23 December, 2025 (Last Updated)

Best Hackathon Project Ideas for DevOps

What kind of project can make you stand out in a DevOps-focused hackathon where speed, automation, and reliability matter the most? With limited time, choosing the right idea is critical.

DevOps hackathons reward solutions that automate workflows, improve deployments, and ensure system stability. Exploring the right DevOps hackathon project ideas helps you build practical, demo-ready projects that reflect real industry practices.

This guide brings focused and achievable DevOps project ideas that you can build, deploy, and showcase confidently during a hackathon.

Top DevOps Hackathon Projects – Overview

Here’s an overview of the 10 best DevOps hackathon project ideas:

S.No.	Project Title	Complexity	Estimated Time	Source Code
1	Automated CI Pipeline for a Web Application	Easy	6–8 hours	Link
2	Dockerised Application Setup	Easy	7–10 hours	Link
3	Infrastructure Monitoring Dashboard	Medium	10–12 hours	Link
4	Automated Deployment with GitHub Actions	Medium	12–14 hours	Link
5	Log Aggregation and Monitoring System	Medium	12–16 hours	Link
6	Auto Scaling Web Application	Medium	15–18 hours	Link
7	Infrastructure as Code using Terraform	Medium	18–22 hours	Link
8	Kubernetes Based Microservices Deployment	Hard	20–26 hours	Link
9	DevOps Cost Monitoring and Optimisation Tool	Hard	22–28 hours	Link
10	Multi Environment DevOps Pipeline with Rollback	Hard	28–36 hours	Link

Key Focus Areas in DevOps Hackathons

DevOps hackathons focus on improving the speed, reliability, and automation of software delivery. Teams are judged on how effectively they combine development and operations practices.

Continuous Integration and Deployment: Automating build, test, and deployment pipelines for faster releases.
Infrastructure Automation: Managing servers and cloud resources using code and automation tools.
Monitoring and Observability: Tracking system health, performance metrics, and logs in real time.
Containerisation and Orchestration: Packaging applications using containers and managing them efficiently.
Scalability and Reliability: Ensuring systems handle traffic growth and recover from failures.
Security and Compliance: Integrating basic security checks into DevOps workflows.

10 Best DevOps Hackathon Project Ideas

Choosing the right idea is crucial in a DevOps-focused event where automation, reliability, and speed matter most. Below are the best DevOps hackathon project ideas that are practical, industry-relevant, and achievable within hackathon timelines.

1. Automated CI Pipeline for a Web Application

A basic CI pipeline that automatically builds and tests code whenever changes are pushed to a repository. It highlights the importance of automation in reducing manual effort and catching issues early.

Duration: 6–8 hours

Difficulty Level: Easy

Tech Stack Required: GitHub Actions, Git, Node.js or Python

Implementation Steps:

Create a sample web application
Configure CI workflow file
Add build and test stages
Trigger pipeline on code push

Key Features:

Automated build execution
Test validation
Fast feedback on commits

Learnings:

CI fundamentals
Pipeline configuration
Version control workflows

Real-World Application:

Software development teams
Startup deployment pipelines

Get Started

2. Dockerised Application Setup

A project that containerises a simple application using Docker to ensure consistency across environments. It demonstrates portability and environment standardisation.

Duration: 7–10 hours

Difficulty Level: Easy

Tech Stack Required: Docker, Dockerfile, Node.js or Python

Implementation Steps:

Create application code
Write Dockerfile
Build Docker image
Run container locally

Key Features:

Environment consistency
Easy application setup
Portable deployment

Learnings:

Container basics
Image creation
Dependency management

Real-World Application:

Development environments
Application packaging

Get Started

3. Infrastructure Monitoring Dashboard

A monitoring dashboard that visualises system metrics such as CPU, memory, and disk usage. It helps teams track system health in real time.

Duration: 10–12 hours

Difficulty Level: Medium

Tech Stack Required: Prometheus, Grafana, Linux

Implementation Steps:

Set up metric collection
Configure monitoring tools
Create dashboards
Define alert thresholds

Key Features:

Real-time metrics
Visual dashboards
System health tracking

Learnings:

Monitoring fundamentals
Metrics collection
Observability concepts

Real-World Application:

Production monitoring
IT operations teams

Get Started

4. Automated Deployment with GitHub Actions

A CI/CD pipeline that automatically deploys an application to a server or cloud platform after successful tests. It showcases end-to-end DevOps workflows.

Duration: 12–14 hours

Difficulty Level: Medium

Tech Stack Required: GitHub Actions, AWS or Azure, SSH

Implementation Steps:

Configure deployment workflow
Set up cloud server
Automate deployment steps
Validate deployment

Key Features:

Automated releases
Reduced manual errors
Faster delivery

Learnings:

CI/CD pipelines
Cloud deployments
Automation scripting

Real-World Application:

Continuous delivery systems
Cloud-based applications

Get Started

5. Log Aggregation and Monitoring System

A system that collects logs from multiple services and displays them in a central dashboard. It improves debugging and incident response.

Duration: 12–16 hours

Difficulty Level: Medium

Tech Stack Required: ELK Stack, Docker, Linux

Implementation Steps:

Collect application logs
Centralise log storage
Visualise logs
Create alert rules

Key Features:

Centralised logging
Searchable logs
Error alerts

Learnings:

Log management
Debugging workflows
System observability

Real-World Application:

Large applications
Distributed systems

Get Started

6. Auto Scaling Web Application

A web application that automatically scales resources based on traffic demand. It demonstrates elasticity and reliability.

Duration: 15–18 hours

Difficulty Level: Medium

Tech Stack Required: AWS EC2, Load Balancer, Auto Scaling

Implementation Steps:

Deploy application on cloud
Configure scaling policies
Test traffic spikes
Monitor scaling behaviour

Key Features:

Dynamic scaling
Load balancing
High availability

Learnings:

Cloud scalability
Resource optimisation
Traffic handling

Real-World Application:

E-commerce platforms
High-traffic services

Get Started

7. Infrastructure as Code using Terraform

A project that provisions cloud infrastructure using Terraform scripts. It highlights automation and repeatable infrastructure setups.

Duration: 18–22 hours

Difficulty Level: Medium

Tech Stack Required: Terraform, AWS or Azure, Git

Implementation Steps:

Write infrastructure code
Define resources
Apply configurations
Destroy and recreate setup

Key Features:

Reusable infrastructure
Version-controlled setup
Fast provisioning

Learnings:

Infrastructure as code
Cloud resource management
Automation practices

Real-World Application:

Cloud infrastructure teams
DevOps automation

Get Started

8. Kubernetes-Based Microservices Deployment

A microservices application deployed and managed using Kubernetes. It demonstrates container orchestration and service scaling.

Duration: 20–26 hours

Difficulty Level: Hard

Tech Stack Required: Kubernetes, Docker, Helm

Implementation Steps:

Containerise services
Deploy on Kubernetes
Configure services and pods
Test scaling and failures

Key Features:

Service orchestration
Fault isolation
Automatic scaling

Learnings:

Kubernetes architecture
Container orchestration
Service networking

Real-World Application:

Enterprise systems
Cloud-native applications

Get Started

9. DevOps Cost Monitoring and Optimisation Tool

A dashboard that tracks cloud usage and identifies cost-saving opportunities. It focuses on efficiency and optimisation.

Duration: 22–28 hours

Difficulty Level: Hard

Tech Stack Required: Cloud Billing APIs, Python, React

Implementation Steps:

Fetch usage data
Analyse cost trends
Display optimisation insights
Generate reports

Key Features:

Cost breakdown
Usage analytics
Savings recommendations

Learnings:

Cloud billing models
Cost optimisation strategies
Data analysis

Real-World Application:

Startup cloud management
Enterprise cost control

Get Started

10. Multi-Environment DevOps Pipeline with Rollback

A full DevOps pipeline that supports staging and production environments with rollback capabilities. It ensures safe and reliable deployments.

Duration: 28–36 hours

Difficulty Level: Hard

Tech Stack Required: Jenkins, Docker, Kubernetes

Implementation Steps:

Create multi-stage pipeline
Deploy to staging
Promote to production
Implement rollback logic

Key Features:

Environment separation
Safe rollbacks
Controlled releases

Learnings:

Advanced CI/CD design
Release management
Failure handling

Real-World Application:

Enterprise deployments
Production-grade systems

Get Started

Examples of Top DevOps Hackathon Winners

DevOps for GenAI Hackathon – Ottawa & Toronto Editions (2025): At this specialised DevOps event focused on integrating DevOps with generative AI workflows, winners like InnerAI and InsightAI_Minions built observability and deployment automation tools using OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, and Grafana. These projects emphasised real-time monitoring and scalable agent orchestration.

DevOps Automation Plugin Hackathon Winners (2025): In a recent DevOps-focused hackathon, winners included a Sentry integration tool that visualised production issues, a Grafana dashboard for detailed metrics, and various plugins like Docker Container Monitor and Azure DevOps Pull Request insights. These tools showcased practical DevOps enhancements for monitoring and workflow efficiency.

Agent Development Kit (ADK) Hackathon – Google Cloud (2025): While not exclusively DevOps, many winning projects at the ADK Hackathon focused on building agent-centric cloud automation and deployment tooling that aligns with DevOps principles such as infrastructure automation and CI/CD extensions.

Final Words

DevOps hackathons reward projects that focus on automation, reliability, and efficient software delivery.

By selecting a well-scoped idea and using proven tools, you can build a working pipeline or platform that clearly demonstrates real-world DevOps practices within limited hackathon time.

FAQs

1. What are the best DevOps project ideas for hackathons?

The best DevOps project ideas for hackathons include CI CD pipelines, infrastructure automation, monitoring dashboards, containerised applications, and cloud deployment workflows.

2. How do I choose the right DevOps project for a hackathon?

Choosing the right DevOps project for a hackathon depends on your team’s strengths, available tools, time limits, and selecting a problem that can be automated and demonstrated clearly.

3. Which DevOps domains are most popular in hackathons?

DevOps domains most popular in hackathons include CI CD automation, cloud infrastructure, containerisation, monitoring and observability, and release management.

4. Where can I find open datasets for DevOps hackathon projects?

Open datasets for DevOps hackathon projects are available from GitHub sample logs, cloud provider public datasets, synthetic monitoring data, and open telemetry repositories.

5. Can beginners participate in DevOps hackathons?

Yes, beginners can participate in DevOps hackathons by choosing simple automation or deployment projects and using guided documentation and templates.

6. What tools and frameworks are commonly used in DevOps projects?

Tools and frameworks commonly used in DevOps projects include Docker, Kubernetes, Jenkins, GitHub Actions, Terraform, Prometheus, and cloud platforms.

7. How can I complete DevOps project quickly during a hackathon?

Completing a DevOps project quickly during a hackathon requires limiting scope, reusing templates, automating early, and focusing on one strong workflow.

Aarthy R

Aarthy is a passionate technical writer with diverse experience in web development, Web 3.0, AI, ML, and technical documentation. She has won over six national-level hackathons and blogathons. Additionally, she mentors students across communities, simplifying complex tech concepts for learners.