On August 26th, 2025, developers, architects, and innovators gathered at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, for the Alfresco DevCon Hack-a-thon 2025. This year’s event was all about turning bold ideas into working prototypes. And the results didn’t disappoint. Several teams delivered actionable outputs and live demos, showcasing the power of collaboration and the versatility of Alfresco technologies.
Standout Projects with Results
1. Developer Tutorial for Alfresco Repository
Led by @angelborroy , this project picked up where Jeff Potts classic Alfresco tutorials left off. Angel, together with Suresh Joshee, refreshed the Alfresco Maven SDK materials, created helper scripts to clean up sample code, and published a modernized fork at https://github.com/aborroy/alfresco-developer-series
Outcome: An updated, hands-on learning resource for the next generation of Alfresco developers.
2. Alfresco JS Root Objects Collection
Championed by Tahir Malik, with the help of Sherry Mathews and Rob Wilds, this initiative consolidated multiple scattered projects into a unified framework of JavaScript Root Objects. The result: a single repository at https://github.com/aborroy/alfresco-script-root-object, now including a wrapper for "Packages" to extend scripting capabilities.
Outcome: Developers regain powerful scripting options for folder rules and automation.
3. AutoCAD Drawing Transformation & Evaluation
Spearheaded by Dick Weisinger, with the help of Zack Tomechko and Olufemi Okanlomo, this project delivered a working demo for extracting content from AutoCAD and other technical file types. By combining AI with DocFilters, the solution transforms technical drawings into clean Markdown, opening doors for better content enrichment and search.
Outcome: A concrete step toward unlocking engineering file formats for knowledge discovery.
4. Node Replayer for Version Rearrangement
Led by Jared Ottley and Miguel Sánchez, this project upgraded two existing tools https://github.com/keensoft/alfresco-remove-version and https://github.com/jottley/alfresco-maxversion-policy to full ACS 25.2 compatibility
Outcome: Administrators now have upgraded utilities to manage and reorganize version histories more effectively.
5. Web Application to Start APS Processes
With Greg Bousley at the helm together with Logan Jesen and Willian Findley, this team created a lightweight web app to start APS processes without requiring external users to be enrolled in the platform. A demo showed how process initiation can be made seamless for external participants.
Outcome: Simplified external access to Alfresco Process Services.
6. OnlyOffice Support for ADF
Developed by Robert Rawecki and Mikolaj Simon, this project integrated OnlyOffice collaborative editing into ADF applications. The team presented a demo of real-time editing inside Alfresco apps, delivering a tangible leap for collaboration features.
Outcome: Modern, collaborative document editing within Alfresco solutions.
Beyond Ideas: Demos, Tools, and Learning
While some projects stayed in the ideation stage (e.g., Spring Batch jobs, PII redaction in previews, or the Conversational Treasure Hunt), the demos and deliverables above show just how much ground a dedicated community can cover in a single day.
Takeaway
The Vegas Hack-a-thon wasn’t just about writing code, it was about updating tools, bridging gaps, and enabling new use cases across the Alfresco ecosystem. From refreshed developer tutorials to AutoCAD transformations and collaborative editing, the event highlighted how quickly the community can turn ideas into reality.
A huge thanks to everyone who joined and made this Hack-a-thon such a special session! The energy, creativity, and collaboration in the room were incredible. If you couldn’t make it this time, you definitely missed something unique.
Check out all the projects and contributions here: https://github.com/AlfrescoLabs/alfresco-vegas-hack-a-thon-2025
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