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How to use the Remote IDE question type

Build the environment, choose the AI policy, use the question in an assessment and review the delivery through the snapshot and the commits.

The Remote IDE question type gives the candidate a full development environment in the browser: editor, terminal, a running dev server and a preview tab with the application live. You upload the base project once, and each candidate gets an isolated copy of it.

It is how you assess code in a real context, with the repository, the dependencies and the commit history all part of the delivery. The feature is in Beta.

Available frameworks

The environment is built from a base image. There are seven today: Vue 3 + Vite, React + Vite, Angular CLI 18, Django 5.2 (Python), Laravel 11 (PHP), .NET 9 (C#) e Spring Boot 3.5 (Java).

Create the question

Go to Library, click Create question and pick Remote IDE.

Create question dialog, with the Remote IDE card highlighted

The editor has two columns. On the left, the question data: title, language, brief, duration, level, weight and score limits. On the right, the Environment configuration.

Remote IDE question form, with the framework list open and the project checklist beside it

Under Environment configuration you set:

  • AI policy: whose AI credential the session may use.

  • Framework: the base image for the container.

  • Source: Github, with the URL of a public repository, or Upload a .zip file with the project.

  • Validate: checks the project against the checklist before you publish.

The project checklist

With the Github source, the Validate button checks the repository against five points:

  • Be a valid Git project.

  • Be smaller than 5 MB.

  • Have a README.md at the root.

  • Have content compatible with the chosen framework.

  • Have a devfile.yaml at the root, with the install and start commands and the public endpoint the preview tab will open.

With the Upload a .zip file source, validation happens on upload and covers what can be read from the package: up to 5 MB compressed and a devfile.yaml at the root. The other points still hold as good practice, above all the initialised Git repository, which is what lets the candidate commit.

AI policy

The default is the restrictive one, on purpose: a field nobody filled in must not hand assistants to the candidate by accident.

AI policy field open, showing the four available options

  • No AI assistant (default): the session starts with no assistant and no command-line agents.

  • Company credential: the assistant uses your company’s AI credential.

  • Coodesh credential: the assistant uses Coodesh’s credential, and usage consumes credits.

  • No network restriction: the environment does not restrict the use of assistants.

When the policy blocks them, the brief tells the candidate and the assistants are disabled inside the environment.

Test it before you use it

Open the question in the library and click Test it yourself. You get the same environment the candidate will get, with the same project and the same time budget. Worth doing every time you create or change an IDE question.

Remote IDE question preview in the library, with the Test it yourself button

Use the question in an assessment

In the assessment, use Add from library and pick the question. It appears in the section as Remote IDE, with its recommended duration.

Assessment section with a Remote IDE question added

Under Edit, on the question row, you adjust what applies to this assessment only:

Configure question dialog, with weight, score limits, duration, skills, presentation mode and AI policy

  • Weight, score limits and recommended duration.

  • Skills assessed.

  • Presentation mode: asks the candidate for a screen recording walking through the delivery.

  • AI policy: keep the question’s own (Inherit from question) or override it for this assessment.

Review the answer

Open the person’s result and click the question. The candidate’s environment is shut down when they submit, and what remains is the final snapshot of the project.

Candidate result page, with the section and the Remote IDE question pending review

The review has two tabs. Under Solution you browse the files and read the code as it ended up.

Solution tab, with the snapshot file tree and the open code

Under Commits you see the history: date, author and message for each commit. That is where the process shows, not just the result.

Commits tab, listing the commits the candidate made

From the same screen you can download the full workspace snapshot, read the question’s review guidance and set the score.

Frequently asked questions

Does the candidate need to install anything?

No. Everything runs in the browser. The question does not open on phones or tablets.

Does the environment setup eat into the test time?

No. The setup time is credited back to the candidate’s timer as soon as the session is ready.

What if the candidate steps away mid-question?

After a few minutes without activity the platform asks whether they are still there and, with no answer, shuts the environment down to free up resources. The answer stays open and the work is restored when they come back.

Can I use my own repository?

Yes. Use the Github source with the URL of a public repository, or upload the project as a .zip. Either way the project has to pass the checklist.

Does the Project question type go away?

No. The Remote IDE is the option for when you want to watch the candidate solve inside the environment, without depending on them configuring anything on their own machine.

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