hackathon-stack-selectionlisted

## The Stack That Wins, In One Glance Skip the research. After 50+ hackathons, here's the default stack I reach for and recommend to every team I mentor. 1. **Frontend** Next.js 16 + Tailwind CSS + shadcn/ui 2. **Backend** Python FastAPI, or Next.js API routes if you want one language 3. **Database & Auth** Supabase or Firebase (both set up in under 10 minutes) 4. **Deployment** Vercel for the frontend, Railway for the backend 5. **AI** OpenAI or Claude API, plus whatever the sponsor wants > **The short version:** The best hackathon stack isn't the most impressive one. It's the one that gets a polished, deployed demo done in 24-48 hours. There's one rule at the end of this post that beats every tool choice above, and most teams ignore it. ## Frontend: Next.js, Every Time **Next.js with React is the most popular frontend at hackathons**, and it earns the spot. Server-side rendering for fast demos, file-based routing for new pages in seconds, and a massive component ecosystem you can paste from. `terminal`: ```bash npx create-next-app@latest my-hackathon-app cd my-hackathon-app npx shadcn@latest init npm run dev ``` **Do:** - Next.js + Tailwind CSS + shadcn/ui (my default) - Vite + React for a pure single-page app - Svelte or SvelteKit if your team already knows it **Don't:** - Angular: too much boilerplate for 24 hours - Complex monorepo setups - Learning a brand-new framework mid-event ## Backend: Python or Node, Nothing Exotic **Python (FastAPI or Flask) and Nod