Inspiration

We've all moved somewhere new and felt that awkward stretch of time before you actually know anyone. You're surrounded by people but somehow still alone. We wanted to fix that — not with another social feed, but with something that actually gets you out the door and doing things with people nearby.

What it does

Buddy helps you find people around you and do things together. You pick your interests, browse local activities like café visits or sunset walks, and choose to go solo or join a group for bonus XP. Every activity you complete gets logged on your profile. Two companions — BU and DD — live in the app to keep you motivated along the way.

How we built it

Vanilla HTML, CSS, and JavaScript on the frontend. Node.js and Express on the backend. All user data, posts, likes, tasks, and activity logs live in flat JSON files shared across every user in real time. No frameworks, no database setup — just clean code and a design that feels like a real mobile app.

Challenges we ran into

Making multi-user state work was harder than it looked. Likes, group memberships, and completed tasks all had to sync correctly across different users. We also kept fighting the urge to cut corners on polish — and we're glad we didn't.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Buddy actually works as a real multi-user experience. Two people can sign up, see each other's posts, join the same task group, and watch each other's XP grow. That end-to-end loop — from signing up to completing an activity together — working smoothly in a hackathon timeline is something we're genuinely proud of.

What we learned

Product decisions matter as much as technical ones. Every small choice — solo vs. group, an activity log instead of photo verification, the way BU and DD talk to you — shaped whether the app felt worth using or just worth demoing.

What's next for Buddy

Real location data, a friends system, push notifications, and a map of live activity near you. We also want to give BU and DD real AI backing so every conversation actually means something.