GDG Coding Jams
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About the initiative

A jam session.
Not a hackathon.

GDG Coding Jams transform standard tech meetups into vibrant, hands-on community sandboxes where developers actually build together. Two hours, a slice of pizza, Google’s AI stack — and a real prototype walking out the door.

How a jam works

Four beats, and you’re out with a working app.

No prep required. No prior project. Drop in to any track on any week.

0:00
Show up

Bring a laptop. No prep, no prior project. The room handles the rest.

10 min
Watch the demo

The polished version of tonight's app, shipped live by the facilitator. This is what's possible.

75 min
Build

Antigravity writes the code. You direct it with a one-page PRD. Fix the doc, not the code.

Walk out
Show it off

A working app on your laptop. A new collaborator. Bragging rights.

Why it works

A jam, not a hackathon.

Think of a musical jam or an after-work pottery class. Instruments out, a creative prompt, two hours of making something tangible alongside friends. We bring that energy to software.

No sit-and-listen tech talks. No 48-hour competitive hackathon grind. Just blueprints, tech access, and collaborative space.

Frictionless upskilling

Developers learn Google's AI tools best when they're actively building. We remove the blank-page syndrome.

Low organizer burden

Materials, timelines, and goals provided. Organizers book a room and bring the snacks.

Stronger communities

Collaborative problem-solving builds a deeper network than passive networking ever does.

The Jam Session Kit

Turnkey, by design.

A complete kit with starter code, frictionless API access, and an 8-track app curriculum. Every track ships with the same three ingredients.

See the full kit →
Starter repo

Scaffolded folder with context/, helper prompts, and pre-flight scripts.

Codelab

A step-by-step guide that gets a participant from zero to a working app in 45 minutes.

Spec Talk card

The 5 Spec Talk questions on one printable. Hang it in the room.

The rhythm of a jam

Two hours, five movements.

Predictable, fast-paced, engaging. We keep the talking short and the building long. Organizers act as facilitators, guiding the room through a unified creative process.

⏱️ 2 hours🚀 Antigravity-powered🍕 Pizza included💻 Bring your laptop🎟️ Free

The goal in the room is always to ship the core feature in 45 minutes — the one thing that proves the concept. Push toward the polished version on your own time.

  1. 0:00 – 0:05
    Intro

    Welcome, name tags, snacks within reach. The facilitator sets the tone: low pressure, high creativity, ship something messy.

  2. 0:05 – 0:15
    The Demo

    Facilitator demos the polished version of tonight's project. Live or pre-recorded. The message: this is what's possible.

  3. 0:15 – 0:25
    Spec Talk

    Walk the 5 questions on the projector. The output is a one-page PRD that Antigravity will turn into UI + engineering docs.

  4. 0:25 – 1:30
    Build (codelab)

    Participants run the codelab. Antigravity writes the code; they direct it. Six phases inside this hour: Setup → Plan → Review → Build → API → Verify. Fix the doc, not the code.

  5. 1:30 – 2:00
    Sharing

    Three volunteer screen-shares. Celebrate the messy, brilliant, half-finished prototypes. Quick wrap-up. Tease the next jam.

The Spec Talk

The skill participants take home.

The apps are how the room practices. The Spec Talk is what participants take home. Two minutes of structured talking — five questions, a sharpie, and a projector — shapes the next 45 minutes of building.

Eight reps over eight tracks. The apps are the practice; the Spec Talk is the muscle. By Track 8, participants are running it solo on their own original ideas.

In Antigravity, the Spec Talk becomes the PRD — and the PRD generates the UI doc, the engineering doc, and the code. The fix-the-doc-not-the-code loop starts here.

“Demo first, theory never” — participants see something cool, then build their version. No lectures on tool calls or prompt engineering.

  1. 1
    Magical moment
    Who's looking at this and what feeling are we going for?
  2. 2
    Input / output
    What does the app take in, exactly? What does it give back?
  3. 3
    Personality
    What's the AI's tone? Witty? Quiet? Stern? Encouraging?
  4. 4
    Signature detail
    What's the one thing that makes ours different from the person next to us?
  5. 5
    Not building today
    What are we explicitly NOT shipping? Name it out loud.
Independent by design

Eight standalone apps. Pick any one.

Every track is a complete, drop-in project that ships in two hours. They don’t depend on each other. Start with whichever sounds most fun for your community.

Shared skill, not shared codebase. The Spec Talk is the connective tissue — eight reps over eight tracks.

Loose grouping (if curious)
  • 01–02 Image-gen pair — same tech, different prompt patterns
  • 03 The turn — from pretty things to organizing your life
  • 04–07 Language-driven utility
  • 08 Open canvas — graduation
  1. 01Glow Up — Selfie + a hairstyle → see the new you.
  2. 02Avatar Studio — Photo (you OR your pet) + pick a style → one stylized avatar.
  3. 03Year in Poetry — Tell AI your meaningful dates → a year calendar you can read like a poem.
  4. 04FridgeChef — Type what's in your fridge → one recipe (with food photo).
  5. 05Mood Jar — Type how you're feeling → a little token drops into your jar.
  6. 06My Corner — Name + bio + 3 things → a live URL you can text your mom.
  7. 07BulletProof — Paste resume + paste job → tailored bullets.
  8. 08Character Chat — Define one character → chat with them.

Ready to jam?

Open any track and ship a working app in the next 45 minutes. Or grab the kit and host a jam in your city.