Live
Pair on a problem in real time
Join the same session as your candidate. Watch them type, run queries alongside them, drop a hint into the editor, and keep private notes they never see.
SQL interviewing made easy
See how candidates really write SQL.
Limnic gives every candidate a real database in the browser, and gives you a live view of every query they run, automatic result checking, and a full replay of how they got there.
Whiteboard SQL tells you who memorised the syntax.
Real SQL work is iterative. You look at the data, try a join, notice the count is off, and fix it. That loop is the skill you’re hiring for, and it’s invisible in a shared document or a take-home that arrives as a single finished query.
Limnic puts the loop on screen. Candidates work the way they would on the job, and you see every step.
Features
Everything a SQL interview needs, and nothing to set up.
A real database for every candidate
Each session gets its own isolated database, seeded and ready in seconds. Candidates run real queries against real data, and nothing they do can touch anyone else.
Watch the thinking, live
Follow every keystroke and every run as it happens. See the wrong turns, the debugging, and the moment it clicks, instead of just a final answer.
Automatic result checking
Limnic compares each result set with the expected answer and tells you whether it matches, ignoring differences that don’t matter, like column aliases or row order.
Full session replay
Every query, error and result is recorded on a timeline. Scrub back through the interview afterwards, or share it with a colleague who wasn’t in the room.
Query plans on tap
Open the execution plan for any run. Talk about indexes, joins and scans with senior candidates using the same evidence they would have on the job.
Scorecards that stay consistent
Give every interviewer the same rubric, with private notes pinned to moments in the session. Compare candidates on what they did, not on who interviewed them.
How it works
From question to decision in three steps.
Pick a question
Choose from the library or bring your own schema and data. Set the expected result and a time limit.
Share a link
Candidates open it in their browser. There’s nothing to install, no account to create, and no connection string to paste.
Decide with evidence
Review the replay, the run history and the scorecards together, then make the call while it’s fresh.
Take-home
Screen on the candidate’s schedule
Send a timed session they can start whenever suits them. Limnic checks the results and records the whole attempt, so review takes minutes, not an hour.
Question library
Realistic schemas, ready to run.
Start from questions built on data that looks like the real thing: messy enough to be interesting, small enough to reason about. Each one comes with a prompt, an expected result and follow-ups that scale from a first screen to a senior loop.
Have a favourite question already? Bring your own schema and seed data, and it sits alongside the rest.
- Core
E-commerce orders
Joins · aggregation · refunds
- Core
Subscription billing
Date ranges · churn · MRR
- Advanced
Product analytics events
Window functions · funnels · sessions
- Advanced
Ride-share trips
Geography buckets · percentiles
- Advanced
Org chart
Recursive CTEs · hierarchies
- Senior
Slow dashboard
Query plans · indexing · rewrites
For interviewers
Less prep, clearer signal.
- No databases to provision, seed or clean up between interviews
- Correctness is checked for you, so you can focus on the conversation
- One rubric and one record per candidate, shared across the panel
- Replays let a second reviewer weigh in without a second interview
For candidates
A fair shot at showing real skill.
- A working database, so they can explore the data before answering
- Clear error messages and instant results, just like their own tools
- Schema browser and sample rows always one glance away
- Nothing to install, and nothing to debug except the query
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Do candidates need to install anything?
No. A session is a link. It opens in any modern browser with the editor, the schema and the database already connected.
Can we use our own schema and data?
Yes. Upload a schema and seed data, write the prompt and the expected result, and it becomes a question your whole team can reuse. Your questions stay private to your organisation.
What stops a candidate from running something destructive or expensive?
Every session runs in its own sandboxed database with statement timeouts and row limits. A runaway query is cancelled, and a dropped table only affects that one session, which you can reset in a click.
Does it work for take-home assessments?
Yes. Send a timed, unattended session instead of a live one. You get the same replay, run history and automatic checking when the candidate finishes.
How is this different from a shared document or a generic coding pad?
SQL in a document never runs, so you’re grading syntax from memory. Limnic gives candidates a working database and gives you the full record of how they used it.
Hire the people who can actually query your data.
Real databases, real queries, and the full story behind every answer.
Take another look at the features