AppsTechnical Interviews

// live coding room

Collaborative code editor

Autessa Technical Interviews includes a collaborative code editor: interviewer and candidate edit one shared file in real time, and each person’s cursor stays put when the other types.

Technical interview · Jordan LeeLiveSAMPLE
Jordan Lee · Candidate connectedCopy candidate linkClose linkReview
Python 3.12 ▾✓ SavedA− A+ · Focus · Output
def two_sum(nums, target):
seen = {}
for i, n in enumerate(nums):
if target - n in seen:Candidate
return [seen[target - n], i]
seen[n] = i
return []
print(two_sum([2, 7, 11, 15], 9))Interviewer

// the problem

Why collaborative code editor matters in a coding interview

Screen sharing a local IDE hides half the signal: you cannot point at a line, type a hint, or try an edge case yourself. Pasting code into chat loses formatting and history. A coding interview needs one file that both people can see and change at the same moment.

// how it works

How does collaborative code editor work?

  1. Open the live room

    From the sessions list, open a session. The room loads the question on screen and its code in the session’s first language.

  2. Send the candidate the link

    The candidate opens their private link and lands in the same document. The room shows “Candidate connected” as soon as they sync.

  3. Type together

    Each keystroke goes out as a small edit and is applied in order on both sides. Changes from the other person arrive within about a second, and your cursor and selection stay exactly where they were.

  4. Switch language or question

    Either side can switch between the session’s allowed languages; each language keeps its own copy of the code. The interviewer chooses which question is on screen for both.

// options and settings

Every option, in one place

Option
What it does
Languages
Python 3.12 and Java 21, chosen per session. Each question keeps a separate document per language.
Starter code
Each document starts with that language’s starter code from the question, or empty.
Edit rights
Both sides can type while the link is open and the session is not submitted; the interviewer can always type.
Saved indicator
Shows Saved, Saving… or Reconnecting… in the editor toolbar.
Document size
Very large single pastes are refused with a plain message so the room stays responsive.

// permissions

Who can do what?

Who
Can
Interviewers (anyone your company admin gives access to the console)
Type, switch language, switch the question on screen, run code, take notes.
Candidate (anyone holding the session link while it is open)
Type and switch between the allowed languages until they submit or the link closes.

Company admins decide who on your team can open the interviewer console. Candidates never sign in; they only ever use their session link.

// connects to

How collaborative code editor fits with the rest

Live coding room

Presence and reliable sync

The room shows whether the other person is connected and whether your code is saved; if the connection drops, typing keeps working and syncs as soon as it is back.

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Live coding room

Run Python and Java code

Autessa Technical Interviews runs Python 3.12 and Java 21 code in the browser during the interview, with numpy, pandas, Guava, Gson and other common libraries preinstalled.

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Live coding room

Autocomplete and editor tools

The interview editor has Python and Java autocomplete (including members after a dot), syntax highlighting, bracket matching, folding and search, so candidates code the way they do at work.

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Interview sessions

Multi-question interviews

One session can hold several questions: the interviewer switches the question on screen for both people with one click and can add a bank or blank question mid-interview.

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// faq

Collaborative code editor: questions

Is the editor really shared, or is it a view of the candidate’s screen?

It is truly shared. Both people edit the same document, so the interviewer can type a hint or try a case directly in the candidate’s code.

Does the cursor jump when the other person types?

No. Remote changes are applied as one small replacement, so your cursor and selection move with the text instead of jumping.

What happens to Python code if the candidate switches to Java?

Nothing is lost. Each language has its own document per question, so switching back brings the Python code back exactly as it was.

$ start --interview

Try collaborative code editor in your next interview.

Create a session, send the link and see it working with a real candidate.

100% customizable, code and all

Make Autessa Technical Interviews fully your own.

Use it out of the box, then change anything. Ask Autobot, Autessa’s AI builder, for a new field, screen, report, workflow or agent and it builds it into your copy of the app. Or open the code and edit it yourself. Nothing is locked: the app, its data and its code are yours.

Start free and make it yours