Tired of juggling multiple tools just to run a programming contest? Meet Basalt: the all-in-one, open source platform that makes hosting coding competitions as easy as basalt build. Fully self-hosted, Basalt works even when the internet doesn’t. Whether you’re a professor, hackathon organizer, or competitive programming enthusiast, Basalt makes running contests simple, fun, and scalable.
From Capstone to Competition
Basalt started as the senior capstone project of four Computer Science students at Louisiana Tech University (Dec 2024 – May 2025). What began as a school project quickly became something more: an opportunity to provide competitive programming opportunities in education.
As a result of our efforts, we were awarded a $3,500 Mini KEEN grant on the condition that we organize a programming competition for freshmen and work an extra sprint (two weeks). The turnout? 44 students, high-octane coding, bonus points, and yes… a comically large amount of pizza. Basalt ran its first official competition flawlessly.
Why Basalt Stands Out
Other tools like PC2 exist, but they’re often minimalistic, requiring you build an entire system around the software just to get a competition running. Basalt flips that script:
- All-in-one: From configuration to contest results, everything is included.
- Flexible: Perfect for a single classroom or a large-scale event with hundreds of competitors and livestreams.
- Powerful primitives: Easy defaults for simple setups, hooks for complex workflows when needed.
Think of it as “batteries included” meets “DIY-friendly”.
How Basalt Works
At its core, Basalt is designed for speed, safety, and cross-platform deployment.
- Rust powers the server, CLI, libraries, and desktop tooling. Compile-time safety and high performance mean you can focus on the competition, not debugging.
- React + Tauri + TailwindCSS + ShadCN + React Query + Jotai create a modern, responsive UI that’s easy to use and maintain.
- Sandboxed environments ensure every programming language runs safely, and the server has access to the necessary tooling at runtime.
What’s Next for Basalt
Even though some of us are now in grad school or full-time software roles, Basalt continues to evolve. Upcoming improvements include:
- Enhanced personalization features in UI
- Pre-competition minigames
- Advanced deployment guides
Our mission? Make Basalt the go-to platform for programming education and competitions worldwide and bring competitions to schools that don’t have them.
Join the Community
Basalt is open source, community-driven, and built for coders by coders. Whether you want to run contests, contribute code, or help shape the roadmap, we’d love to have you on board.
- Check out our GitHub repositories
- Join our Discord community
- Start your first competition in minutes with the CLI
Let’s build the future of competitive programming together.