Key Achievements

• 1,600 participants
• 37 countries represented
• 657 registered teams (554 participated)
• 9 offline hubs across Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Serbia, and Ukraine

Thanks to automation upgrades implemented by DataArt’s engineering team, scoring and certification were faster and more transparent than ever before.

More female winners than ever before, reinforcing DataArt’s commitment to inclusivity in competitive programming.

This milestone reflects why DataArt continues to invest in early careers and tech education.

Proggy-Buggy is not just a contest — it’s a platform for learning, collaboration, and global connection.

Planning for the next Proggy-Buggy is already underway. Save the date: May 25, 2026. Take your towel and don’t panic!

About The Contest

Proggy-Buggy is the International Programming Contest organized by DataArt. It has been running since 2013, attracting over 15,000 participants from 60 countries. The competition, held twice a year, consists of 13 algorithmic problems that participants must solve within a 42-minute time limit.

The main protagonists of each problem are two creatures, Proggy and Buggy. Proggy is a highly skilled and creative being who writes programs, while Buggy can sometimes cause delays with errors that Proggy must work through. Navigating these obstacles can be challenging, but with patience and understanding, Proggy always finds a solution.

The Ultimate Question and the Contest Inspiration

The concept of a 42-minute time limit is derived from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," a book by Douglas Adams. In the story, a unique computer named Deep Thought is programmed to answer the "Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything" and provide the key to solving all the problems in the universe. After seven million years of continuous calculations, the computer finally revealed the answer: "42."

Another concept inspired by the book is the name of our Spring competition. It's called the Towel Contest and is held on Towel Day, celebrated worldwide every year on May 25th as a tribute to the author Douglas Adams by his fans.

It has become a tradition for participants to come the May competitions with towels. A towel is the most helpful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have because, as Douglas Adams writes, "Any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the Galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through and still know where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with."

Place and Time

The contest is held twice a year – Towel Day on May 25th and the Proggy-Buggy Contest at end of October. It is held online, but you can also join from one of our DataArt offices worldwide. The list of locations from which you can join will be published on the registration page about a month before the event.

Registration is required to participate in the competition. Registration opens approximately one month before the start of the competition. One day before the contest, all registered participants will receive two links: one to the contest page, which will become active at the start of the competition, and another to the live stream, where the official start of the competition will be announced.

You can practice solving problems on the Contest Portal. You can use your previous registration or create a new account to access it. To do so, follow the link to one of last year's contests.

The Contest Has Three Types of Participants:

Amateurs

Participants aged 16 and above. May have competed in programming competitions other than international ones, such as university, city, regional, or national-level Olympiads (excluding ACM ICPC International Programming Contests or International School Olympiads in programming at any level).

Professionals

Participants in the National Student (ACM ICPC) or School (IOI) Olympiad in programming and other international programming competitions, but not finalists or winners.

Superheroes

Participants who ranked in the top 10 of the National Student Olympiad (ACM ICPC) or School Olympiad (IOI) in programming and past winners of the Proggy-Buggy Contest in all categories.

Contest Rules

1. The Proggy-Buggy Contest is held in solo format (in May) and team format (in October).
2. During team format, all team members must belong to the same category – Amateurs, Professionals, or Superheroes. The team’s category is determined by the highest category among its members.
3. All team members use the same team login and password to access the contest system.
4. Teams can participate online from anywhere in the world (except the Russian Federation, as well as other sanctioned territories), or in-person at one of our Partner Hubs.
5. Team members may live in different cities or even different countries (except the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as in other sanctioned territories).
6. If a team is unable to gather in one room, it is permitted to use instant messengers (Zoom, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.) solely for communication between participants.
7. Each team can use only one device from which the solutions will be sent to the server for verification. If the system detects that solutions are being submitted from multiple devices, the team will be disqualified.
8. Participants are only allowed to use information published before the start of the contest and must communicate only with their team members and the organizers.
9. Participants are not allowed to use support from coaches or third-party participants.
10. All participants (individual or team) will have 13 problems to solve and 42 minutes for their completion.
11. During the contest, using any online resources — including Google, ChatGPT, or other AI tools — is strictly prohibited. If the system detects AI interference, the team will be disqualified.
12. During the contest, all communications must be in English to ensure everyone understands each other.
13. You can write your code in any of the languages provided on the server.
14. You can solve problems one by one or skip some problems and solve them later.
15. You can send the solution to each problem more than once and use different programming languages during the contest.
16. Official results will be published 2–3 days after the contest concludes.
17. The standings will become available after the official announcement of the results, as answers are automatically scored on the dedicated server.
18. Diplomas for Winners and Certificates for Participants will be sent during a month from the official announcement of the results.
19. Participants residing in the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as in other sanctioned territories, are not allowed to take part in the Proggy-Buggy Contest.