Hackathon Guide

You may use any framework or technology to build your solution as long as you adhere to the product usage policies. However, to be eligible for judging, your solution must showcase IBM Bob IDE as a core component.

Participants are required to bring their own datasets to build the solution aligning to your use case. As you collect data for your project, you’ll want to use best practices. Here are helpful tips:

• Participants are responsible for ensuring data is compliant.
• Data from public websites may be used, if the terms allow for commercial use, but please keep a list of the websites you use.
• Do not use data or assets containing company confidential data, or any other data without permission from the data owner. Participants are responsible for getting approval.
• Do not use any client data.
• Do not use any data containing personal information (PI).
• Do not use data obtained from social media.

At the start of the hackathon, all registered members will receive an email invite to join the hackathon-provisioned Bob account. Follow the steps below to confirm your account:

1. Check the email inbox you used to register for the hackathon and open the email invite you received from the IBM Bob team about joining your hackathon-provisioned Bob account. To confirm you have the correct email, look for:

• You have been added as a team member to ibm-hackathon-xxxx

• Bob Plan: Enterprise plan

Please check your Junk/Spam folders if you cannot find the email in your inbox. You can also quickly search for “IBM Bob” to locate the email.

1. Create an IBMid if you have not created one yet. IBMid is required to access Bob.

Each interaction with Bob's AI capabilities consumes Bobcoins. For this hackathon, 40 Bobcoins will be automatically applied to your hackathon-provisioned IBM Bob account. These Bobcoins are intended to be sufficient for designing and building a compelling proof-of-concept submission.

It is recommended that you plan ahead with your teammates to divide tasks so that you can make full use of the total Bobcoins allocated across all team members. Once your Bobcoin usage reaches 100% usage, no additional Bobcoins will be provided as part of the hackathon. You may still continue working on your solution and final submission. For example, consider leveraging the optional watsonx technologies enabled for this hackathon.

Follow Bob best practices to use the tool effectively and efficiently.

You can monitor your Bobcoin usage in Bob IDE or Admin dashboard:

• In your Bob IDE, select the Settings icon and the Settings tab will open.

• Under the General section, you can view your Bobcoin usage. If you have access to multiple Bob accounts, ensure that you select the hackathon provisioned instance named ibm- coding-challenge-xxx (region: us-east).

To participate in the hackathon, you must install and use Bob IDE. You may also optionally use Bob Shell.

1. Bob IDE (Required)
2. Bob Shell (Optional)

Install the Bob IDE, sign into your Bob hackathon account, and start building your solution with Bob.

Follow the Bob IDE installation instructions.

• If you are on v1.0.3, you must upgrade to the latest v2.0.x release.
• If you are on v2.0.0, you must upgrade to v2.0.2 or later.

To use Bob IDE after installing it, you have to sign in to Bob using your hackathon registration email.

• Open your Bob IDE and select the Log in to Bob button on the IDE.

• Follow and complete the IBMid authentication process on your browser. Once authentication is complete, Bob chat interface will be displayed for you to get started.

• Important: If you have access to multiple Bob accounts, ensure that you select the hackathon provisioned instance named ibm- coding-challenge-uat (region: us-east) to avoid consuming Bobcoins from your personal account. To switch to hackathon-provisioned account, select the Settings icon in the Bob IDE and it will open the Settings tab. Under General, you can switch the team to ibm-coding-challenge- uat (region: us-east) instance.

Follow the best practices guidelines to get the most out of your experience with Bob.

Explore Bob IDE features and their configuration to enhance your experience working with Bob and solution building.

• Chat interface

Bob IDE's chat interface is your primary workspace where you use natural language prompts, slash commands, and auto-approval for AI-assisted coding workflows. Learn more about the chat interface and its components.

• Modes

Modes are specialized personas that tailor Bob's behavior for your specific tasks. Each mode offers different capabilities and access levels to help you accomplish particular goals more efficiently. Learn more about modes and their usage.

• Custom modes

Tailor Bob's behavior for specific tasks or workflows by creating custom modes. You can make modes global (available across all projects) or project-specific. Learn more about subagents.

• Subagents

Learn how Bob uses subagents to handle focused, self-contained tasks in isolated contexts without polluting the main conversation. Learn more about custom modes and its configuration.

• Auto-approve

Auto-approve actions in Bob IDE eliminate repetitive prompts but increase security risks. Learn safe configuration practices for read, write, and execute permissions. Learn more about auto-approve and its configuration.

• Custom rules

Custom rules influence how Bob responds to your requests, aligning output with your specific preferences and project requirements. You can control coding style, documentation approach, and decision-making processes. Learn more about custom rules and its configuration.

• MCP servers

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) extends Bob's capabilities by connecting to external tools and services. This guide shows you how to configure, manage, and use MCP servers with Bob. Learn more about MCP server configuration with Bob.

• Ignoring files

Control which files Bob can access by creating a `.bobignore` file in your project. Learn more about Ignoring files.

• Context mentions

Context mentions let you reference specific elements of your project directly in your conversations with Bob. By using the @ symbol, you can point Bob to files, folders, problems, and other project components, enabling more accurate and efficient assistance. Learn more about context mentions.

• Security guidelines

Bob has capabilities for coding and system interaction. To use safely, follow the security guidelines.

• Bob tips

Bob tips detects code quality issues in real-time with AI-powered refactoring suggestions for complex functions. Reduce technical debt as you code. Learn more about Bob tips and findings.

• Rollback

Automatically version workspace files during AI tasks. Safely explore AI suggestions and experiment with changes, and easily recover from unwanted changes. Learn more about Rollback.

• Code actions

Access Bob's AI-powered code actions that provide quick fixes, refactorings, and code explanations directly in the Bob IDE through lightbulb icons and context menus. Learn more about utilizing code actions.

• Code reviews

Use the built-in Review workflow to get AI-powered code reviews directly in your IDE. Bob analyzes changes and flags potential issues before you commit your work. Learn more about code reviews and its usage.

• Commit messages

Generate meaningful commit messages automatically with Bob. Save time, maintain consistency, and follow conventional commit standards with AI assistance. Learn more about commit message and its usage.

• Pull requests

Bob can generate pull requests (PRs) and PR descriptions directly from your IDE, streamlining your development workflow and saving time. Learn more about pull requests and its usage.

• Enhance prompt

Improve your prompts before sending them to Bob. Click the sparkles icon in the chat input to automatically refine your request, making it clearer, more specific, and more likely to yield better results. Learn more about enhancing prompts.

• Literate coding

Write code with AI assistance directly in your editor using natural language instructions right where the code should go. Bob generates the implementation in context with inline diffs. Learn more about literate coding and its usage.

• Skills

Create reusable instruction sets for specialized workflows. Define custom workflows, add supporting files, and teach Bob specialized tasks for consistent results. Learn more about skills and its usage.

Try the quick start hands-on exercises for sample use cases to get started with using Bob.

• Bob exercises

Quick hands-on exercises to learn how to use IBM Bob in the IDE for understanding code, refactoring, and automating everyday development tasks.

• Bob and watsonx Orchestrate exercises

Hands on exercises that show how IBM Bob and watsonx Orchestrate work together to design, build, and run agent-based workflows.

Bob exercises:

• Quickstart exercise

Use IBM Bob to build a web UI for an existing Node.js Express API and run it in Docker, using modes, the approval workflow, and agentic iteration.

• Travel demo app

Get started with IBM Bob and the Galaxium Travels demo app by learning the tutorial flow, setup requirements, and application architecture.

• Build agents with Bob /init

Give Bob persistent project context across conversations and modes with /init, which automatically generates AGENTS.md files.

• Create a commit and pull request with Bob

Use Bob to create a branch, stage changes, generate a commit message, push to your repository, and open a pull request.

• Generate code from comments

Use literate coding to have Bob generate code from natural language comments, where Bob helps you write precise, context-aware code modifications directly in your editor.

• Plan and implement complex features

Learn how to use the agentic chat sidebar to employ a Plan mode and Code mode workflow, where Bob plans complex features end-to-end and then implements them autonomously across your full codebase.

• Standardize Bob's behavior

Standardize Bob's behavior across your team using project-level rules files that tell Bob to document its code and remember its previous actions.

• Add a custom mode

Extend Bob's job capabilities by creating a custom product-manager mode with a tailored role definition, behavioral instructions, and deterministic tool access constraints.

• Create a new context window

Manage Bob's context window to preserve memory, control cost, and maintain output quality during complex or long-running conversations.

• Modernize a Node.js application

Learn to use IBM Bob for application modernization by upgrading a Node.js Express API from version 16 to 22. Try AI-assisted development with modes, approvals, and literate coding in this hands-on tutorial.

• Inspect an unfamiliar codebase

Use IBM Bob to rapidly understand an unfamiliar application, such as its purpose, project structure, architecture, tech stack, key components, test coverage, and deployment model. You can do this without relying on outdated documentation or waiting for teammates.

• Generate architecture diagrams

Use IBM Bob to analyze the Galaxium Travels codebase and generate Mermaid UML class diagrams, sequence diagrams, and use case diagrams. Learn how to use context mentions in Ask mode to explore code and Agent mode to save the results to your repository.

• Audit code and generate reports

Use IBM Bob to create a reusable security audit skill, scan an application against OWASP ASVS requirements, and generate SARIF and OSCAL reports that developers and AI agents can act on.

• Generate secure code with an actor-critic workflow

Use IBM Bob to configure security rules and apply an actor-critic pattern to generate Python code that satisfies security frameworks before it reaches a static analysis tool.

Bob and watsonx Orchestrate exercises:

• Using IBM Bob to build watsonx Orchestrate agents and MCP tools

A hands-on guide for automating the full process of building and deploying an agentic workflow using IBM Bob.

• Build agentic workflows programmatically on watsonx Orchestrate using IBM Bob

A hands-on guide for creating automated invoice-processing agentic workflows using IBM Bob to generate code, tools, and configuration for watsonx Orchestrate.

• Turn BPMN diagrams into production‑ready agents with Bob skills and watsonx Orchestrate

A hands-on guide for using Bob skills to transform BPMN process models into SOP‑driven, fully tested, and deployable watsonx Orchestrate agents with best‑practice workflows, tools, and automation patterns.

Bob Shell brings IBM Bob's AI capabilities to your command line. Bob Shell delivers the same context awareness and reasoning-focused approach from IBM Bob but optimized for shell environments and automated processes.

Follow the Bob Shell installation instructions.

Bob Shell 2.0.0 requires a fresh install. Currently there is no automated upgrade path from 1.0.x. Your existing settings and configurations will be preserved during the install.

Bob Shell uses the same login entry point as all other Bob clients: bob.ibm.com/login. Learn more about Bob Shell authentication.

Interactive sessions provide a conversational interface to Bob directly in your terminal, allowing real-time assistance with your development tasks. Learn more about starting interactive sessions.

Non-interactive session provides a method to use Bob Shell directly from the command line without entering an interactive session. Use for automation, scripting, and batch processing tasks. Learn more about starting non-interactive sessions.

You can configure Bob Shell to match your workflow preferences. Learn more about Bob Shell configuration.

Learn how Bob Shell uses specialized tools to read files, edit code, run commands, and interact with your development environment from the command line. Learn more about Bob Shell tools.

Explore Bob Shell features to enhance your experience and solution building.

• Slash commands

Create custom slash commands to automate workflows and standardize team practices. Learn more about Slash commands.

• Modes

Modes are specialized personas that tailor Bob's behavior for your specific tasks. Each mode offers different capabilities and access levels to help you accomplish particular goals more efficiently. Learn more about Modes.

Try practical examples on how to use Bob Shell for debugging, code improvement, file creation, documentation generation, and learning new concepts. Learn more about Bob Shell usage examples.

Each participant must upload all relevant Bob task session summary screenshots as part of your project submission. These screenshots must be included in your final code repository as submission deliverable.

Follow the steps below to complete this process:

• Create a folder named bob_sessions in your project submission code repository.
• In your Bob IDE’s chat interface, select Tasks to display the task list.

• Select a task from the list related to your project submission and the selected task will open in the chat panel. Confirm that you are in the correct project workspace. If your submission includes tasks from multiple workspaces, select All to view tasks across all relevant workspaces.

• Select the task header. A task session consumption summary will be displayed.

• Take a screenshot of the task session consumption summary. Save screenshots in PNG format where possible for better text clarity. Use a clear file name that includes your team name, task number, and short task description.

Example: teamalpha_task01_login_flow_summary.png

• Now, repeat the steps above for all the tasks related to your project submission.
• Upload all task session consumption summary screenshots to the bob_sessions folder in your code repository.