Summary And Key Benefits
Save Interview Environments lets interviewers save a pre-configured VS Code interview environment as a reusable task in their account's task library.
Once an interviewer has an environment configured the way they want it, they can store it as a coding task and pull it into future interviews directly from the library, instead of setting everything up from scratch each time. This reduces repetitive setup work, encourages consistency across interviews, and makes it easier for teams to reuse the same interview environments.
| Reusable Environments | A configured VS Code environment can be saved once and reused across interviews, instead of being rebuilt every session. |
| Less Repetitive Setup | Removes the repeated manual work of recreating the same environment for each interview. |
| Consistency Across Interviews | Teams can standardise on proven environments, so candidates get a more consistent experience. |
| Lives in the Task Library | Saved environments become tasks in the account library and are used like any other library task. |
| Multiple Variants | Saving the same environment more than once creates separate tasks, making it easy to build variations. |
Setting up a VS Code interview environment takes some time, and previously that work was lost at the end of every session. Interviewers configured the same environment over and over, because there was no way to save a working setup and reuse it later. This was repetitive, slowed interviewers down, and led to inconsistency when different interviewers each configured environments from scratch.
It also made standardisation difficult: when a team landed on a strong interview environment, there was no straightforward way to keep it and share it with others for future interviews. This matters most for teams running high volumes of technical interviews, where a structured, validated approach is essential.
Common pain points this feature addresses:
- Interviewers recreate the same environment for every interview, which is repetitive and time-consuming.
- A working setup cannot be captured, so good environments are lost once the session ends.
- Different interviewers rebuild environments independently, leading to inconsistency across interviews.
- There is no simple way to share a well structured environment across the team.
How It Works For Interviewers
- Configure your VS Code interview environment as usual.
- Once the environment has finished loading, use the Save task action in the environment to store it.
- Give the task a Name and provide a short Description.
- On save, the environment is stored as a task in your account task library.
- The interviewer is notified when the task is available in the library.
- The saved task appears in the task library and can be added to future interviews like any other library task.
You can save more than once from the same environment. Each save creates a new task rather than overwriting the previous one, making it easy to build different versions of a workspace setup.
How It Works For Candidates
There is no change to the candidate experience. Saving happens on the interviewer side and does not affect the live session. In practice, candidates benefit indirectly: interviewers arrive more focused and prepared, since the session no longer needs a manual environment setup.
Availability And Current Limitations (Preview)
Save Interview Environment is available in Preview as of July 15, 2026. General Availability is targeted for Q3 2026.
The following limitations apply during the current preview period and are being addressed ahead of General Availability:
- Installed packages must be declared in setup.sh. Packages or tools installed ad hoc in the environment (for example via pip install) are not automatically stored with the saved task. To include them, add the installation commands to the setup.sh file in the workspace. Automatic persistence of installed libraries is planned for a later iteration.
- Saved tasks cannot be edited after saving. To change something, save the environment again as a new task.
- Saved tasks are not automatically evaluated. Saved environments are stored as coding tasks without automated tests or scoring. Test-based evaluation of saved tasks is planned for a later iteration.
- Task metadata is fixed at save time. Task creators cannot yet define difficulty, evaluation settings, or product availability for a saved task.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Who can save an environment as a task?
Any interviewer can configure a VS Code environment and save it in a Codility Interview.
What task type is created?
A coding task, saved without tests or evaluation, and tagged so it can be easily identified in the library.
Where does the saved task go?
Directly into your account task library, from where it can be added by anyone with the correct permissions to future interviews.
Can I save the same environment more than once?
Yes. Each save creates a new task; saving again does not overwrite the previous task.
Can I edit or update a task after saving it?
Not yet today. If you need a changed version, save the environment again as a new task.
Are the libraries and tools I installed saved with the task?
Yes, provided the installation steps are added to the setup.sh file in the workspace. Packages installed ad hoc during a session are not automatically persisted.
Have any questions or need further assistance? Drop us a note at support@codility.com