Coffee & Code Philly

## Claude Code vs. Codex: Loops, Graphs, and Harnesses

This is a casual pair-programming meetup for developers experimenting with Claude Code, Codex, and agentic coding workflows.
There is no formal presentation and no fixed curriculum. Bring a laptop, a repository, a side project, or a workflow you want to test. We will work in small groups, compare approaches, debug problems, and share what is working.

Possible areas to explore include:

• Building iterative coding-agent loops
• Comparing Claude Code and Codex on the same task
• Designing graph-based agent workflows
• Creating reusable coding harnesses
• Managing context across large repositories
• Running tests and validating agent-generated changes
• Using sandboxes, permissions, and approval steps
• Coordinating subagents or parallel tasks
• Measuring latency, token usage, cost, and completion quality
• Debugging failed or incomplete agent runs

You do not need to be an expert in either tool. This meetup is for people who want hands-on time to experiment, pair with other developers, and learn through building.
Bring something you are working on, or join someone else’s project.
Hosted by Coffee & Code Philadelphia.

# 🤖 AI Agent Hackathon

## Two Days Two Locations One Hackathon

Join Coffee & Code Philadelphia for a hands-on, in-person hackathon focused on building, experimenting with, and shipping working AI-agent projects.
The main Hackathon Build Day takes place on September 20 at Pennovation Center. Projects, winners, and members of Philadelphia’s AI community will come together again on September 22 for an expanded Awards & Community Night at Cesium.
Come with a team, meet collaborators at the event, or build independently. You do not need to arrive with a finished project idea.

## 👤 Who Should Attend

This event is for developers, engineers, technical builders, founders, researchers, students, and anyone interested in experimenting with AI-agent systems.
Whether you already work with agent frameworks or are just beginning to explore them, the goal is to test ideas, learn from other builders, and leave with something working.
You may participate:

• With an existing team
• By finding collaborators at the event
• As an independent builder
• Without a finished project idea

## 🧠 What You Can Build

Projects may explore:

• Coding agents
• Multi-agent systems
• Tool use and automation
• Agent memory and context
• Evaluation and reliability
• AI safety and security
• Open-source agent frameworks
• Real-world agent applications
• Sponsor challenge tracks
• The Open Track and Bring Your Own Project

## 📅 Day 1 Hackathon Build Day

Sunday, September 20, 2026
Pennovation Center
3401 Grays Ferry Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19146

### Schedule

9:00–9:40 AM — Registration and check-in
10:00–10:15 AM — Opening ceremony
10:15–10:30 AM — Challenge track introductions
10:32–10:35 AM — Quirq
10:37–10:40 AM — The Code Registry
10:42–10:45 AM — GalaxyGate
10:47–10:50 AM — Human Standard
10:52–10:55 AM — Naftiko
10:57–11:00 AM — Open Track and Bring Your Own Project
11:00 AM–6:00 PM — Hackathon build time

## 🏆 Day 2 Awards and Community Night

Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Cesium
601 Walnut Street, Suite 250S
Philadelphia, PA 19106
We have extended the evening until 9:00 PM to provide more time for project demos, conversations with the builders, and networking after the awards.

### Schedule

6:00 PM — Doors, pizza, and hackathon demo booths
6:30 PM — Welcome introductions
6:40 PM — Main talk by Tom DiCarlo of Bentley Systems on AI Gateway Infrastructure
7:05 PM — Lightning talks featuring short AI demos from local builders
7:35 PM — Hackathon awards and closing ceremony
8:00–9:00 PM — Post-awards networking and final project demos

## 🎒 What to Bring

• A laptop and charger
• Your preferred development environment
• Any API keys, accounts, datasets, or tools you plan to use
• Your project idea, if you have one

Please configure and test your development tools before arriving so you can spend more time building.

## 📦 Submission Requirements

To be eligible for judging, each team or solo builder must submit:

• A working prototype that meaningfully uses AI agents or agentic workflows
• A description of the problem, project, and use of AI agents
• A source-code repository
• A demo video of three minutes or less
• A list of the models, frameworks, APIs, tools, and datasets used
• A complete team-member list
• Setup or reproduction instructions
• A clear explanation of what was created or significantly extended during the hackathon

Projects should be substantially built during the hackathon. Existing libraries, APIs, models, frameworks, boilerplate, and general-purpose tools may be used.
A polished production application is not required. Judges should be able to understand the idea, see a functioning prototype, and evaluate how AI agents are used.

## 🏆 Challenge Tracks

Participating tracks include:

• Quirq
• The Code Registry
• GalaxyGate
• Human Standard
• Open Track and Bring Your Own Project

Each sponsor track has its own challenge, judging criteria, submission requirements, and award.

## 🚀 Registration

A fun and light code session where tech friends get together in a large and relaxed café space, and code! Bring your laptop (or another coding device of choice) for a great opportunity to ask questions, share ongoing projects, help each other out, and meet other awesome coders. We're all about the code, and we hope to make a space for people who like to build.

Notes to keep in mind:

*Guest wireless internet access is good and free

Come out and work, help, or just hang out!