Where impossibleis just an error code.

A hackathon on compilers, programming languages and program analysis, run entirely online. Five weeks to build, from wherever you are. Finalists present in person at IISc, Bengaluru on Oct 2–3, 2026.

Registrations open Aug 1, 2026.

Fully onlineCompilersProgramming languagesProgram analysisLLVM · MLIROpen to students & industryRolling shortlistsFinale at IISc BengaluruFully onlineCompilersProgramming languagesProgram analysisLLVM · MLIROpen to students & industryRolling shortlistsFinale at IISc Bengaluru
The format

Everything is online.Except the finale.

Build from anywhere. Only the finale is in person.

Fully onlineAug 1 – Oct 3, 2026
Anywhere001

No travel to take part.

Register, build and submit from your own machine.

Any city, any timezone. Nothing to book.

Entry002

Late teams still get in.

Sign-ups close Aug 15, 2026, the day hacking begins.

Late registrations accepted after hacking begins. You just build with less runway.

Shortlists003

Announced as they land.

Teams are shortlisted as submissions come in, all through the five weeks.

Submit early, hear back early.

The finale004

One trip, at the end.

Finalists present in person at IISc, Bengaluru on Oct 2–3, 2026.

Their IICT workshop attendance is covered. Nothing before it needs a flight.

Tracks

Six tracks.Or bring your own problem.

Anything in compilers, programming languages, program analysis or tooling counts.

Sample tracks from last year.

The 2026 tracks and the full problem statements land Aug 7.

Visit the 2025 archive

Domain specific compilers and languages

Design and implement compilers and languages for a specific application or a specific piece of hardware.

Halide for computational photography · a language for drones · theorem prover languages

  • Compilers
  • Programming languages
  • eDSLs

Compiler frameworks and tools

Work on the infrastructure itself: intermediate representations, program analysis, transformation tooling.

static analysers · debuggers · formatters and review tools · coverage and profiling

  • Tools
  • Static analysis
  • Debugging

Compilers and AI/ML

Use AI/ML to make compilers better, or compiler technology to make AI/ML workflows better.

LLM support for CFGs · AI-assisted review · model-guided pass selection

  • Machine learning
  • Codegen
  • Tooling

Optimizing for the real world

Take software that already exists and make it run faster or leaner with compiler techniques.

auto-tuning heterogeneous systems · energy-efficient codegen · edge instruction selection

  • Auto-tuning
  • Energy
  • Edge

Explainable compilers

Modern compilers are enormous black boxes. Make their decisions legible to the people using them.

IR to ASM visualisation · showing why a pass fired · interactive teaching tools

  • Visualisation
  • Teaching
  • Debugging

Compilers for new paradigms

Build compilers or tooling for places compilers are only just arriving.

eBPF and secure enclaves · quantum IR to gates · attack-surface reduction

  • Quantum
  • eBPF
  • Security
Timeline

Two months, end to end.Here is how it runs.

Aug 1 – Oct 3, 2026. Fully online until the finale in Bengaluru.

Aug 1

Registrations open

Sign up as a team or solo. Nothing to build yet, just get on the list.

Aug 7

Problem statements and tracks announced

The real track list and problem statements land a week after sign-ups open.

Aug 15

Registrations close

Late entries are still accepted once hacking is underway.

Aug 15same day

Hacking begins

Five weeks, fully remote. Everything runs on your own machine.

Rollingcontinuous

Shortlists announced

Teams get shortlisted as submissions come in, instead of all at once on one date.

Sept 19–20

Final evaluation

Online judging across both days. The finalist list is locked by the end of it.

Oct 2–3

Grand finale at IICT

Finalists present in person at IISc Bengaluru, alongside the IICT workshop.

VenueA V Rama Rao Auditorium, Indian Institute of Science
Prizes

Cash for the top three teams.

₹1,50,000 in total, plus certificates and mentorship for everyone who takes part.

Total prize pool

₹1,50,000

Winner

₹75,000

Runner-up

₹50,000

Third place

₹25,000

Certificates

Every participant gets a certificate.

Mentorship

Sessions with compiler engineers working in industry.

Travel

Finalists' IICT workshop attendance is covered.

Hiring

Internship and job conversations with the sponsors.

Sponsors

Who backs SegFault.And who runs it.

The organisations backing the 2026 hackathon, plus the IICT workshop it is held as part of.

Host

SegFault is organised as part of the Innovations In Compiler Technology workshop.

Innovations In Compiler Technology
FAQ

Questions people ask.

Registrations openAug 1, 2026.

Solo or in a team. There is nothing to build until the problem statements land, so get on the list first. Late registrations accepted after hacking begins.

Last year

24

Submissions

6

Finalists

3

Solo finalists

Read what got built last year before you pick an idea.

All 24 ideas · 2025 archive