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FirstCommit’s Beginner’s Paradise follows a clear timeline so you can plan your project, form a team, and submit with confidence. Registration opens early, giving you time to brainstorm before the hacking period begins.
1

August 10, 2026: Registration Opens

Sign up on Devpost and reserve your spot. Registration is free and open to all developers ages 13 to 21 in Devpost-supported countries.
2

August 21, 2026: Submissions Open / Hackathon Begins

The hacking period officially starts. You can begin building your project, committing code, and pushing to your public GitHub repository.
3

October 1, 2026: Submissions Due

All projects must be submitted by this deadline. The official Devpost submission deadline is Wednesday, September 30, 2026 at 5:00 PM EDT, so plan to finish and submit before then.
4

October 3, 2026: Judging Begins

Our judges review every submission and score projects based on the official judging criteria.
5

October 18, 2026: Judging Ends

The review period closes and all scores are finalized.
6

October 20, 2026: Winners Announced

Winners are revealed and prizes are distributed across multiple categories.
Submit your project early on Devpost and keep updating it until the deadline. Early submissions give you time to fix broken links, refine your README, and record a polished demo video.