Cursor interview questions

Showing 1–11 of 11 results

• Build a Merkle Tree over a Directory with Hash Lookup and Tree DiffMedium

  Implement a Merkle tree over a real directory in Python, with N-ary directory nodes, a build method, a hash lookup by path, and a diff that compares two trees, and write the tests yourself. It tests deterministic hashing design, file-system traversal, pruning identical subtrees, and disciplined testing under time pressure.

  CursorSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Build a Streaming Markdown Code Fence ParserHard

  Tests streaming string processing, finite state machine design, and edge-case handling for incrementally received Markdown code fences.

  CursorSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Connect a Project Deep Dive to Engineering Career DecisionsMedium

  Connect a technical project deep dive with engineering career decisions, using clear ownership, interface trade-offs, validation, and lessons learned.

  CursorSoftware EngineerBehavioral & LeadershipTechnical Screen
• Design Scalable Notification Rate LimiterMedium

  This question evaluates expertise in designing distributed rate-limiting systems with hierarchical quotas, focusing on concurrency control, exact rolling-window counting, and correctness under concurrent stateless servers; it belongs to the System Design domain and tests practical application of distributed systems, storage, and API design as well as conceptual understanding of atomicity and consistency. It is commonly asked to assess reasoning about atomic decision-making across multiple scopes, scalability and partitioning strategies, handling reconfiguration and operational concerns, and the trade-offs between correctness and system performance (English).

  CursorBackend EngineerSystem DesignTechnical Screen
• Design Versioned IDE Settings for Users and TeamsMedium

  Design a distributed, hierarchical configuration management service for an IDE that synchronizes versioned settings across individual users, multiple teams, and workspaces while supporting offline modifications and deterministic conflict resolution.

  CursorSoftware EngineerSystem DesignTechnical Screen
• Design a Durable Cron Job SchedulerMedium

  Design a cron scheduler with durable occurrences, timezone rules, missed-run policies, worker leases, idempotent dispatch, and failure recovery.

  CursorSoftware EngineerSystem DesignTechnical Screen
• Hash a Repository with a Merkle Tree and Find Changed FilesMedium

  Hash a repository with canonical Merkle nodes, compare changed subtrees, report file changes, and account for symlinks, cached hashes, and snapshot limits.

  CursorSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Implement Deterministic Merkle Hashing for a RepositoryMedium

  Implement an incremental, deterministic Merkle tree for a virtual repository file system with stable serialization, child ordering, and ancestor cache invalidation.

  CursorSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Implement a Merkle Tree for Repository ContentsMedium

  Implement a Merkle tree to model repository file systems and efficiently compute differences between two repository states using subtree hashes.

  CursorSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen
• Implement a Merkle-tree repo diffHard

  This question evaluates a candidate's understanding of Merkle trees, filesystem-aware hashing, directory traversal, and diff algorithms for detecting file-level changes.

  CursorSoftware EngineerCoding & AlgorithmsTechnical Screen
• Implement and Explain a Merkle TreeMedium

  Tests understanding of cryptographic hash trees (Merkle trees), including tree construction, odd-node handling, proof generation, and verification.

  CursorSoftware EngineerSoftware Engineering FundamentalsTechnical Screen