Does an imported challenge update when the repository changes?
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No. An import is a one-time copy of the repository at that moment. Later pushes don't reach the challenge until you change it yourself.
No. When you add a challenge from a repository, Kendor downloads the files once and stores its own copy with the challenge. Pushes to the repository after that, including to the branch you imported, don't change the challenge, and Kendor doesn't sync it in the background. To pick up changes, you either edit the challenge in Kendor or import the repository again as a new challenge.
What the import captures
Kendor downloads the repository at the moment you choose Add challenge. It takes the branch, tag or commit from your link, or the default branch if the link names none. Choosing Check is only a preview: the files are downloaded again when you add, so a push between the two is included.
The copy contains the files only, without Git history and without dependency or build folders such as node_modules, vendor and dist.
Kendor also records where the files came from: the host, owner, repository, folder, the branch you asked for, what it resolved to, and when you imported. On most hosts the resolved value is the exact commit. For public github.com imports without a token, and for Gitea and Forgejo, it is the branch or tag name.
Where you can see the source
- Before adding, the Check result shows the host, repository, folder and the branch or commit, for example
github.com/acme/platform/services/api @ 4f9c2e1. - After adding, the challenge row in the screen or live coding interview shows the host and repository, such as
github.com/acme/platform, instead of the challenge type.
The source stays on the challenge after you edit its code in Kendor, so the row keeps naming the repository even when the files no longer match it.
Why the copy stays fixed
A fixed copy keeps a screen fair and predictable:
- Every candidate on a screen starts from the same files, even if someone pushes to the repository while invites are out.
- A force-push, a deleted branch, or a repository made private or deleted doesn't break a screen that is already running.
- Removing your organization's token for a Git host doesn't affect challenges you already imported. They keep their code.
- Each live coding session opens a fresh copy of the challenge, so one interview never inherits another candidate's changes.
How to update a challenge after the repository changes
There's no button to re-sync an existing challenge with its repository. Pick the approach that fits the size of the change.
Small changes: edit in Kendor
Open the challenge in the editor (Open in editor on the challenge row) and make the change there. This keeps the challenge, its brief and its settings. Your saved code becomes the challenge's new starting point.
Bigger changes: import again as a new challenge
- Push the changes to the repository.
- In the same coding screen, paste the repository link into Paste a repository URL to add a challenge, choose Check, then Add challenge.
- Set up the new challenge in the editor: check that it runs, and copy over the brief from the old one.
- When the new challenge is ready, remove the old one with its delete button.
Note. Deleting a challenge also deletes its submissions. If candidates have already submitted work on the old challenge, don't delete it from a screen you're still reviewing. Create a new screen for the updated challenge instead, and keep the old screen for the candidates already invited.
A live coding interview holds one challenge, so the repository field only appears when it has none. To swap in a fresh import, delete the current challenge first, then paste the link again in the Code section. Do this between interviews, not while one is running.
What changes for candidates
Editing a challenge or replacing its code changes what candidates start from from then on. Pushes to the repository on their own never reach candidates: only a change you make in Kendor does. If a screen is already live, plan updates for a moment when you're not expecting new candidates to start, or put the updated challenge in a new screen.