The $250 Agent Challenge: Online Kickoff & Hackathon

About this event

Build an AI agent that works while you sleep, and get $250 of cloud compute to do it. The $250 Agent Challenge is an open, online hackathon. Docker is giving new Docker Agentic Platform signups a one-time $250 credit for Cloud Sandboxes: microVMs in the cloud, so your agents keep running after you close your laptop. Claim the credit, build something real, and show the community what you made. Join this online kickoff for a walkthrough of the challenge, the tracks, and a live Q&A. What $250 gets you (Medium tier: 4 vCPU, 8 GB, $0.28/hr) • 4 agents in parallel, 7 hours a day, for 30 days, or • About 3,500 fifteen-minute automated runs Claim it here: https://www.docker.com/c/sbx-promo/ (offer ends Oct 31, 11:59 PM PT, credit card needed, one credit per account). No credit card? You can still take part by building locally with the sbx CLI. Pick a track (solo or a team of up to 3) • Night Shift: an agent that does real work while your laptop is closed • No Keys Allowed: uses real APIs but never sees your tokens • Tool Master: connects MCP servers to do something useful • The Crew: several agents in parallel, each in its own sandbox • Kit Maker: ships as a kit others can run with one command Special awards: Best Bang for the Buck, Best Build Log, and People's Choice. Schedule • Sat, Oct 10: Online kickoff, walkthrough and Q&A (this event) • Oct 10 to Oct 31: Build, with help in the Collabnix Slack and Discord • Sat, Oct 31, 11:59 PM IST: Last date to submit • Nov 1 to 14: Judging and People's Choice voting on recorded demos • Sat, Nov 21: Winners announced on stage at the Collabnix Meetup, Bangalore, with Docker swag and goodies How to submit Have these ready: • A build log (blog post or repo README) that lets anyone repeat your build step by step • A 2-minute demo video • A screenshot of your credit spend Then submit your project through the Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1m5GKy1D6blzaHKRqKduDxj-lhMnOJEIEBgyQAZNOG8Y/viewform Submissions close Sat, Oct 31, 11:59 PM IST. Full details Rules, track briefs, getting started guide, and FAQ: https://github.com/ajeetraina/250-dollar-agent-challenge Questions? Ask in the Collabnix Slack or Discord. https://inviter.co/collabnix