FAQ & Venue

Yes. All three tickets are free, and a free ticket gets you the whole event — the build, the sessions, and the social. Indy Hackers is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and sponsors cover the day.

Hackathon if you are building — it already includes the sessions and the social. Conference if you are here for the talks — it already includes the social. Social if you are coming for the demos and the drinks.

There is no reason to hold two.

Indy Init is 18+ for the whole day, not just the evening. We check IDs at the bar.

University students are very welcome. We are not able to admit anyone under 18.

Yes. The conference ticket exists for people who want the sessions and not the build, and the social ticket exists for people who want the evening. Nothing is assigned and nothing is booked — come and go.

No. Register on your own and tell us you are looking — we match people up before the day. Registration asks what you like working on, so teams end up with a mix rather than four of the same.

You are also welcome to arrive with a team already formed.

1 to 4 people. Solo entries are welcome and judged exactly the same way.

No. AI is changing who gets to be a builder, and anyone interested in it is welcome here — whatever you do today.

Product, design, data, and security all have a seat at the table.

Yes — that is the event. What gets judged is not that AI wrote it, but that what it wrote holds up: secure, tested, observable, and something you can defend when the judges ask.

Plan as much as you like — pick the problem, argue about the stack, sketch the thing. The code starts at kickoff from a blank repo.

Judges ask about the decisions behind the build, so work that arrives already finished tends to show.

You do. Teams keep their own intellectual property — what you build is yours to take away, open source, or turn into a company.

A laptop and a charger. Tables and power are sorted at kickoff.

If you are building, come with the accounts you will want already set up — GitHub, whichever model provider you use, and anywhere you plan to deploy.

Yes — a guest network on a fiber connection, which is the part that matters when a room full of people all push a deploy at once.

Yes. There will be food options through the day and a bar in the evening.

We are still working out what is covered and what is not, and we will confirm that here well before November.

Yes. Launch Fishers has accessible entrances and accessible restrooms, and there is a quiet wellness room for anyone who needs to step out of the noise for a while.

If you need something we have not listed, tell us when you register and we will sort it.

Yes. Indy Hackers has one, it applies for the whole day, and it applies to everyone — attendees, speakers, mentors, judges, and sponsors alike.

Read the code of conduct →

Yes — 2026 is the first one, and we are saying so plainly rather than pretending otherwise.

Indy Hackers is not new. We have been running free events for Indiana engineers since 2008, and this is the largest thing we have put on. What happens in the first room is what decides what this becomes.

Indy Init is hosted by Indy Hackers, Indiana's largest technical community and a 501(c)(3) nonprofit — 3,000+ members from 500+ companies.

More about Indy Hackers →