The Handmade Essentials Jam is a programming jam where participants build simple programs they would use every day.
In the year 2026, even the basic software that comes with your operating system is a disaster. Camera apps can only record once. Calculators need a splash screen. Nobody seems to be able to reliably search your drive for files, and every app is half a gig for some reason.
But we are programmers! So this jam's topic is: rebuild an "essential" program from scratch.
The release of File Pilot last year had a large impact beyond Handmade, because it's literally incomprehensible how anyone could make software so fast and so fluid, and so small. (Two megabytes!) But anyone who has followed Handmade Hero knows that this is actually normal; computers are extremely fast and most software is extremely bloated. It doesn't take special tricks to make small, fast, high-quality software; it just takes care and craft and understanding of what the computer can actually do.
File Pilot is just one example of inspirational software made with the Handmade ethos, but there are many others. wcap is a 65KB screen recording program that responds instantly. Cactus Viewer is an image viewer that is at least 10x faster than the native Windows preview application. These programs are a joy to use and make your life better. We need more software like this.
Plus, in the era of AI, we want to encourage community members to keep making software, and to encourage new programmers to learn how to make software from scratch. There's no better way to learn than by making real software you will use every day.
Your submission will be in the form of a Handmade Network project. The project also allows you to share updates throughout the jam, either directly from this website or from the Handmade Network Discord.
Join the Handmade Network Discord to connect with other jammers. The /joinjam command will give you a role and invite you to the #jam channel. Then, use the remaining time before the jam to brainstorm project ideas or find partners to jam with.
Create a Handmade Network project. This project will act as your submission for the jam, and will allow others to follow along with your progress.
Spend the week working on your project!
As you go, make sure to share progress updates in #project-showcase and #jam on Discord. All posts that use your project tag (e.g. &my-project) will be automatically associated with your project submission.
We give participants a full week because we find it to be a good length of time when creating a full application from scratch. We don't expect participants to work on their jam project full-time; instead we generally encourage evenings and the weekend.
Your Handmade Network project is your submission. Make sure to give your project a meaningful title and description, and make sure to explain the project's goals.
No AI. Generating code with AI is prohibited. Vibe coding is strictly prohibited and will disqualify your submission. You may still use AI in a "search engine" capacity, but the point of the jam is to build simple software you can understand.
No code before the jam starts. All code must be written during the jam. Before the jam starts, only conceptual work is allowed, e.g. sketches, research, and design.
Using libraries is acceptable, although we encourage the use of "platform layers" like raylib, SDL, and Clay rather than "frameworks" like React or Qt.
Submissions must contain screenshots. We will not download or compile your software when evaluating your submission. Please make sure your project submission has a thorough description and plenty of screenshots. Video is even better!
