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Assessments6 min read

Run a coding test

Pick the Coding Test card, set difficulty and topic, and get real code execution against hidden test cases with a complexity verdict on the report.

Before you start

  • A job with the technical requirements set, each with a level.
  • A decision on difficulty: Easy, Medium or Hard.
  • 3 Hire Credits per coding test, and proctoring adds nothing.
Steps

5 steps, in order.

1

Add the round and pick the Coding Test card

Add a round and pick Coding Test on Basic Details. This is the sandboxed, auto-scored assessment. If you want a voice interview that happens to include code, pick AI Interview and set the round type to Coding instead. That one runs 20 + 10 min with a code editor in the room.

Dashboard›Clients›Stripe›Backend Engineer
Create a round
Basic Details
Set up basic round information
Round
1
Round title *
Enter round name
Interview type *
Resume Screening
AI analyzes skills, experience, and education to generate a readiness score - no interview required.
AI Interview
An AI interviewer conducts and evaluates the session, grading communication, confidence, and technical depth.
Human-Led Interview
A live meeting with the candidate - host it in Expert Hire, or on Zoom/Meet/Teams with a notetaker. Scored with a full report.
AI Prompt Assessment
Candidates demonstrate AI prompt-engineering skill by writing prompts to an AI tool for real-world tasks. Scored on 8 dimensions including prompt quality, context framing, and iteration strategy.
Coding Test
Candidates solve a sandboxed coding problem with real execution against hidden test cases. Scored on correctness, efficiency, code quality, and complexity.
BackContinue

Coding Test is its own Interview type card. The Coding round type is the voice version.

2

Set difficulty and topic

Problems carry a difficulty tag of Easy, Medium or Hard, and topic tags such as Arrays, Binary Search or dynamic programming. Pick the pair that matches the job rather than the hardest thing you can find.

3

Know what the candidate sees

A language picker, a line-numbered editor, a custom stdin box, and Run and Submit. They can run their code before they submit it. Execution is real and sandboxed, backed by Piston.

Coding assessment
Sandboxed coding test
16:07 End
1Coin Change (Minimum Coins)
Python 5 of 5 passed
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def min_coins(coins, amount):
dp = [float("inf")] * (amount + 1)
dp[0] = 0
for c in coins:
for x in range(c, amount + 1):
dp[x] = min(dp[x], dp[x - c] + 1)
if dp[amount] == float("inf"):
return -1
return dp[amount]
 
# greedy fails on coins like [1, 3, 4]
def solve(lines):
n, amount = map(int, lines[0].split())
coins = [int(t) for t in lines[1].split()][:n]
return min_coins(coins, amount)
 
if __name__ == "__main__":
print(solve(sys.stdin.read().splitlines()))
5/5test cases passedComplexity O(n·k)
Sample 112ms
Sample 29ms
Edge: no solution11ms
Large amount31ms
Single coin8ms
Custom input (optional)
stdin for a manual Run
Run Submit

The candidate view. Language picker, editor, custom stdin, Run and Submit.

4

Let the hidden test cases score it

Submitted code runs against hidden test cases. You get per-test-case pass or fail with runtime in milliseconds, an X of Y passed counter, and a complexity verdict such as O(n·k) optimal. Scored on correctness, efficiency, code quality and complexity.

  • The complexity verdict is the fastest way to separate someone who solved it from someone who brute-forced it.
5

Add proctoring if the stakes justify it

A proctored coding test shows a banner with the tab-switch count and feeds any signals into the report. Proctoring costs no extra credits. A flag is reviewed by a person. It never rejects anyone by itself.

  • Tab switches are context, not a verdict. Read them next to the code before you conclude anything.
What you get

At the end of this guide.

Real execution against hidden test cases, not a guess at whether the code works.

Per-case pass or fail with runtime in milliseconds, plus an X of Y counter.

A complexity verdict on the submission.

A score on correctness, efficiency, code quality and complexity that lands on the candidate report.

Common mistakes

What goes wrong, and the fix.

Confusing the Coding Test card with the Coding round type.

Coding Test is a sandboxed auto-scored test. The Coding round type is a 20 + 10 min voice interview with an editor in the room.

Sending a Hard problem to a junior pipeline.

Match difficulty to the role. A Hard problem mostly measures who has seen that problem before.

Judging on passed tests alone.

Read the complexity verdict and the code quality score too. Passing with a brute force is not the same answer.

Treating a tab-switch count as cheating.

It is a signal for a human to review. It is never an automatic verdict.

FAQ

Questions people ask on this one.

Still stuck? Talk to us and we will walk through your setup.

Read next

Related guides.

Rounds

Choose a round type

The five Interview type cards, the eight AI interview round types, their lengths, which ones open a code editor or a whiteboard, and when to reach for each.

8 min read
Integrity

Turn on proctoring

Web proctoring for low-stakes rounds, the desktop app for strict ones, no extra credits either way, and every flag reviewed by a person.

6 min read
Reports

Read a candidate report

The four tabs, the overall score, the skill bars, the recording and searchable transcript, the malpractice status, and how to share it.

6 min read
All guides

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