System Design: Online IDE / Sandbox Cloud IDE

System DesignOpenAILast reported September 2026High Frequency
Reported
16× across candidate reports
First seen
January 2026
Last reported
September 2026
Reported outcome
mixed

Problem Overview

Design a cloud-based online IDE / sandbox environment (similar to Google Colab, a remote dev box, or a browser-based coding environment). The system must support: Core functional requirements: - Create, delete, suspend, and resume workspaces/dev boxes for users - Resume a suspended workspace in < 5 seconds (hard SLA in…

  • 7 candidate-reported follow-ups — the exact probes interviewers asked, with the trigger for each
  • The rest of the problem statement — full requirements, constraints, and edge cases
  • Approach and trade-offs — what passing candidates did, and the mistakes that sink people
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Verified Source
Every question is reconstructed from multiple independent candidate reports. Verbatim follow-ups, not invented ones.
Codex Fact-Checked
Technical claims, formulas, and scale numbers are reviewed against primary sources.
Interviewer Follow-ups
The exact follow-ups reported by candidates, with the trigger that prompts each one — plus the mistakes that sink people.
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