--- title: README emoji: ๐Ÿƒ colorFrom: green colorTo: indigo sdk: static pinned: false ---
Build Small โ€” a small hackathon by Gradio & Hugging Face HOSTED BY  Gradio  ยท  Hugging Face    SPONSORED BY  [ TBD ] ### *The internet is full of giant models doing giant things. This isn't that.*
For two weekends, we want to see what you can do with **small models**, **tight constraints**, and **care for the people right around you**. Build for one neighbor. Build something that runs on the laptop you already own. Build something a child could love. Pick a track, ship a Gradio app, and tell us a story. ## Two Tracks
Backyard AI #### ๐Ÿก   Backyard AI   Chapter One ***Solve a real problem for someone you actually know.*** Pick a person โ€” a neighbor, a parent, a small business owner on your street โ€” and build something that makes their day measurably better. Walk over. Watch them use it. The closer the problem, the better the project. **JUDGED ON**  ยท  problem is specific and real  ยท  the person actually used it  ยท  honest fit between problem, solution, and the small-model constraint  ยท  polish of the Gradio app Thousand Token Wood #### ๐Ÿ„   *An Adventure in Thousand Token Wood*   Chapter Two ***Build something delightful that wouldn't exist without AI.*** Wander somewhere weirder. A toy, a tiny game, a strange interactive story, an art experiment that surprises you. The AI should be doing the fun thing โ€” not just helping you build it. Strange is good. Joyful is the bar. **JUDGED ON**  ยท  genuinely delightful (would you show a friend?)  ยท  AI is load-bearing for the experience  ยท  originality of concept  ยท  polish of the Gradio app
## The Constraints   ยท   How It Works
**โ‘    Small Models Only** โ€” any model that fits inside **22 GB** of memory. **โ‘ก   Built on Gradio** โ€” your app must be a Gradio app, hosted as a Hugging Face Space. **โ‘ข   Show, Don't Tell** โ€” a short demo video and a social-media post are part of the submission.
1. Register โ€” join this org. No application, no waitlist. 2. Find your people โ€” hop into the Gradio Discord. Office hours, AMAs, teammates live there. 3. Build & ship โ€” build your Gradio app and host it as a Space under this org. 4. Submit โ€” drop your Space link, a demo video, and a social post by the deadline.
## Bonus Quests
Six earnable merit badges
*None required. Each one bumps you up the leaderboard. Stack them like badges on a scout sash.*
๐Ÿ”Œ   Off the Grid
No cloud APIs. The whole thing runs on the model in front of you.
๐ŸŽฏ   Well-Tuned
Your app uses a fine-tuned model you've published on Hugging Face.
๐ŸŽจ   Off-Brand
A custom frontend that pushes past the default Gradio look.
๐Ÿฆ™   Llama Champion
Your model runs through the llama.cpp runtime.
๐Ÿ“ก   Sharing is Caring
You shared your agent trace on the Hub.
๐Ÿ““   Field Notes
You wrote a blog post or report about what you built. tentative
## Timeline
A hand-drawn map of the hackathon timeline
| | When | What | |:---:|:---|:---| | **I.** | *Week of [date TBD]* | **Registration opens** โ€” sign up, join Discord, start sketching | | **II.** | *[date TBD]* | **Hack window begins** โ€” two weekends to build, ship, and demo | | **III.** | *Mid-window* | **Live AMA + office hours** โ€” ask the Gradio team anything | | **IV.** | *[date TBD]* | **Submissions close** โ€” Space, demo video, social post locked in | | **V.** | *[date TBD]* | **Winners announced** โ€” per track, plus bonus-quest leaderboard |
## Build something *small.* *Two weekends. Two tracks. The model on your laptop. The neighbor next door.* ### โ†’   [**Register on Hugging Face**](#)   โ† *โ†ณ placeholder link for now* Made with care by the Gradio team  ยท  questions? Find us on Discord  ยท  vol. III ยท mmxxvi