical swag, but T-shirts and event swag are available while supplies last.
They are not guaranteed for every participant, and the local Fest host decides how the swag is distributed. T-shirts are also not promised to online participants.
So don't believe posts saying:
“Just register online and you'll definitely get a Hacktoberfest T-shirt.”
That's not how the 2026 system works.
However, the online sticker pack is a separate reward that can be earned by completing the required activities.
⭐ How To Get Even More Rewards
If you want to go beyond the first sticker pack, there are additional milestones.
🎟️ 3 Stickers
Unlock the physical sticker pack.
✨ 10 Stickers
Earn a bonus holographic sticker in your mailed sticker pack.
🏆 17 Stickers
Become a Hacktoberfest Completionist.
Completionists are automatically entered into a raffle for a Hacktoberfest 2026 T-shirt or Arduino Uno Q board.
The current online page lists 24 stickers that can be collected across the available activities.
⚠️ Do Pull Requests Still Count?
This is probably the most important change if you've participated in Hacktoberfest before.
❌ No.
Pull requests and merge requests no longer count toward Hacktoberfest rewards in 2026.
The organizers say the change is intended to reduce low-effort or spam contributions that can create additional work for open-source maintainers.
That doesn't mean open-source contributions are banned.
You can absolutely continue contributing to open-source projects during Hacktoberfest.
They simply aren't being used as the reward mechanism this year.
👨💻 I'm a Beginner. Can I Participate?
Absolutely.
Hacktoberfest explicitly welcomes beginners.
You don't need to be an expert in AI, GitHub or open source before joining.
You can start by:
Creating your MyMLH account
Adding your address
Checking the activities page
Watching a livestream
Joining Global Hack Week
Exploring DEV Challenges
Finding a local Fest
Learning about open-source AI
The goal is to learn and build, not simply collect rewards.
📅 How Long Do You Have?
Hacktoberfest takes place throughout October 2026.
The online schedule includes livestreams, challenges and Global Hack Week activities throughout the month.
If you're interested, don't wait until the final day.
Some activities happen only at specific times, and certain Fests can have limited capacity or limited swag.
🚨 Important Things To Remember
Before you start, remember these points:
✅ Hacktoberfest 2026 is free
Online participation is free, and almost all Fests are free to attend.
✅ MyMLH registration is required
Sign in to create your participant profile.
✅ Add your postal address
You'll need it for physical rewards.
✅ Pull requests don't count toward rewards
Don't follow outdated Hacktoberfest tutorials that tell you to complete a specific number of PRs.
✅ Swag isn't universally guaranteed
In-person T-shirts and event swag are limited and distributed by local hosts.
✅ Sticker packs can be earned online
Complete the required activities to unlock your physical sticker pack.
✅ Keep checking the official dashboard
Your participant page shows the activities you need to complete and tracks your sticker progress.
🔗 Official Hacktoberfest Links
🌐 Hacktoberfest 2026
Official Hacktoberfest Website
🎁 Online Activities & Rewards
Hacktoberfest Activities
💻 Participate Online
Hacktoberfest Online
🏙️ Find an In-Person Fest
Hacktoberfest Fests
❓ Official FAQ
Hacktoberfest FAQ
🚀 Final Thoughts
If you've never participated in Hacktoberfest before, 2026 is actually a very different experience from the older editions.
You don't need to worry about completing a certain number of pull requests to get rewards.
Instead, you can sign up, attend livestreams, participate in challenges, join Global Hack Week, attend a local Fest and explore open-source AI.
And yes, you can earn physical stickers and potentially additional rewards through the official milestone system. 🎁
The simple formula is:
Sign Up → Add Address → Complete Activities → Collect Stickers → Unlock Rewards 🚀
And if you're attending an in-person Fest, you may also be able to get T-shirts and other event swag while supplies last.
So if you've been waiting to start your open-source journey, this is a great month to jump in.
Don't just watch other people build. Join the community, learn something new, and build something yourself. 🔥
Link To Check: https://hacktoberfest.com/