The developer community platform DEV has announced a major new challenge that’s putting $5,000 in prizes on the table for innovative AI agent development. The Real-Time AI Agents Challenge, running through August 31, brings together automation powerhouse n8n and web data infrastructure leader Bright Data in what promises to be one of the most technically ambitious community challenges of the year.
Five Winners, One Mission: Build the “Unstoppable Workflow”
Unlike typical coding challenges with a single winner, this competition splits its $5,000 prize pool across five separate winners, giving more developers a chance to showcase their skills and walk away with meaningful rewards. The challenge centers around a deceptively simple but powerful prompt: build an “unstoppable workflow” that combines n8n’s automation capabilities with Bright Data’s real-time web scraping technology.
“We’re looking for truly useful, complex, and creative solutions,” explains the challenge announcement. “Your agent should demonstrate how adding real-time web data helps enhance what AI can accomplish.”
Why This Partnership Matters
The collaboration between n8n and Bright Data represents a significant moment in AI agent development. n8n’s visual workflow automation platform has become increasingly popular among developers who want to build complex integrations without getting bogged down in boilerplate code. Meanwhile, Bright Data’s infrastructure powers data collection for Fortune 500 companies and has recently launched verified nodes specifically for n8n users.
This combination addresses one of the biggest pain points in AI agent development: reliable, real-time data access. While many AI applications rely on static datasets or limited APIs, this challenge encourages developers to build agents that can dynamically pull fresh information from across the web.
Learning Opportunities and Community Support
Recognizing that not all developers are familiar with these specific tools, DEV has scheduled a special livestream for August 19 at 12 PM ET. The session will feature DEV co-founder Peter Kim alongside technical teams from both n8n and Bright Data, providing hands-on guidance for challenge participants.
For developers who can’t attend the live session, the recording will be made available in the challenge’s resource section, ensuring no one misses out on the technical foundation needed to compete effectively.
What Makes This Challenge Different
Traditional hackathons and coding challenges often focus on building applications from scratch within artificial constraints. This challenge takes a different approach by providing powerful, production-ready tools and asking developers to push their creative boundaries.
The emphasis on “real-time” capabilities is particularly significant as the AI landscape moves beyond static chatbots toward dynamic agents that can interact with live data sources. Whether that’s monitoring market conditions, tracking social media trends, or aggregating news from multiple sources, the possibilities are virtually limitless.
The Broader Context
This challenge arrives at a pivotal moment in AI development. While much attention has focused on large language models and conversational AI, the industry is increasingly recognizing that truly useful AI applications need robust data pipelines and workflow automation. The partnership between DEV, n8n, and Bright Data signals growing industry recognition of these infrastructure needs.
For the developer community, challenges like this serve multiple purposes: they provide learning opportunities, showcase emerging tools, and create networking opportunities within the rapidly evolving AI ecosystem.
Getting Started
Developers interested in participating can find full challenge rules and submission guidelines on DEV’s official challenge page. With the August 31 deadline still several weeks away and comprehensive educational resources provided, there’s ample opportunity for both experienced developers and newcomers to n8n or Bright Data to make meaningful submissions.
The five-winner format means participants aren’t just competing against each other—they’re working to meet a standard of innovation and creativity that could earn them a spot among multiple recognized solutions.
As AI continues to reshape software development, community challenges like this one provide valuable glimpses into the tools and approaches that will define the next generation of intelligent applications.
