The IBM coding assessment is an online test IBM sends to check your programming knowledge. IBM says it is either multiple-choice questions or coding challenges, depending on the role, and asks you to finish within 7 days of the invite. The test runs on HackerRank, according to HackerRank and to candidates, who report 2 coding problems in about 60-90 minutes. IBM stores your code and one or more webcam photos taken while you work. Some roles also get a video interview, an English test, a work behaviours questionnaire or, candidates report, a game-based cognitive test.
Runs on HackerRank. Read our HackerRank guide
From IBM's own hiring pages and the test platform's help pages, checked November 3, 2026. Anything that comes from candidate reports says so. Your invitation email wins if it says something different.
| What it is | Multiple-choice questions or coding challenges, depending on the role, to gauge your programming knowledge |
|---|---|
| Platform | HackerRank, per HackerRank's own IBM customer story; US candidates report HackerRank invites |
| Length | Not published by IBM; candidates report 2 coding problems in about 60-90 minutes |
| Deadline | Finish within 7 days of the invite, in one sitting if the test is timed |
| Other IBM assessments | One or two per role, from coding, video interview, English language and work behaviours |
| Game-based test | Candidates report a Cognify game test for some roles: about 5 short games in about 30 minutes |
| Scoring | HackerRank points per test case passed, including hidden cases; partial credit counts |
| Webcam | IBM stores one or more webcam photos of you during coding exercises, plus your code |
| Always-on checks | HackerRank tracks copy and paste and tab switches and compares code with other candidates (MOSS) |
| Languages | HackerRank supports more than 60; the company can limit the list |
| Results | HackerRank does not send results to candidates; IBM updates your status in its candidate portal and by email |
| Retakes | Only if IBM invites you again |
| Next step | An interview (phone, video or in person) or an assessment center visit |
| Free practice | IBM points to LeetCode, Pramp and HackerRank; HackerRank has a free sample test |
IBM says you may get one or two assessments, and which ones depends on the role. These are the formats IBM lists, plus the game-based test candidates report.
Write functions in the HackerRank editor that pass a set of test cases. Some cases are visible and others are hidden, and each can carry its own points.
Tip: Handle edge cases (empty input, one element, very large input) before you optimize, then run and submit every question.
For some roles, IBM's coding assessment is a set of multiple-choice questions on programming knowledge instead of coding problems.
Tip: For "what does this print" questions, trace the code on paper rather than guessing from memory.
Recorded answers to interview questions using your webcam and microphone. IBM says it may store the video recordings.
Tip: Prepare specific examples with clear outcomes. IBM suggests thinking about what you achieved and how you measured it.
Text-based multiple-choice questions that check your level of English proficiency.
Tip: Read the whole sentence or passage before you look at the options.
Pairs of statements about how you work. You pick the one you agree with slightly more; there is no right answer.
Tip: IBM's advice: do not overthink it and go with your first reaction.
Candidates report short timed puzzle games, reported as Criteria's Cognify, which Criteria says covers problem solving, numbers and verbal reasoning.
Tip: Use the tutorial before each game to learn its rules before the timed part starts.
HackerRank scores each coding question by the test cases your code passes, including hidden ones, so you can earn full, partial or no credit. Running your code to check it does not change your score. Submit every question before time runs out.
IBM publishes no passing score, and HackerRank does not send test results to candidates. You see status changes in IBM's candidate portal and by email. If you pass, IBM may invite you to an interview by phone, video or in person, or to an assessment center visit with a group exercise and an in-person interview.
IBM asks you to finish within 7 days of the invite. Check whether the test is timed, and block enough quiet time to do it in one sitting.
IBM tells technical candidates to practice on LeetCode, Pramp and HackerRank. Take HackerRank's free sample test so the editor and test cases feel familiar.
Candidates report 2 coding problems in about 60-90 minutes. Practice pairs of easy and medium problems against the clock, and handle edge cases before you optimize.
IBM suggests a quiet place with minimal distractions, and its coding test keeps webcam photos. Use a PC or laptop with Chrome, Firefox or Edge and close other apps.
IBM's candidate privacy notice says that during a coding assessment it records and stores your code and keeps "one or more webcam photos of you completing the exercises." If you do a video assessment, IBM may store the recordings.
HackerRank adds its own checks to every test: copy and paste tracking, tab tracking that logs how often and how long you leave the test, and MOSS, which compares your code with other candidates' submissions. Companies can also turn on AI plagiarism detection, more webcam photos, full-screen Secure Mode, screen recording in Proctor Mode, and a locked-down desktop app. Your login page shows which features are on.
Lists of reported "IBM HackerRank questions" circulate, but IBM customizes its HackerRank tests, hidden test cases decide the score, and HackerRank's MOSS check compares your code with other candidates' submissions. Coding Copilot reads the exact problem on your screen and gives you an approach, a dry run and working code for it.
OphyAI Coding Copilot works on the coding test itself: one hotkey reads the problem on your screen, and the approach, complexity notes and working code appear in an overlay that screen sharing and recording leave out. In a live IBM interview, Space or Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + L transcribes the question your interviewer asks out loud. It does not hide from a webcam or from HackerRank's own tracking.
IBM stores your code and one or more webcam photos taken while you work. HackerRank tracks copy and paste, tab switches and code similarity by default, and companies can add AI plagiarism detection, more webcam photos, full-screen Secure Mode and screen recording. The OphyAI window is hidden from screen sharing and recording, but not from a webcam, a person watching, or the platform's own keystroke, paste and tab tracking.
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Coding Copilot in the OphyAI desktop app reads the coding problem on your screen with one hotkey and returns an approach, complexity notes and working code in your language.
Use OphyAI Coding Copilot on your real IBM HackerRank test, not just to practice. Press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + A and it snaps the problem window, even when other windows cover it, or press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + S to drag a box around just the problem. The answer appears as a card in a floating overlay that macOS and Windows leave out of screen sharing and recording: how OphyAI read the problem, the code with line numbers, a dry run with edge cases, and the Big O. Follow-ups remember the problem, so "now handle duplicates" updates the same code.
In a live IBM interview later on, press Space or Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + L and it transcribes the question your interviewer asks out loud. On the coding test, IBM keeps webcam photos and your code, and HackerRank tracks copy and paste, tab switches and code similarity by default.
OphyAI is not built for IBM's other assessments. Work behaviours statements have no right answer, the video assessment is IBM's way to get to know you, and game-based tests like Cognify are interactive games, not multiple-choice questions, so Aptitude Test mode does not fit them either.
Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + A snaps the problem window, even when other windows cover it, and Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + S lets you drag a box around part of the screen. In a live interview, Space or Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + L transcribes the question the interviewer asks out loud.
Answers show as a card in a floating overlay that macOS and Windows leave out of screen sharing and recording. It stays on top of a full-screen editor or browser and opens without taking the keyboard from your editor.
Each answer card shows how OphyAI read the problem, what to say first, the code with line numbers, a dry run with edge cases, and the Big O. Follow-ups remember the problem, so "now handle duplicates" updates the same code.
Free download. Coding Interview is on the Premium plan ($59 a month, 500 credits) and uses 15 credits per session. See everything it does
Hiding a window from screen share does not hide it from a webcam, a person watching, keystroke and paste history, tab or focus tracking, or proctoring software.
IBM does not publish a standard length. Candidates report 2 coding problems in about 60-90 minutes. Your HackerRank login page shows the exact time and number of questions before you start.
7 days from the invite, according to IBM. Once you start a timed test, plan to finish it in one sitting.
Yes. IBM says it stores one or more webcam photos of you completing coding exercises, along with the code you write.
IBM's own pages list coding, video, English language and work behaviours assessments. Candidates report that some roles also get a game-based test, reported as Cognify, with about 5 short games in about 30 minutes.
HackerRank supports more than 60 languages, and the company can limit the list for a test. Pick the one you are fastest in; the login page shows the list.
Not from HackerRank, which does not send results to candidates. IBM updates your application status in its candidate portal and by email.
Only if IBM invites you again. HackerRank leaves retakes to the hiring company.
If you pass, IBM may invite you to an interview by phone, video or in person, or to an assessment center visit with a group exercise and an in-person interview.
Read on November 3, 2026. OphyAI is not affiliated with IBM or HackerRank.
Download OphyAI Desktop and bring Coding Copilot into your next coding interview: it hears the question, reads the problem, and shows the approach and code in an overlay your screen share leaves out.
