CodeTryout.

Built for the way developers work now

Developer evaluation for the agentic era.

See how candidates direct AI, make architectural decisions, and adapt working software as requirements change.

Request early access See a tryout

For engineering leaders hiring beyond the coding test.

A tryout, not a coding puzzle

Same codebase.
New requirements.

  1. 01
    The starting point

    Build something that works

    Establish the first implementation.

  2. 02
    The revealing part

    Change the requirements

    See which decisions hold up.

  3. 03
    The hiring conversation

    Follow the evidence

    Understand the choices behind the code.

AI is expected. Judgment is the signal.

A different question

AI can write the code.
Judgment still matters.

A working first version tells you only so much. The next requirement reveals how a developer thinks about structure, tests assumptions, and handles the consequences of their choices.

Give candidates room to use AI. Then look at what they do with it.

How it works

Real work. Revealing changes.

You set the direction. The tryout creates the next challenge from the work in front of it.

  1. 01

    Define the role

    Choose a stack and describe what the position should exercise. Your brief guides the assessment.

  2. 02

    Invite a candidate

    They start with a private repository and a runnable project, ready to work with AI.

  3. 03

    Let the work evolve

    Each new requirement builds on what the candidate actually submitted, exposing the consequences of earlier choices.

  4. 04

    Review the decisions

    Explore the work, test results, and evidence-linked observations. Bring better questions to the interview.

Inside a tryout

The first solution is only the beginning.

Take an inventory reservation feature. As the requirements evolve, the same codebase becomes a record of the candidate’s judgment.

Illustrative example
  1. 01
    The requirement

    Reserve an item

    Build an API that lets a customer reserve an item from available inventory.

    What it reveals

    How do they model the problem?

    Look at the boundaries they choose, the assumptions they make, and how they establish that the first version works.

    Data model · boundaries · validation
  2. 02
    The requirement

    Make reservations expire

    A reservation should release its inventory if the customer does not complete checkout in time.

    What it reveals

    Can their design absorb change?

    See how they introduce time and state, adapt existing behavior, and test the transitions that matter.

    State transitions · time · maintainability
  3. 03
    The requirement

    Handle competing checkouts

    Two customers try to reserve the last item while an earlier reservation is expiring. Keep inventory correct.

    What it reveals

    Do they recognize the hard parts?

    Examine how they reason about concurrency, protect invariants, and verify behavior beyond the happy path.

    Concurrency · trade-offs · verification

Actual requirements are generated from your brief and the candidate’s submitted work. This sequence illustrates the approach.

Evidence for a human decision

See the thinking in the work.

CodeTryout brings the implementation and its evidence together, so the conversation can go deeper than “does it run?”

  • Strengths, with sources

    Follow observations back to the work that supports them.

  • Concerns, with context

    Examine trade-offs and limitations instead of treating a score as an explanation.

  • Better follow-up questions

    Ask candidates to explain the decisions that mattered. The hiring decision stays with you.

Illustrative review

A decision worth discussing

Observed strength

Reservation transitions share one rule for releasing inventory.

Source: reservation transition + expiry test
Worth a closer look

The competing-checkout test does not exercise an expiry happening at the same time.

Source: checkout concurrency test
Ask the candidate
“What could happen if checkout and expiry both try to update this reservation?”

Observations. Sources. A better conversation.

Before you ask

A few things to know.

Can candidates use AI?

Yes. AI assistance is expected. The tryout examines how candidates direct and validate the work, make architectural decisions, and adapt their software as requirements evolve.

Which languages and frameworks are supported?

Choose from runnable starters for these languages and frameworks. The project arrives ready to build on, so the candidate can focus on the work.

  • Rails
  • Ruby
  • Rust
  • JavaScript
  • TypeScript
  • Express (TypeScript)
  • React (TypeScript)
  • Vue (TypeScript)
  • Angular (TypeScript)
  • Next.js (TypeScript)
  • Python
  • Django
  • FastAPI (Python)
  • Go
  • Java
  • Spring Boot (Java)
  • C#
  • ASP.NET Core (C#)
  • PHP
  • Laravel
  • Kotlin
  • Elixir
  • C
  • C++
  • Bash
Does CodeTryout make the hiring decision?

No. Automated reviews surface evidence-linked strengths, concerns, limitations, and follow-up questions. They do not score or rank candidates, or recommend a hiring decision.

Can my team use it now?

CodeTryout is in early access. Tell us about your team and what you are hiring for, and we will get in touch about getting started.

Get involved early

Make your next technical hire a more informed one.

Tell us a little about your team. We’ll get in touch about early access to CodeTryout.

Built for engineering leaders who want to understand the decisions behind the code.

We’ll use these details to contact you about CodeTryout early access.