⚖️ Vibe Coding Arena 2026 — Official Rules 1. Eligibility & Teams

  • Participants must be officially registered for the event.

  • Teams must consist of 2–3 members.

  • Each participant may participate on one team only.

2. Vibe Coding Sprint

The official Vibe Coding Sprint runs from:

9:30 AM – 1:00 PM

Teams have exactly 3.5 hours to build their project.

The 15-minute setup period before the sprint is not part of the official building time.

3. Approved AI & Vibe Coding Tools

The officially approved tools are:

  • OpenCode

  • LLM Arena

No other AI coding or Vibe Coding tool may be used without explicit approval from the organizers.

Using an unauthorized tool may result in disqualification.

4. GitHub Repository

Each team must provide a public GitHub repository through the registration process.

The repository must:

  • Be public.

  • Be created specifically for Vibe Coding Arena.

  • Remain empty before the official sprint begins.

The Technical Team will contact registered teams before the event to verify their repository and arrange the required access for monitoring.

The Technical Team may review repository history and activity during and after the competition to verify compliance.

5. Pre-existing Work

Projects must be developed during the official 3.5-hour Vibe Coding Sprint.

Teams may not submit pre-built projects or substantially pre-existing code.

Using existing personal templates or project code to gain a competitive advantage is not permitted.

6. Libraries, Dependencies & External Resources

Participants may use libraries, packages, dependencies, APIs, or other external resources only when permitted through the approved Vibe Coding environment or explicitly approved by the organizers.

Teams must not independently introduce unauthorized external code, libraries, packages, dependencies, or pre-built solutions.

If you are unsure whether a resource is allowed, ask the organizers before using it.

7. Judging

Projects will be evaluated according to the official judging criteria:

  • Innovation — 20%

  • Technical Implementation — 20%

  • Functionality & Execution — 20%

  • Problem Impact — 15%

  • Business Potential — 10%

  • UI/UX — 10%

  • Presentation & Demo — 5%

Judges' decisions are final.

8. Fair Play

The following may result in disqualification:

  • Using an unauthorized AI or Vibe Coding tool.

  • Using substantially pre-existing project code.

  • Misrepresenting the development process.

  • Attempting to bypass competition restrictions.

  • Tampering with or misleading the Technical Team regarding the GitHub repository.

  • Plagiarism or submitting another person's work as your own.

  • Any other action intended to gain an unfair competitive advantage.

9. Code of Conduct

All participants are expected to maintain a respectful, inclusive, and professional environment.

Harassment, discrimination, intimidation, threats, or disruptive behavior will not be tolerated.

Participants must follow reasonable instructions from event organizers, staff, judges, and mentors.

Serious violations may result in removal from the event and/or disqualification.

10. Organizer Authority

The Vibe Coding Arena organizing team reserves the right to interpret these rules, investigate suspected violations, and take appropriate action when necessary.

If you are unsure whether something is allowed:

Ask before you use it.

Build fairly. Think creatively. Ship something real.