Deadline Sentinel

Tired of missing hackathon deadlines? This extension automatically saves deadlines , shows you exactly how many days left. Perfect for students juggling multiple hackathons!

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🧠 Inspiration

As a student and developer, I frequently apply to hackathons on platforms like Devpost, Unstop, MLH, and Google Forms. However, I often forgot deadlines, lost registration links, or had to manually track events in notes or Excel sheets.

This problem inspired me to build Hackathon Deadline Tracker, a Chrome Extension that automatically saves hackathon links, detects deadlines, and organizes everything in a smart dashboard.

🚀 What it does

Hackathon Deadline Tracker helps developers manage hackathons efficiently.

Key functionalities:

  • One-click hackathon link saving
  • Automatic deadline extraction from web pages
  • Countdown timer showing days and hours left
  • Smart dashboard listing all saved hackathons
  • Daily summary report of registered events
  • Export hackathon data to Excel/CSV
  • Deadline reminder notifications
  • Duplicate link detection
  • Dark mode user interface

This tool ensures users never miss important hackathon deadlines.

🛠️ How I built it

The project was built as a Chrome Extension using Manifest V3.

Architecture:

  • Content Script – Detects hackathon pages and extracts deadlines
  • Background Script – Stores data and manages reminders
  • Popup UI – Quick hackathon saving and summary view
  • Dashboard Page – Full hackathon management table
  • Local Storage / IndexedDB – Saves hackathon data locally

The UI was designed using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for simplicity and developer-friendly experience.

⚠️ Challenges I ran into

  • Extracting deadlines from different hackathon platforms with varying formats
  • Handling broken registration links (404 redirect issue)
  • Managing Chrome Extension permissions and Manifest V3 constraints
  • Preventing duplicate hackathon entries
  • Designing a clean and minimal dashboard UI

🎓 What I learned

  • Chrome Extension architecture (MV3)
  • Web scraping using JavaScript
  • Browser storage APIs
  • Frontend dashboard design
  • Productivity tool design for developers

📌 Use Case

This extension is useful for:

  • Students participating in hackathons
  • Developers tracking multiple events
  • Hackathon enthusiasts who apply daily

🌟 Future Enhancements

  • AI agent to fetch upcoming hackathons automatically
  • LinkedIn post generator from certificates
  • Cloud sync across devices
  • Calendar integration (Google Calendar)
  • Mobile companion app

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