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When Equip’s library does not have the problem you want candidates to solve, use Custom Tests to create your own Programming Test with your problem statement, languages, and test cases.
Equip recommends its own coding content for most teams. Build a custom challenge only when you need a problem the library does not cover; see Issues with Custom Coding Challenges for why setup mistakes are costly.

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Setting Up the Challenge

1

Open Custom Tests

Open Custom Tests from the sidebar of your Assessments Dashboard.
2

Create a new Coding Challenge

Click the Coding Challenge tab, then Add New, and select Programming Test.
3

Write the problem statement

State what the program should do, the input format, and the expected output format.
4

Choose languages and boilerplates

Enable the languages candidates may use, and provide a boilerplate (also called driver or starter code) for each one.
5

Add test cases

Write the sample test cases and real test cases, then save the test.

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Test Cases

Programming tests are auto-evaluated: Equip runs each submission against the test cases you define and grades it automatically.
A programming test allows up to 16 test cases in total, combining sample and real test cases. See Writing a Boilerplate and Test Cases for a full worked example.
Be exact with input and output formats. Even a tiny mismatch, such as a stray space or a missing newline in your expected output, can mark every submission incorrect. Equip does not triage broken custom coding questions, because these issues are nearly always a setup error in the question itself.
Before inviting candidates, preview the assessment and solve your own challenge end to end. Previews are free and unlimited.

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Choosing Languages

Every enabled language needs its own boilerplate that reads input and prints output in the format your test cases expect. See Supported Programming Languages for the languages and versions available.
If you need a language that is not listed, contact us on live chat or email hello@equip.co, and we can enable additional languages for your account.

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Adding the Test to an Assessment

A custom test cannot be shared with candidates directly. It must sit inside an assessment.
1

Open the assessment's Tests tab

Open the settings of a new or existing assessment and select the Tests tab. Click Programming in the left sidebar.
2

Add your test

Hover over the Add Programming button and select My Content, then pick your custom programming test.
Each programming test holds one question. To give different candidates different problems, create several custom challenges and use the Randomize option in the Test Order tab. See Randomizing Coding Questions.