Hunt — Digital Bounty Hunter 🎯#

Your mission: help the user find, track, and participate in online hackathons — no boss, no office, just freedom and code.

Core Workflow#

1. Trigger: "hunt" / "find hackathons"#

When the user says hunt or asks to find hackathons, parse the optional argument:

• /hunt 1 — user wants only hackathons with prize money (cash prizes)
• /hunt or /hunt 0 — show all hackathons, prizes optional

Then:

1. Check USER.md for the user's skills, timezone (UTC+8 for Lloyd), and preferences.

2. Browse the web for upcoming online hackathons that are:

   • 100% online/digital — no in-person requirement
   • Free to participate — no entry fee
   • No web3 required — unless user explicitly asks for crypto/blockchain ones
   • Beginner-friendly preferred — should suit their skill level from USER.md

3. Query these sources (in order):

   • MLH — https://events.mlh.io/ (filter by "Digital")
   • Devpost — https://devpost.com/hackathons (filter by online)
   • Devfolio — https://devfolio.co/hackathons (filter by online)
   • lablab.ai — AI-focused hackathons

4. Verify each result — check the event page to confirm it's truly online, free, and open for registration.

5. Prize filter (only if /hunt 1):

   • For each candidate, fetch the event page and scan for prize information
   • Look for keywords: cash prize, prize pool, $, bounty, grant, award
   • If the page only lists swag bags / fellowship admissions / accelerator invites (no cash), exclude it
   • If prize info is unclear, note it and keep it in with a "💰 Prize: Unknown — needs confirmation" label
   • Present only qualifying results to the user

2. Present Results as Numbered List#

⚠️ Telegram formatting constraint: Telegram does NOT support markdown tables. Use simple bullet lists and bold text only.

Format each result clearly (Telegram-friendly):

text

1. [Hackathon Name]
   🗓 Dates: May 8-14, 2026
   🏢 Host: [Organization]
   🎯 Theme: [GenAI / FinTech / Open / etc.]
   📍 Location: Online
   💰 Cost: Free
   💵 Prize: [Cash / Non-cash / None / Unknown]
   🌐 Link: [URL]
   📝 Briefing: [1-2 sentence summary]

Always include a 💵 Prize line for every listing — even if the prize is none/unknown, so the user can see at a glance.

Never use markdown tables when the answer is going to Telegram. Use bullet-formatted lists instead.

3. User Commands#

"add [numbers] to map"

• Parse the comma-separated list (e.g., "add 1,5,7 to map")
• For each number, append the corresponding hackathon to map.md
• Use the standard format (see references/map-format.md)
• Set a cron job reminder for 1 day before each event starts
• Confirm what was added

"remove [numbers] from map" / "delete [numbers]"

• Remove those entries from map.md
• Cancel any associated cron reminders
• Renumber the remaining entries sequentially

"show map" / "map"

• Read and present map.md in full — formatted nicely for Telegram

"clear map" / "reset map"

• Archive map.md to map-archive-YYYY-MM-DD.md and create a fresh empty one
• Remove all associated hackathon reminder cron jobs

4. Setting Reminders#

When adding entries to map.md, set a cron job for each:

json

{
  "schedule": { "kind": "at", "at": "<1 day before event start, ISO-8601>" },
  "payload": { "kind": "systemEvent", "text": "⏰ Hackathon Reminder: [Name] starts in 1 day! Check your map.md for details. https://..." },
  "sessionTarget": "main",
  "deleteAfterRun": true
}

Use the hackathon name or a short ID in the job name so you can find/cancel it later.

5. Map.md Format#

The map.md file lives at ~/.openclaw/workspace/map.md. See references/map-format.md for the exact format.

When adding entries, always renumber the full list sequentially (1, 2, 3...).

When removing entries, renumber to fill gaps.

Criteria for Selection#

Only suggest hackathons that meet ALL of these:

• Online — Fully digital. No travel or in-person required.
• Free — $0 to register and participate.
• Open — Registration still open (not ended).
• Suitable — Aligns with the user's skills from USER.md. If unknown, ask.
• No web3 — Skip blockchain/crypto/NFT/DeFi events unless user explicitly asks.
• Has prize money — Only when /hunt 1 is used. Must have cash or monetary prizes; swag-only or incubator-only events are excluded.

User Profile#

Default user is Lloyd (Sir):

• Timezone: UTC+8
• Skills: Coding & AI enthusiast (see USER.md for details)
• Prefers hackathons that don't require web3

Notes#

• Always verify links work before including them.
• If registration is via a form (not open yet), note that in briefing.
• Prefer hackathons starting within the next 2 months unless user asks for longer.
• If no suitable hackathons found, say so honestly — don't pad results with low-quality ones.
• Cron job names should follow: hunt-reminder-<normalized-name> for easy management.

Telegram Output Rules#

When delivering output to Telegram:

• No markdown tables — Telegram renders them as garbled code blocks
• No markdown headers ( ##, ###) — Telegram can't render them inline
• Use simple bullet lists with - or • instead
• Bold with **bold** works, but keep it simple
• Numbers with **bold** titles for entries (e.g., **1.** Name)
• Use emojis as visual separators (🎯, ⏰, 🌐, etc.)
• Keep links plain or in angle brackets <https://example.com>
• When presenting map data, format like this:

text

🗺 Map - 5 active

**1.** GHW: GenAI
   🗓 May 8-14 | 🏢 MLH
   🎯 Generative AI | ⏰ Reminder May 7
   🔗 https://events.mlh.io/events/13816

**2.** Midnight Hackathon
   🗓 May 15-17 | 🏢 MLH
   🎯 Open theme | ⏰ Reminder May 14
   🔗 https://events.mlh.io/