# Hackathon #4

Hackathon #4 is designed to push **agentic applications** from “cool demos” into **usable, repeatable workflows** — where agents can delegate work, call tools, validate outcomes, and keep going.

Hackathon Format (unchanged): Open-ended runs continue — variable inflow = high-value edge-case data. We’ll keep inviting outsiders to try agentic apps while hardening software, docs, and process.

***

### Objective

Build proof-of-concept (PoC) **agent applications**, agent frameworks, bots, validators, and developer tools that leverage **Cortensor’s decentralized inference protocol** as the execution + trust backbone.

#### Primary focus areas (Agent-first)

* **Agentic Applications (core track)**\
  Agents that *do real work*: monitor, act, coordinate, transact, and report — with clear tool interfaces and repeatable flows.
* **Delegation + Execution Loops**\
  Demonstrate a full loop:\
  \&#xNAN;*Agent plans → delegates tasks → Cortensor executes (redundant compute) → results returned → agent continues.*
* **Trust & Verification (PoI/PoUW utilization)**\
  Use **PoI** (redundant inference) and **PoUW** (validator scoring) where it adds credibility:
  * cross-model or cross-run checks
  * rubric-based scoring
  * evidence bundles / audit logs
  * “why trust this output” surfaces
* **Agent Tooling & Templates**\
  SDK wrappers, CLI scaffolds, starter kits for:
  * agent + tool calling
  * session management
  * logging + replay
  * evaluation harnesses
* **Operational Agents (DevOps / Community / Monitoring)**\
  Agents that keep infra and communities healthy:
  * router health checks, latency alerts
  * miner/model usage analytics
  * automated incident summaries
  * support triage bots with safe guardrails
* **Public Goods Agents**\
  Open-access bots that provide ongoing community value (free inference tier, limited quotas, or public endpoints).

#### Stretch goals (bonus points)

*Note: ERC-8004, x402, MCP, and COR Prover are optional R\&D surfaces — not required to participate.*

* **ERC-8004 artifacts**: emit agent identity/validation artifacts for discoverability.
* **x402**: pay-per-call rails or UI flows for usage-based access.
* **Router surfaces**: integrate Router v1 (REST) with a `/validate` endpoint; prototype COR Prover surfaces; explore MCP-compatible patterns.

***

### Prize Pool (in $COR equivalent)

* 1st: $1000
* 2nd: $800
* 3rd: $500
* 4th–5th: $300 each
* 6th–7th: $150 each
* 8th–10th: $100 each
* 11th–20th: $50 each

**Ongoing Support:** Top projects may qualify for monthly $COR grants for continued maintenance and improvements.

#### Important Notice on Prize Payouts (eligibility condition)

To align incentives with Cortensor’s long-term growth: if a prize-winning participant is **not** (a) an existing node operator running >20 nodes, or (b) a holder of $500+ $COR prior to kick-off, or (c) a participant with active staked tokens, then their prize will be split:

* 50% allocated directly to Staking Pool #1 under their address
* 50% distributed upfront as liquid $COR

This ensures rewards both support winners and strengthen network security and staking participation.

#### Judging & Awarding Policy

* **Quality over rank:** Prizes are **not** awarded strictly by leaderboard order. Cortensor will judge qualified entries on **overall quality, impact, technical rigor, usability, documentation, and alignment with Cortensor’s roadmap**.
* **Discretionary placement:** Judges may award a prize to any qualified entry at a given place (e.g., a lower-ranked but higher-quality project may receive a higher prize tier).
* **No guarantee to fill all places:** Cortensor may **withhold or reallocate** any prize tier if submissions do not meet the quality bar.
* **Ties / partial awards:** Cortensor may declare ties, split awards, or issue **honorable-mention grants** at its discretion.
* **Compliance:** Entries must comply with all rules; violation may result in **disqualification** and forfeiture of prizes.
* **KYC requirement:** Cortensor may require **KYC** verification for any qualified or prize-winning entry. If requested, successful completion of KYC is **mandatory** to receive prizes.

***

### Suggested Project Ideas

#### New and emphasized for #4 (Agent Apps)

**1) Real Operators: agents that run workflows**

* **Release Manager Agent**\
  Watches repos, builds changelogs, drafts release notes, posts weekly dev summaries.
* **Incident Commander Agent**\
  Monitors router/validator health → detects anomalies → opens tickets → posts a short incident report.
* **QA / Regression Agent**\
  Runs daily test scripts against endpoints, compares outputs, flags drift, and files issues with evidence.
* **Community Support Agent**\
  Triage questions in Discord/Telegram, routes to docs, escalates edge cases to humans.

**2) On-chain & crypto-native agents (safe + verifiable)**

* **Receipt Verifier Agent**\
  Takes tx hashes/receipts → explains what happened → validates expected state changes → emits an attestation artifact.
* **Treasury Watch Agent**\
  Monitors balances/flows, posts alerts, generates periodic reports (with policy-based thresholds).
* **Governance Analyst Agent**\
  Summarizes proposals, finds risks/tradeoffs, and provides structured “for/against” reasoning (with sources).

**3) Multi-agent systems and coordination**

* **Coordinator Agent**\
  Breaks a goal into subtasks, delegates to specialized agents/tools, merges results, validates final output.
* **Disagreement Resolver**\
  When two agents disagree, run multi-run validation + rubric scoring and return a structured arbitration bundle.

**4) Memory & personalization (done responsibly)**

* **Project Memory Agent**\
  Maintains a structured memory store (decisions, constraints, TODOs), produces weekly deltas, supports “why did we decide X?”
* **Knowledge Base Builder**\
  Turns docs/issues into a searchable map, then answers questions with citations + confidence + validation.

#### Tooling / DX ideas (still highly valued)

* **Agent Starter Templates** (TS/Python): tool registry, session helpers, structured logging, replay runner
* **Evaluation Harness**: local scripts to run N trials across models/runs; generate validation reports
* **Observability dashboards**: agent task success rates, latency, failure reasons, validator scores over time

***

### Ongoing Support

* Outstanding projects may receive monthly $COR grants for ongoing improvements.
* Exceptional teams may be offered dedicated roles in the Cortensor developer community.

***

### How to Participate

* Join Discord: discord.gg/cortensor
* Build openly in the community repo: <https://github.com/cortensor/community-projects>
* Submit your final app with a clear README showing functionality and Cortensor integration:
  * Create PR as submission at <https://github.com/cortensor/community-projects>
  * Demo App/URL
  * Documentation / Video
  * Cortensor Session IDs & Router Endpoint (if you used web2 integration)
  * Post all of the above into Discord **#build-ground**

#### Deliverables Checklist (Agent-focused)

* Public repo with permissive license (MIT/Apache-2.0)
* README with:
  * quickstart + runbook
  * architecture diagram
  * tool list (what the agent can do)
  * safety/constraints (what it refuses to do)
* Demo link (live URL or recorded video) + reproduction steps
* **Agent runtime proof**:
  * sample transcripts / logs
  * structured outputs (JSON where relevant)
  * replay script or test command
* **Verification** (recommended):
  * rubric prompt(s) / scoring policy
  * cross-run checks or validator usage
  * evidence bundle format (JSON + optional IPFS)

***

### Timeline

* Kick-off: **TBD (Q1 2026)**
* Submission deadline: **TBD (≈6 weeks after kick-off)**

> If dates shift, we’ll announce updates in Discord.

***

### Evaluation Criteria

Mandatory: Working public demonstration during the hackathon (Discord/Telegram or designated channel). Projects not demonstrated will not qualify.

Scoring rubric:

* **Agent capability & workflow completeness** — 30%
* **Integration with Cortensor** (sessions, routing, validators, staking/payment flows; PoI/PoUW where applicable) — 25%
* **Reliability & safety guardrails** — 20%
* **Usability & demo quality** — 15%
* **Public good impact** (free access, docs, community value) — 10%

Bonus considerations: ERC-8004 artifacts, x402 flows, MCP patterns, `/validate` usage, on-chain records, tests/benchmarks, observability dashboards.

No Auto-Generated Submissions: Purely AI-generated entries without a working implementation do not qualify.

***

### Terms & Notes

* Optional surfaces (FYI): COR Prover, ERC-8004, x402, and MCP are internal/WIP and not required.
* Safety/Compliance: Projects must follow applicable laws and reasonable safety guidelines.
* Transparency: Clearly mark any centralized components or paid services used.
* Data: Use public or properly licensed datasets/APIs.
* Contact: Questions and office hours will be posted in Discord.

***

Hackathon #4 is about **agents that actually ship work** — with **execution you can rely on** and **results you can verify**.

Let’s build agent apps that hold up in the real world.


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