What's a hackathon?

Recently the h2k21 OpenBSD hackathon happened in Portugal, and I suppose it is hard to imagine what exactly happens there.

The OpenBSD hackathons occur a few times a year all across the world. Usually a week long, it's a time where developers can meet in real life.

It's the opportunity for everyone to hack on OpenBSD with many people around, ask for help, exchange ideas, get curious about other people's work while drinking one's favorite beverage

Hackathons are also a vacation trip, people are not absolutely bound to the hackroom, some groups get formed but some prefer to stay alone and visit the city or interesting areas around.

At every hackathon an artwork is created and shirts with the artwork are given to participants.

In the hackroom, the ambiance is very pleasant, many people behind their computers, but some are speaking, some coming back from a trip and offering local specialties to everyone.

Because many people are gathered in one place, code can be reviewed quickly and committed quickly, however with so many changes, sometimes things break but also get repaired quickly.

I think hackathons are a great part of the success of OpenBSD; they create bonds between people among the project while helping drive development for hard pieces requiring a few minds focused on a piece of the system.

Solène Rapenne