Main track
1 winner
Best overall project
MacBook Neo
The strongest product built and shipped over the weekend.
Judged on the idea, the execution, and how Zerops is used.
The Zerops Challenge
Registration
Claim your place before the clock starts
Registration takes a minute and it's the only way in. Do it now, and spend the weekend building instead of signing up.
- Free to enter
- Solo only
- Online, from anywhere
01 / About
From concept to a working product
Now
Registration open
Sign in, fill in the registration form, and you're on the list.
Sat, Aug 8
Kickoff livestream
The challenge, the rules, and a live Zerops walkthrough. Watch the stream.
Aug 8–9
48 hours to build
Build the product and get it deployed on Zerops. Registration stays open through August 8.
Sun, Aug 9
Submissions close
File your project in the same panel before the deadline.
From idea to live
No planning phase, no slide decks. Forty-eight hours, concept to deployed product.
Any stack, no limits
No fixed tracks, no prescribed categories. Bring whatever fits the idea.
Real infrastructure
Production-grade infrastructure, not a local demo or a screen recording.
Built to last
Your application keeps working through judging, not just at launch.
02 / Prizes
Two tracks, two winners
One for the best project, one for the best post about it. Every entry is in both.
Social track
1 winner
Top social post
Logitech MX Master 3
The build post that best shows the work behind the project.
Judged on the clarity of the story, the demo, and its reach.
Credits pool
$5,000
In Zerops credits, split across standout projects that make real use of the platform.
03 / The challenge
Take your project from code to orbit
Build an application, service, platform, or developer tool, and deploy it on Zerops.
Example project
Illustration only
One way a project could be put together on Zerops. None of it is required, and a single container counts, so take as much or as little of this as your product needs.
Public traffic
Frontend
Static or SSR
API
Any runtime
Private network
Database
Postgres, Mongo…
Cache
Valkey, KeyDB
Workers
Queues, cron
Storage
Object store
What counts as finished
- The project is reachable through a live URL.
- Zerops is meaningfully involved in how it is built, deployed, or operated.
- The source is public, and the deployment stays up through judging.
04 / How participation works
Four steps, one weekend
Register, build, post, submit. Step three is not optional, and it has a shape.
- Step 01
Register
Takes a minute, and it's the only way in. Do it before you start building.
- Step 02
Build on Zerops
Make something meaningful, and deploy it on Zerops.
- Step 03
Share your build
Post publicly about what you built and how Zerops is used.
- Step 04
Submit your project
File the form here with your repository, live URL, demo, and post.
Your build post
Step three is a public post about what you built, and the link to it goes in the submission form. It has to carry:
- The name of your project
- A short explanation of what it does
- A short video of the working product
- A link to the live deployment
- A brief explanation of how Zerops is used
- @WeMakeDevs and @zeropsio tagged in the post
AI-use policy
Read before you submitAI can help you build it. It can't build it for you.
Use it for code, debugging, tests, design, or docs. A project generated entirely by AI, with no meaningful work of your own, is rejected - however good it looks.
What you're held to
- Every AI tool you used, disclosed in the submission form
- Meaningful original work and contribution of your own
- An understanding of the code you're submitting
- The architecture and the decisions behind it, explained to judges
05 / Kickoff livestream
Prepare for launch
Saturday, August 8. Watch it live, or catch it here afterwards.
Saturday, August 8 · Livestream
The session that opens the weekend
An introduction to Zerops, a walk through the challenge and what a submission needs, and a live look at a working deployment. Bring your questions and ask them before you start building.
Watch on YouTube06 / About Zerops
Infrastructure that gets your application off the ground
The platform your project runs on, and the one file it takes to get there.
Zerops
A developer-first cloud platform for building, deploying, and running applications. Runtimes, containers, databases, brokers and storage in one project, wired together over a private network.
You keep control of the environment your application runs in, with a lot less infrastructure work between you and a product online.
zerops.yaml
in your repository
zerops: - setup: api build: base: nodejs@22 buildCommands: - bun install - bun run build deployFiles: ./ run: base: nodejs@22 ports: - port: 3000 httpSupport: true start: bun run startOne file describes how the application is built, deployed, and run. Push, and Zerops does the rest.
- Application runtimes
- Linux containers
- Managed databases
- Object storage
- Message brokers
- Search engines
- Private networking
- Build pipelines
07 / What can you build
Bring your own idea, or start from one of these
Any category, as long as the finished project is deployed on Zerops.
AI products
A research assistant, document platform, support agent, or knowledge search tool with a real backend behind it.
Developer tools
An uptime monitor, deployment dashboard, API workspace, feature flag service, or status page.
Real-time applications
A collaborative editor, multiplayer workspace, live incident room, or shared planning tool.
Processing platforms
Document conversion, image processing, report generation, data ingestion, webhooks, or scheduled jobs.
SaaS products
A booking platform, project management tool, creator product, or business operations dashboard.
Zerops tools
A zerops.yaml generator, deployment analyser, migration assistant, or architecture visualiser.
08 / FAQ
Got questions?
Is the event online?
Yes. The event is completely online, and you can take part from anywhere.
Where do I register?
Right here. The registration block sits at the top of this page - sign in, register, and you're in.
Where do I submit my project?
On this page too. The submission form opens when the event starts, and you won't need to fill in a separate external form anywhere else.
What is the main technical requirement?
Your project must be deployed on Zerops, and Zerops must be meaningfully involved in how the application is built, deployed, or operated.
Can I use any programming language or framework?
Yes. You may use any programming language, framework, database, or open-source technology that works for your project and your deployment.
Can I participate as part of a team?
No. The challenge is solo only. You build on your own, and each participant submits a single project.
Can I use AI coding tools?
Yes, for development, debugging, testing, design, or documentation - and you must disclose it in the submission form. What you can't do is submit something you don't understand: you should be able to explain the architecture, the code, and the decisions behind them. Projects generated entirely by AI, with no meaningful contribution of your own, will be rejected.
Does the project need to be open source?
Yes. A public source code repository is required for judging.
Does the project need to remain live?
Yes. The deployed application must remain available until judging is complete.
Where can I ask for help?
The WeMakeDevs Discord, on the official event channels. Questions about Zerops itself are best answered by the Zerops documentation and community, both linked on this page.
One weekend, one deployment, one shot at orbit.
Registration is open now, and it closes when the event does. Read the rules before you start building.