Citrus Hack 2026

| About

Citrus Hack is a 24 hour hackathon hosted by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) at the University of California, Riverside in Southern California. Hackers are challenged to build projects and present to a panel of judges to compete for tracks and prizes.

As one of the Inland Empire's largest hackathons, we aim to provide a space for exploring a passion for technology, foster a community, and increase accessibility to resources. We aim to facilitate and provide a hackathon packed with workshops, activities, mentorship, and more.

As the oldest hackathon at UC Riverside (alongside our sibling hackathon - Cutie Hack!) with 10+ years of hacking and innovation, our goal is to provide learning and networking opportunities for our community of hackers.

This year, we bring forth new partners and sponsors to provide more opportunities and resources for our participants (check them out on this page, coming soon)! We hope you're able to embark on an epic adventure with Citrus Hack this year.

| Key Information

ALL PARTICIPANTS are REQUIRED to register and be accepted through our website: citrushack.com.

For accepted hackers - further instructions will be provided. Keep in mind all rules must be followed.

| Connect with Us: Our Platforms

Core links: citrushack.com (website) • Discord TBA • All Links • citrushack@gmail.com (email)

Socials: @citrushack_ucr (Instagram) • citrushack (LinkedIn)

More opportunities: acmucr.carrd.co (ACM) • linktr.ee/cutiehack_ucr (Cutie Hack - our sibling hackathon)

| Get Started: Registration, Submission, & Judging Requirements

1. Register: All participants must register (and be accepted) at citrushack.com and on our Devpost
2. Form a Team: Teams can have 1 to 4 members
3. Plan Your Project: This year, we have 10+ tracks (see submission requirements). You and your team are free to build your project around these tracks, but we highly encourage having it be planned around this year’s theme - TBA!
4. Build: Start coding once hacking kicks off on April 18 at TBA! All projects must be started and completed during the 24 hour period
5. Use GitHub: Your code must be hosted on GitHub. Ensure that all commits are time stamped during the hackathon window to qualify for judging and to be considered for our tracks
6. Submit Your Project: Turn in your project through Devpost and our website (citrushack.com)'s participant portal by the deadline. Scroll below for the precise submission requirements!
7. Judging: Majority of your team must be present in person to pitch your project to judges on April 19 at TBA. Be ready to present your project and answer questions from judges