Season 12 • April 17-19, 2026 • SF + Online

CODE FLEXIBLE.
BUILD WILD.

FlexCodeJam is not a boring hackathon. It's a 48-hour creative code jam: live theme drops, flex twists every 6 hours, neon arena, 4000 builders, $120K prizes, demo-day rave. Frontend, AI, games, WebGL, bots — anything that runs.

Claim free ticket → Explore jam ↓

4,200+jammers 2025

48Hpure building

$120Kprizes + perks

92countries

live: 1,284 coding nowFLEX_OS v12.6

📍 Flex Arena SF⚡ theme drop in 02:14:55

$ flex jam --start --flexible
> injecting twist_04: build with only 1 API…
> 342 teams shipped in last hour ✓

FLEXCODEJAM 2026 ✦ 48H BUILD ✦ $120K PRIZES ✦ LIVE THEME DROPS ✦ CREATIVE CODING ✦ AI • GAMES • WEBGL • BOTS ✦ FLEXCODEJAM 2026 ✦ 48H BUILD ✦ $120K PRIZES ✦ LIVE THEME DROPS ✦ CREATIVE CODING ✦ AI • GAMES • WEBGL • BOTS ✦

01 / ABOUT

Not a hackathon.
A code jam.

See tracks

2015 → 202611 editions sold out

Why flex?

Flexible rules. Rigid fun. Zero boring pitches.

FlexCodeJam.org started as a tiny Adobe Flex meetup jam and grew into a global creative coding festival. Our philosophy: constraints spark creativity. Every 6 hours we drop a Flex Twist — e.g. “your UI must work with keyboard only”, “add multiplayer in 60 min”, “use a public API you never used”.

✓No slide decks. Only working demos, live on stage in 90 seconds.

✓Solo or squad up to 4. Matchmaking party + Discord + onsite Flex Mixer.

✓Beginner friendly. Zero-to-ship workshops, mentors 24/7, starter kits.

✓Hybrid. Flex Arena in San Francisco + full online arena with streams.

12.4K
alumni hackers

1.9K
projects shipped

02 / TRACKS

Pick your flex.

5 arenas • endless twists

Track A • AI Remix

AI & Bots Jam

Build playful AI: agents, voice games, meme generators, copilots for creatives. Sponsored GPU credits included.

Track B • Visual

WebGL & Creative Code

Shaders, Three.js, p5, live visuals. Project on the 20m LED cube. Most Instagrammable track.

Track C • Play

Games in 48H

Make a playable game from scratch. Theme + secret mechanic revealed at kickoff. Playtest party Sunday.

Track D • Ship it

Wild Web Apps

Flex your stack: realtime collab, maps, fintech toys, civic hacks. Best product wins fast-track to demo day.

Track E • IRL

Hardware & Flex Devices

Arduino, wearables, LED, robots. We ship a FlexBox with sensors to first 300 teams.

OPEN
FLEX

Surprise us.

No track? No problem. Wildcard wins Grand Prix twice in history. Dare.

03 / SCHEDULE

48 hours of chaos.

Fri 18:00 — Kickoff

Theme Drop + Flex Mixer

Live show, secret theme, team formation, pizza + energy drinks. Online stream with chat twists.

Sat 00:00 — Twist #1

Midnight Flex Twist

First constraint revealed. Mentors + lo-fi stage all night.

Sat 12:00 — Workshops

Ship-fast sessions

Shaders 101, Prompt hacking, Deploy in 10 min, Pitch without slides.

Sat 18:00 — Twist #2 + Playtest

Arcade night

Test each other's builds, live voting, DJ set.

Sun 15:00 — Freeze + Demos

90-sec demos on main stage

No slides, only live product. Jury + crowd vote.

Sun 20:00 — Awards Rave

$120K + afterparty

Trophies made from recycled keyboards. Confetti deploy.

Pro tip

Sleep pods, showers, 24/7 ramen bar and quiet hacking loft. Bring laptop, we handle rest.

04 / PRIZES

$120K + glory.

Grand Prix

$25K

+ trip to present next year + golden keyboard

Each track

$10K

5× winners + cloud credits + gadgets

Crowd fave

$5K

voted live by 4000 people + meme fame

Rookie flex

$5K

best first-time team, mentorship pack

07 / JOURNAL

Fresh from the jam.

Guide

How to win a code jam in 48 hours

Scope tiny, demo big, sleep 4h, twist is your friend.

Stack

Best starter kits for 2026

Next.js + Supabase, Three.js boilerplate, AI agent template.

Recap

FlexCodeJam 2025 winners

Meme OS, Shader Karaoke and Trash-to-Treasure robot.

08 / FAQ

Got questions?

Do I need to be pro to join?

No. 40% are first-timers. Starter kits, mentors and beginner track make shipping possible in a weekend even if you just learned HTML.

Online or onsite?

Both. Full hybrid: onsite Flex Arena SF + online arena with streams, Discord judging and remote demo slots.

How much does it cost?

Online is free. Onsite early bird $49 includes food, swag, FlexBox and sleep pod. Scholarships available.

Who owns the code?

You. 100%. MIT by default, keep it closed if you want. We only ask to demo live.

Can I use AI tools?

Yes, encouraged. Declare tools used. There is a special prize for most creative human+AI workflow.

What to bring?

Laptop, charger, sleeping bag if hardcore. We provide WiFi 10Gbps, power, monitors to borrow, coffee IV.

CODE FLEXIBLE.BUILD WILD.