How can I get Google Cloud credits for the hackathon? 

You can obtain access to Google Cloud developer tools by signing up for a no-cost trial at cloud.google.com/free or by using an existing Google Cloud account and requesting $100 in Google Cloud credits by completing this form. Be aware that you are responsible for fees if your usage exceeds the credit amount.

GKE is an excluded service for credits. What can I do?

You can check out the free tiers on GKE Autopilot & Standard mode: https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/pricing?e=0#section-4. You get a $74.40 monthly credit per billing account that covers the management fee for a single zonal or Autopilot GKE cluster (31 days of a single zonal cluster running). There is no cluster management fee for that single Standard or Autopilot cluster, as long as you stay within the credit limit. The credit applies to only one zonal or Autopilot cluster per billing account. If you need multiple clusters, additional ones will incur management fees. 

The main difference between Autopilot and Standard mode is how the compute resources are billed. For most testing, Autopilot is simpler and often more cost-effective as you only pay for the vCPU and memory your workloads use, not the underlying VM nodes. 

It is important to remember that the free tier credit does not cover the cost of the underlying compute resources (VMs, storage, etc.). The credits we provide can cover these, and you can minimize them by using small instances or short-term testing. If you only need to run tests for a few hours, consider using a cheap, small instance and delete the cluster when you are done to minimize costs. During the judging phase keep your application running on GKE if possible but if you need to spin down due to cost, please make a note to us in your submission.

Another option is to sign up for a new Google account to get $300 in free credits if you don't have one yet. Good luck!

Which tools and technologies are required for my project? 

Your project must be built using these two core technologies:

1. Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE): The chosen platform for deploying your enhanced microservice application and any new agentic components.
2. Google AI Models: Incorporate Google AI models, such as Gemini, to power your agentic functionalities.

What other technologies and tools can I use? 

While GKE and Google AI models are required, you are allowed and encouraged to integrate with other relevant technologies within the Google Cloud ecosystem.

We strongly recommend Agent Development Kit (ADK) for building your agents, though it is not strictly required. We also recommend using the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to connect and communicate with existing microservice APIs; you can deploy an MCP server on GKE alongside the application. Lastly, explore how the Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol can facilitate orchestration and communication between different agent components, enabling complex workflows.

Where can I find resources and support during the hackathon? 

Comprehensive resources can be found on the Resources tab here. You can also register and watch the webinar hosted by Google Cloud experts. Join the Devpost Discord server channels dedicated to this challenge.

What does an architecture diagram look like? 

See the example below of an architecture diagram:

Are we allowed to edit the code for the microservices? 

The goal of the exercise is to see how an existing app can benefit from agentic feature being added to it. For acheiving that, if you need to minimally modify the UI (so the agents can be triggered) or some of the backend to integrate the agent in the system, that is ok. We don't want people to create a completely different microservice application but improve the ones listed in the hackathon to try and simulate a real world scenario where you are asked to We believe creativity thrives in constraints. 

How many bonus points can I get?

There are two ways to earn bonus points:

1. Publishing a piece of content (blog, podcast, video): Covering how the project was built using GKE on any public platform (e.g., medium.com, dev.to, Youtube, etc.). The content must be public (not unlisted). You must include language that says you created the piece of content for the purposes of entering this hackathon.

2. Publishing a social media post: Highlighting or promoting your project on social media post on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, or Facebook. For any social media posts on platforms such as X or LinkedIn, include the hashtag #GKEHackathon or #GKETurns10.

These optional contributions are evaluated in Stage Three of the judging process. If the submission includes complete and requested optional developer contributions, points are added to the Stage Two Score.

Who is eligible to travel to KubeCon North America in Atlanta, Georgia November 10-13?

The Grand Prize and North American regional winning teams are eligible to travel to KubeCon North America in Atlanta, Georgia November 10-13, 2025. In order to be eligible to win KubeCon conference passes and travel stipends, up to two (2) winning team members must be able to travel to the conference and are responsible for any required visas. If members cannot travel to the conference, the Sponsor reserves the right to offer the prize to another winning team. 

** WINNER PREPARATIONS FOR DEMONSTRATING GRAND PRIZE AT KubeCon. If chosen as an eligible winner and traveling to Google KubeCon, the entrant, or two entrants per Submission if a team or organization, may be eligible to present their winning Project in front of an audience at KubeCon using guidance provided to them through winner preparation activities held by the Sponsor that may or may not include meetings, presentation design feedback, and educational materials. In the event a Submission is selected as an eligible winner, but the entrant is unable to attend KubeCon, the entrant winning the prize will retain prize without the travel component and the Sponsor reserves the right to identify a new recipient of the travel component for the applicable challenge by selecting the next available highest-scoring Submission based on the judging criteria who is willing and able to attend the KubeCon.