A Karat interview is a 60-minute technical interview that a company outsources to Karat. A Karat Interview Engineer runs it on Karat's own coding and video tool: a short intro, about 10 minutes of technical discussion, then about 40 minutes of coding. Every interview is recorded, with audio and a code replay, and the company gets a report with a recommendation and notes. If it goes badly you can ask for a redo within 24 hours and get new questions.
Facts from Karat's own pages, checked November 3, 2026. Employers can change settings, so your invitation email wins if it says something different.
| Who runs it | A Karat Interview Engineer, on behalf of the hiring company |
|---|---|
| Length | 60 minutes |
| Structure | Short intro, about 10 minutes of discussion questions, about 40 minutes of coding |
| Platform | Karat Studio, Karat's own coding and video tool |
| Scheduling | Open 24/7 |
| Recording | Every interview: audio and code replay always; camera encouraged but optional |
| What the company gets | The recording, the code replay, and a report with a recommendation, a score and notes per question |
| Redo | Ask within 24 hours for a new interview with new questions; the company sees both results |
| Integrity | Interviewers watch for signs of outside help; flagged interviews get a second review |
| Other formats | NextGen (includes Karat's built-in AI assistant) and Qualify (15-question adaptive multiple choice, 15-30 minutes) |
| Age | You must be 18 or older |
Karat interviews have two parts, and the company picks the focus for the role.
Concept questions for the role, such as "talk to me about API design." Senior candidates get more discussion and analysis, like why a piece of code slows down as it scales.
Tip: Keep answers short and concrete. There are several questions to get through, so do not lecture.
Coding problems in Karat's editor. For newer grads Karat describes classic algorithms and data structures questions.
Tip: Karat says it is not a race: work steadily, and do not get stuck on one approach for long stretches.
A format that includes Karat's built-in AI assistant, to see how you work with one.
Tip: Use the AI to speed up, but explain and check what it gives you. Your judgment is what is being measured.
A 15-question adaptive multiple-choice test of 15-30 minutes some companies use before the interview.
Tip: Adaptive tests change difficulty with your answers, so do not judge how you are doing from how hard a question feels.
The company gets the interview recording, the code replay, and Karat's report with a recommendation, a score and written notes on each question. The company makes the hiring decision, not Karat.
If you ask for a redo within 24 hours, you get a new interview with new questions. Karat sends both results to the company, and in 2022 it advised companies to look at the higher score. Some companies may not offer redos.
Check whether it is a standard interview, NextGen with built-in AI, or a Qualify test, and which role focus the company picked.
Do 10 minutes of rapid concept questions, then 40 minutes of coding, out loud, on a timer. That is the real shape of the hour.
If it goes badly, you can ask for a redo within 24 hours. Knowing that takes some pressure off on the day.
Use headphones, a stable connection and one screen. The interview is recorded, and looking away often can be noted.
Want problems to work through? Karat interview questions to practice
Every Karat interview is recorded, and interviewers watch for signs of outside help, such as typing outside the window or looking at another screen. A second interviewer rewatches interviews that get flagged, and suspected outside help can add an integrity flag the company sees.
Some Karat formats include Karat's built-in AI assistant. Karat does not describe automatic AI detection.
No. Karat interviews are live, the Interview Engineer picks the questions, and a redo gives you new ones. Coding Copilot hears each question as it is asked and reads the problem on your screen.
Coding Copilot in the OphyAI desktop app works during live coding interviews: it transcribes the question the Interview Engineer asks, reads the problem on screen with one hotkey, and shows an approach, complexity notes and working code in a window hidden from screen sharing. Karat records every interview, and the window is not hidden from a webcam or from the interviewer watching you.
Some formats do. NextGen interviews include Karat's built-in AI assistant, to see how you work with one, and they are recorded like every other Karat interview.
Interviewers watch for signs of outside help, flagged interviews get a second review, and suspected outside help can add an integrity flag the company sees. 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.
Compare every platform: Can online assessments detect AI?
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.
OphyAI Coding Copilot is built for live, interviewer-led rounds like Karat's, not just practice. During the interview, press Space or Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + L and it transcribes the question your interviewer asks out loud; press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + A and it reads the problem on your screen. The approach, complexity notes and working code appear as a card in a floating overlay that your screen share leaves out, on top of a full-screen editor and without taking the keyboard from it. Follow-ups remember the problem, so "now make it faster" updates the same code.
Know the format: every Karat interview is recorded, and interviewers watch for signs of outside help such as looking at another screen. Some formats include Karat's built-in AI assistant.
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.
60 minutes: a short intro, about 10 minutes of technical discussion, and about 40 minutes of coding.
A Karat Interview Engineer, a professional interviewer working on behalf of the hiring company. The company makes the final decision.
Yes. Ask within 24 hours and you get a new interview with new questions. Karat sends both results to the company.
Yes. Every interview is recorded with audio and a code replay. The camera is encouraged but optional.
The recording, the code replay, and a report with Karat's recommendation, a score and notes on each question.
Read on November 3, 2026. Karat technical interviews is a product of Karat; OphyAI is not affiliated with Karat.
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.
