The 2026 winners have been announced. The 2027 round is open now.

Submit Your Project

Eligibility and judging criteria

This page covers who can enter, what makes a valid submission, and what the judges are looking for. If anything is unclear, just ask us at forge@dyalog.com. We’re happy to help you work out whether your idea is a good fit.

Participant eligibility

You can participate as an individual, a group, or even a company. There is no restriction on nationality or location.

At the time of submission you must:

  • be 16 years of age or older.
  • be registered for a free Dyalog licence (get one here).
  • not be an employee, contractor, or otherwise directly associated with Dyalog Ltd.

You must also be able and willing to travel to our next user meeting (expenses paid, see Prizes) and present your winning submission there, should you win a prize. Giving this presentation is a requirement to be selected as a winner.

There is no limit to the number of times that you can win the APL Forge.

Submission eligibility

A submission can be an application, tool, website, book, or even something entirely different, proprietary or permissively licensed, open-source or closed-source.

Submissions fall into one of two categories:

  • APL category: the core logic is written in a currently supported version of Dyalog APL, though other languages can be included as appropriate. This could include libraries, tools, applications, games, or anything else useful.
  • Non-APL category: tools, resources, or content that support the use or learning of APL, but aren’t written primarily in APL. This could include tutorials, plugins, language bridges, online tools, websites, books, video series, and more.

You keep all rights to your work. Documentation and any user interface must be available in English.

Your submission can contain third-party code, images, sounds, and so on, provided any necessary licence requirements are fulfilled (this is the responsibility of the person making the submission; Dyalog Ltd does not take responsibility for failure to comply with applicable regulations).

You don't need to submit a finished product

A minimum viable product, something that works and demonstrates the idea clearly, is enough to enter. Judges are looking for a good idea, well executed, not a polished commercial release.

You can submit something you built previously, as long as it hasn’t already been commercially licensed through Dyalog. You can also submit more than one project, provided each one meets these requirements.

Previous winners and past submissions may be eligible to re-enter in certain circumstances. See the FAQs for details.

All submissions must be received before the deadline.

Using AI tools in your submission

You are welcome to use AI tools in building your submission, including for code generation, debugging, documentation, research, design, or anything else. We place no restrictions on this.

What we judge is the end result: does it work, is it useful, and does it solve a real problem? How you built it is your business. A well-functioning, well-documented submission built with AI assistance is judged exactly the same as one written entirely by hand.

The one thing we do ask is honesty: if AI tools played a significant role in your submission, mention it briefly in your documentation. This won’t count against your submission. It’s just good practice, and it helps the judges understand your process.

Judging criteria

Based on the number and quality of submissions, the judges will determine the number of prizes (zero or more) that are awarded in each of the two categories.

Judges are looking for submissions that are useful and solve a real problem.

APL Category
  • Does it work? A well-documented proof of concept that does what it claims is more valuable than an ambitious project that doesn’t run.
  • Documentation: clear enough for the judges to understand what the problem is, why it matters, and how to use the solution.
  • Applicability: how many people could benefit from this? Niche projects are welcome; broader applicability is also considered.
  • Code quality: clear, well-structured APL code is valued. You don’t need years of APL experience; readable and functional code counts.
Non-APL category
  • Does it work and is it useful? The primary question is whether the submission meaningfully improves the APL experience for learners, practitioners, or the wider community.
  • Documentation: enough for judges to understand and evaluate what you’ve built.
  • Reach: how many people could benefit?

In addition, where applicable, a test suite and logging make it easier for the judges to verify that your submission works as described in the documentation.

A note on domain knowledge: the judging panel are APL experts, not specialists in every field. If your submission solves a problem in a specific domain (finance, biology, engineering, or anything else), please make sure your documentation explains the problem clearly enough for a non-specialist to understand why it matters.

New to APL? You're welcome here.

All you need to enter is a free Dyalog licence. If you’re just getting started, we have tutorials, samples, and a community help channel (the APL Orchard) where experienced APLers are happy to answer questions. We’re also available directly – drop us a line at forge@dyalog.com and we’ll point you in the right direction.

One of our 2026 winners discovered APL just months before entering. You could too.