Overview

Reddit is hosting the Mod Tools and Migrated Apps Hackathon from April 29nd to May 27th. We’re offering developers $45,000 in prizes for new tools built to empower moderators, as well as existing mod apps ported from our Data API to Devvit. 

The challenge: create a utility, automation, or moderation tool that solves existing community pain points using Devvit i.e. Reddit’s Developer Platform.

For this hackathon, we have three categories with grand prizes:

1. New Mod Tool Category: Build a brand-new utility or tool designed to make both leading and moderating communities easier. We want to see time savings, utilities for thoughtful engagement, and tools to delight subreddit moderators across the site. 

2. Ported Data API App Category: Take a classic Reddit bot (originally built on PRAW or other frameworks) and port it to Devvit. We want to see these essential tools become more stable, faster, and easier for mods to install via the App Directory. We are excited to see individual community tools become generalized for broader mod benefit, as well as bespoke subreddit tools finding a home on Devvit.

3. Moderators Choice: A panel of moderator judges will select one additional grand prize winner, based on the core judging criteria. This moderator panel will review a shortlist of projects from the two other categories that score highly in the first round of judging.

What to Build

Build a moderation app with Devvit. We are looking for tools that range from automated enforcement, to better queue management, to creative community-building utilities. The best apps reduce moderation load significantly, improve community operation, or serve to incentivize good behavior in the community through innovative utilities.

These apps can have a custom post component, or can operate entirely in the background. We want to see evidence that the tool can save significant time or make a measurable impact. Importantly, the tool should also be easy to understand, install, and provide a great user experience for mods installing the tool.

• The Best New Mod Tool: For the most innovative tool or utility that solves a significant pain point for moderators. This could be easier rule enforcement, moderation workflows, community engagement tools, or anything else that supports moderators in community leadership. It should be unique to the Devvit ecosystem and provide a seamless experience for mod teams. The app should not have been created prior to the content period.

• The Best Ported App: This award recognizes the most successful migration of an existing Data API moderation bot or tool* to Devvit. The winning submission will maintain the bot’s core utilityand can be generalized to serve many communities through app install. You should be the bot owner, or have written permission to port the bot you are submitting for this event.

*Existing Data API bots must have been operating on Reddit prior to March 2026 and support one or more existing communities with 500 or more Weekly Active Users. These can be mod tools, utilities, or anything else that improves the day-to-day functioning of an existing Reddit community. Apps not built with Reddit's Data API do not count towards this category.

Requirements

Apps must be built on Reddit's Developer Platform and be compliant with our Devvit Rules.

For this event we are looking for polish, meaning apps that are as close to launch-ready as possible. We understand that not all projects will reach this threshold, but projects that are well tested and concept-complete will score higher.

Getting started

• Get started with the Devvit documentation for moderation apps.
• Review our bot porting guide on migrating Data API bots to Devvit.
• Join us on Discord and r/Devvit for live support and office hours

Sustaining Success

Successful apps built during the hackathon can become eligible for Reddit Developer Funds, which rewards apps for reaching engagement milestones. Learn more about the program here. Successful ports can also be eligable for a porting bounty via our App Migration Program.

Need inspiration?

Join our Discord to chat with other developers and get live support from the Reddit team.

• Community Impact
  To what degree does this tool significantly save moderate time or improve community engagement?
• Polish
  Your submission should be as close to publishable as possible and compliant with Devvit Rules.
• Reliable UX
  The tool should be easy for a mod to install and configure and work reliably at scale.
• [For the Port Category] Port Completion
  How close is this app to replacing an existing ported bot or tool that supports an active community? Apps that can be transferred today will get full scoring.
• [For the New Mod Tool] Ecosystem Impact
  Does this bring a net new tool or functionality to the Devvit ecosystem? Does it have broad moderator appeal?
• Feedback Award Criteria
  We are looking for detailed, candid, actionable, and constructive feedback. This may include specific feature requests, details which resources are most or least helpful, bugs and issues encountered, process improvements etc.
• Helper Award Criteria
  We are looking for signals from your fellow contestants that the time you took to help them genuinely improved their experience. This can be active support in our communities, playtesting apps, sharing code snippets, troubleshooting issues, etc.