docs/HACKATHON_SUBMISSION_CHECKLIST.md

EcoMCP Hackathon Submission Checklist

MCP 1st Birthday Hackathon - Track 1: Building MCP

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✅ Pre-Submission Phase

Repository & Code

• Code is clean and well-commented
• All imports working correctly
• No hardcoded API keys in repository
• requirements.txt is complete and tested
• Python version specified (3.8+)
• All tests passing (pytest)
• No TODO comments left in critical code

Project Structure

• /src directory with modular organization
• /docs directory with all guides
• /tests directory with test coverage
• run_ui.py as entry point
• README.md in root
• .gitignore excludes sensitive files

Documentation

• Main README.md completed
• QUICK_START.md created
• DEVELOPER_GUIDE.md comprehensive
• API examples documented
• Architecture diagrams included
• Troubleshooting guide written
• Comments in complex functions

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🚀 HuggingFace Spaces Setup

Create Space

• HuggingFace account created
• New Space created with settings:
  • Name: ecomcp (or variant)
  • SDK: Gradio
  • License: MIT
  • Visibility: Public

Push Code to Space

• Space repository cloned locally
• All project files copied to Space
• Project structure verified:

  ecomcp/
  ├── run_ui.py
  ├── requirements.txt
  ├── README.md (with hackathon metadata)
  ├── src/
  ├── docs/
  └── tests/
  

• Code committed and pushed
• Space auto-builds successfully

Configure Space Metadata

• README.md has YAML frontmatter: ```yaml

  title: EcoMCP - E-commerce MCP Server emoji: 💼 colorFrom: blue colorTo: purple sdk: gradio app_file: run_ui.py pinned: true tags: - building-mcp-track-enterprise

Environment Variables

• Navigated to Settings → Repository secrets
• Added OPENAI_API_KEY secret
• Verified Space can access the secret
• No errors when running Space

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🎯 Feature Verification

MCP Server Compliance

• Implements MCP 2024-11-05 specification
• JSON-RPC 2.0 protocol implemented
• initialize method implemented
• tools/list method implemented
• tools/call method implemented
• Proper error handling with JSON-RPC errors
• Tool definitions match MCP spec

Core Tools - All 5 Implemented

• analyze_product - Returns product analysis
• analyze_reviews - Returns sentiment analysis
• generate_listing - Returns product copy
• price_recommendation - Returns pricing strategy
• competitor_analysis - Returns market analysis

Tool Testing

• Each tool has proper input validation
• Each tool handles edge cases
• Error messages are user-friendly
• Responses are well-formatted
• Tools work independently

Gradio Interface

• Interface launches without errors
• All tools visible in interface
• Tool descriptions display correctly
• Input fields work properly
• Output displays formatted results
• Error messages display gracefully
• No console errors in browser

Performance

• Space loads in <5 seconds
• Tools respond in <10 seconds
• No timeout errors
• Handles multiple tool calls in sequence
• Memory usage reasonable

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📹 Demo Video

Video Creation

• Video recorded (1-5 minutes)
• Video quality is clear
• Audio is audible
• Shows launching the Space
• Demonstrates each tool working
• Shows real tool outputs
• Professional presentation

Video Content

• Title slide (project name)
• Brief intro (10-15 seconds)
  • What is EcoMCP?
  • Why built it?
  • Key features
• Tool demonstrations (3-4 minutes)
  • Show 1-2 examples per tool
  • Explain what tool does
  • Show input and output
• Closing remarks (10-15 seconds)
  • Call to action
  • How to use
  • Where to find code

Video Upload

• Uploaded to platform (YouTube, Loom, etc.)
• Video is public/unlisted (accessible)
• Video link copied
• Video link added to Space README

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📱 Social Media Post

Create Post

• Drafted compelling post text
• Includes project name and description
• Mentions track: "Building MCP"
• Highlights key features
• Includes relevant hashtags
• Has call-to-action
• Posted to at least one platform

Platform Options (Choose 1+)

• Twitter/X - Post created and published
• LinkedIn - Post created and published
• Other platform - Post created and published

Post Requirements

• Post is public/visible
• Includes link to Space
• Mentions hackathon participation
• Professional tone
• Post link ready to copy

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📖 Documentation Updates

Space README.md

• Copy SPACE_README_TEMPLATE.md content
• Update with your information:
  • Your name/username
  • Project description
  • Video link
  • Social post links
  • GitHub repo link (if applicable)
• Format is clean and readable
• All links working
• No placeholder text remains

Documentation Links

• QUICK_START.md in docs/
• DEVELOPER_GUIDE.md in docs/
• STRUCTURE.md in docs/
• HUGGINGFACE_SPACES_SETUP.md in docs/
• All linked from README

API Documentation

• Tool descriptions clear
• Input parameters documented
• Output format shown
• Example requests included
• Example responses included

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🏆 Prize Track Alignment

Track 1: Building MCP ✅

• Implements full MCP specification
• JSON-RPC 2.0 compliant
• At least 3 tools (have 5) ✓
• Working demo
• Documentation

OpenAI Integration ($1,000)

• Uses OpenAI API
• Multiple tool integrations
• Optimized prompts
• Error handling implemented
• Model: GPT-4 or GPT-5.1

Modal Deployment ($2,500)

• ecomcp_modal.py exists
• Modal functions defined
• Can be deployed with modal deploy
• HTTP endpoints available
• Async/serverless ready

LlamaIndex Integration ($1,000)

• Foundation for indexing prepared
• Structure allows vector search
• Comments show integration points
• Future-ready design

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🔍 Final Testing

Functionality Tests

• Space loads without errors
• Each tool accessible from UI
• Can input data for each tool
• Tools return valid responses
• No empty or null responses
• Error handling works

Integration Tests

• OpenAI API calls working
• API key properly configured
• Rate limiting respected
• Timeout handling correct
• Fallback responses work

User Experience Tests

• Interface intuitive
• Tool descriptions clear
• Input validation helpful
• Error messages understandable
• Results displayed nicely

Cross-Browser Tests

• Works on Chrome
• Works on Firefox
• Works on Safari
• Works on Mobile (if applicable)

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📋 Submission Package Verification

Files to Include

• Source code (clean, no temp files)
• requirements.txt
• README.md with metadata
• SPACE_README_TEMPLATE.md content in README
• All documentation
• Demo video link
• Social media post link

Files to EXCLUDE

• .env files or API keys
• pycache directories
• .pyc files
• node_modules or venv
• Large test data
• Compiled binaries

Repository Cleanliness

• No uncommitted changes
• No merge conflicts
• .gitignore properly configured
• All dependencies in requirements.txt
• No circular imports

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🎯 Submission Requirements (Per Hackathon Guide)

Required Components

• Project published as HuggingFace Space
• Track tag added to README.md
• Link to social media post included
• Demo video (1-5 minutes) recorded and linked
• Original work only - created during Nov 14-30
• Working MCP server - functional and deployed

Submission Info

• Space URL ready: https://huggingface.co/spaces/[username]/ecomcp
• Demo video link ready
• Social post link ready
• Team members registered (if team)
• All usernames in README (if team)

Quality Checklist

• Documentation - Clear and comprehensive
• Functionality - All tools working
• Design - Polished, intuitive UI
• Code Quality - Clean, well-structured
• Innovation - Unique use case
• Real-world Value - Practical application

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🚀 Final Go/No-Go Checklist

Before Submission

• Have you tested every tool in the Space?
• Does the Space load without errors?
• Can you see all 5 tools in the UI?
• Does each tool return a valid response?
• Is the API key properly configured?
• Does the demo video work and show everything?
• Is the social media post published and public?
• Is all documentation clear and complete?
• Have you checked for any hardcoded secrets?

Submission Ready?

• Yes, all checkboxes above are checked ✅
• Ready to submit! 🚀

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📝 Submission Links to Include

When you're ready to submit, gather these links:

1. Space URL:

   https://huggingface.co/spaces/[your-username]/ecomcp
   

2. Demo Video Link:

   [Your video URL from YouTube/Loom/etc]
   

3. Social Media Post Link:

   [Twitter/LinkedIn/etc URL to your post]
   

4. GitHub Repository (if public):

   [Optional: Your GitHub repo URL]
   

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🎓 Helpful Resources

Documentation Links

• Hackathon Rules
• MCP Specification
• Gradio Docs
• HF Spaces Docs

Support Channels

• Discord: Hackathon Discord
• Community: HuggingFace Forums
• Issues: GitHub Issues in your repo

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📅 Timeline

• November 14: Hackathon starts
• November 30, 11:59 PM UTC: Submission deadline
• December 1-14: Judging period
• December 15: Winners announced

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🎉 Final Notes

You're almost there! This checklist ensures:

• ✅ Your submission meets all requirements
• ✅ Your code is production-ready
• ✅ Your documentation is complete
• ✅ Your demo is compelling
• ✅ You're aligned with prize categories

Good luck with your submission! 🚀

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Last Updated: November 27, 2025

Questions? Check the Hackathon Discord or GitHub Issues