Prepare for your next debugging interview

The failing tests felt like a real repo, not a toy function. I spent the hour reading code instead of guessing at a prompt.

I kept missing the bug in the helper two files over. Practicing that loop is what the onsite actually tested.

Citations to how people describe the round made the problem feel less abstract. I knew what the interviewer was watching for.

Running the suite in the browser meant I could iterate without setting up a local checkout. That removed the stall at the start.

I used to freeze once the stack trace left the file I was editing. These packs force that jump, which is the hard part.

The bonus bugs are a good stretch after the required fix. I stopped when the required tests passed, then went back for the rest.

Switching the same bug between Python and TypeScript showed me the mistake was in the design, not the syntax.

I treated it like a work ticket: reproduce, narrow, patch, rerun. That is closer to my last onsite than any leetcode set.

Short sessions added up. After a week I was less afraid of a repo I had never seen.