Run technical interviews in a shared code editor
Write, run, and test code together with a candidate, live or as a take-home, with nothing to install on either side. Then replay the whole session.
How it works
Create an interview
Pick a title, a language, and optionally a question from your library.
Share one link
The candidate opens it and enters a name. No account, no install.
Code together
Edit, run, and test the same code in real time, then replay it afterwards.
Everything an interview needs
A shared editor
The Monaco editor (as in VS Code) with live cursors, in 8 languages: JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, C++, Go, Ruby, SQL.
Real code execution
Run code against real language runtimes in an isolated sandbox with no network access and strict time limits. Both of you see the output.
Questions with hidden tests
Build a library of questions with starter code and up to 8 test cases. Hidden cases never reach the candidate's browser; they only see pass or fail.
Session replay
Scrub through every keystroke, whiteboard stroke, and code run after the interview, alongside your private notes.
Whiteboard
Sketch designs and data structures together on a shared whiteboard in the same room.
SQL interviews
Give a SQL interview its own tables and data. The candidate sees the schema, read-only, and every query's result as a table, with errors pointing at the line they typed.
AI help, only when you turn it on
Draft a question, turn your notes into feedback, summarise a session, or let the candidate ask for hints. Each is off unless you switch it on, candidates are told, and you see every hint they get.
Take-home assessments
Send a timed exercise. The time limit is enforced by the server, not just a countdown, and the work submits itself at zero.
Live interviews and take-homes
Live, together
Open a room, share the link, and work through a problem side by side. You both edit and run the same code, sketch on the whiteboard, and see the same output. Your notes stay private to you, and you can end the interview or stop the candidate running code or pasting at any moment.
Take-home, on their own time
Pick a question from your library, set a time limit and a start-by date, and send the link. The clock starts when the candidate presses Start, the limit is enforced by our servers, and the work submits itself at zero. You get the code, the runs and a replay to review whenever you like.
Built for both sides of the table
For interviewers
- Keep a library of questions, with starter code and up to 8 test cases each.
- Replay any session keystroke by keystroke, next to your notes.
- Email the candidate their link from the dashboard, and remind them before a deadline.
- Delete an interview, and everything recorded for it, whenever you want.
For candidates
- Open the link and type a name. There is no account to make and nothing to install.
- Write and run real code in a familiar editor, with the output next to it.
- Know what is recorded, and for how long, before you join.
- See only pass or fail for hidden tests, never the interviewer's answers.
Fair to candidates
Candidates join with a link and never need an account. They're told the session is recorded before they join, and recordings are deleted 180 days after an interview ends. Privacy policy · How it's protected
Questions people ask
- Do I need an account to join an interview?
- No. Open the link your interviewer sent, type the name you'd like to be shown, and select Join Interview. Take-homes work the same way. More in Help
- Is there video or audio?
- Not yet. Use your usual video-call tool alongside Hire Pad. The participant tiles in the room only show who's connected. More in Help
- What's the difference between visible and hidden test cases?
- Each test case feeds its input to the program on stdin and compares the output. Visible cases are shown to the candidate as examples. Hidden cases never reach the candidate's browser: when tests run, they only see pass or fail for each hidden case. More in Help
- When does the take-home timer start, and what if I close the page?
- The timer starts when you select Start take-home, and it keeps running even if you leave. Open the same link again and select Resume to carry on where you left off; your code is saved as you type. More in Help
- Which languages can I use, and how do I switch?
- JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, C++, Go, Ruby, and SQL. Pick one from the language menu above the editor. That one runs on SQLite, so write queries in SQLite's dialect (syntax that only other database systems have won't work), and every run starts from the interview's database: the one the interviewer set up (see the Database tab), or an empty one if there is none, in which case create and fill the tables you need in the editor. If there's already code, you'll be asked to confirm, because switching replaces the code with that language's starter. More in Help
- What does Hire Pad store about me?
- The display name you entered and when you joined and left; the code and whiteboard drawings in the room (saved every few seconds so the session can be replayed); the code you ran with its input and output; and what the interviewer entered about you (your name and email when they set up the interview, and their private notes). Only the interviewer who created the interview can see these. The recording, code runs, and notes are deleted automatically 180 days after the interview ends, and your name and email are removed from it at the same time; or everything goes straight away if the interviewer deletes the interview. An interview nobody finishes ends automatically after 7 days without activity. The privacy policy has the details. More in Help
Free during early access
Hire Pad is in early access. It's free while it is, and we'll announce pricing before any paid plans. Pricing details
Request early access