Taking an assessment in VS Code

The SkillFoundry VS Code extension lets you complete assessments in your own editor: you clone the real task repository, work with your normal tooling, and submit from inside VS Code. This guide covers installation, connecting your session, the assessment workflow, and troubleshooting.

Requirements

Requirement	Details
VS Code	Version 1.80 or newer (1.93+ recommended — terminal activity capture requires it)
Git	Required. Used to clone the task repository and to capture your final diff at submission.
Network	HTTPS access to the SkillFoundry API (api.skillfoundry.dev by default)
OS	Windows, macOS, and Linux are all supported
Optional	Node.js, Python, Docker — only if the specific task needs them. The extension checks for them at activation but doesn't require them.

Installing the extension

Install SkillFoundry Assessment (publisher: SkillFoundry) from the Visual Studio Marketplace:

1. Open VS Code → Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X).
2. Search for SkillFoundry Assessment and click Install.

Or from the command line:

code --install-extension SkillFoundry.skillfoundry-assessment

If your hiring team sent you a skillfoundry-assessment-*.vsix file instead, use Extensions → … → Install from VSIX… and select it.

Connecting your session

You don't log in with a username and password. Instead, the hiring platform gives you a one-time session token starting with sf_ide_ (shown on the assessment's IDE setup page in the web app, or sent to you directly). Tokens are tied to a specific attempt and expire (48 hours by default).

1. In VS Code, open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P).
2. Run SkillFoundry: Activate Assessment.
3. Paste your sf_ide_... token.
4. The extension validates the token, runs a quick environment check (Git required; Node/Python/Docker noted if missing), and opens the Assessment Panel.

If your invitation contains a vscode:// deep link that doesn't do anything when clicked, use the manual flow above — Command Palette → Activate Assessment → paste the token.

The assessment workflow

1. Get the code

Run SkillFoundry: Clone task repository (also available from the Task Brief sidebar and the Assessment Panel). Pick a folder; the extension clones the task repository (and checks out the relevant branch for PR-based tasks), then opens it in a new VS Code window with your session carried over — you don't need to re-enter the token.

If the repository is private, you need clone access with your own Git credentials; your hiring team should have granted this.

2. Start the timer

Run SkillFoundry: Start Timer. This is the important gate:

• It officially starts your attempt on the server.
• It starts behavioral telemetry collection (nothing is collected before this).
• It starts the countdown if the task has a time limit (shown in the status bar).

3. Work normally

Code in your cloned repository as you would on any project. While you work, the extension provides:

• Task Brief sidebar — title, description, and a requirements checklist you can tick off.
• Assessment Panel — three tabs: Task Info, AI Chat (the Customer and TPM personas — ask clarifying questions here), and Behavioral Data (a live view of everything being collected about your session).
• SkillFoundry: Run Tests — auto-detects your project's stack (npm/jest, pytest, Go, Cargo, Maven, Gradle) and runs tests and linters in an integrated terminal. Tests run locally on your machine.
• Status bar — session state, elapsed/remaining time, and event count.

4. Submit

Run SkillFoundry: Submit Assessment:

1. The extension captures a git diff of your changes against the cloned base. Commit or at least save your work first — if you have no changes, it warns you before letting you proceed.
2. A preview shows files changed, lines added/removed, and your event count.
3. On confirm, the timer stops, telemetry stops, remaining events are uploaded, and your diff is submitted.

You'll see "Assessment submitted successfully!". There is no in-IDE score view — results go to the hiring team, and your own results (where enabled) appear in the SkillFoundry web app.

What the extension collects

The extension records how you work, not what you type:

• Collected: activity metadata within the assessment workspace — file navigation, edit activity (never the text), sanitized terminal and git activity, debugging, window focus, paste activity (never the pasted content), whether AI assistant extensions are installed and in use (never prompts or completions), and test runs.
• Sent only at submission: your full git diff — this is the one time your code content leaves your machine via the extension.
• Chat messages you send to the AI Customer/TPM go to the chat service in full (they're conversations, after all).
• Never collected: keystrokes, clipboard contents, files outside the assessment workspace folder, AI prompt/completion text.

Everything is sanitized before upload (emails, tokens, IP addresses, and home-directory paths are redacted) and buffered locally if you're offline. You can inspect the complete event stream at any time via SkillFoundry: View Collected Events (Transparency) or the Assessment Panel's Behavioral Data tab.

Full policy: Monitoring and data collection.

Settings

Open Settings and search for "SkillFoundry":

Setting	Default	When to change
skillfoundry.apiBaseUrl	https://api.skillfoundry.dev	Only if your organization runs a staging or self-hosted backend. Reload VS Code after changing it.

Your session token is entered through the Activate command, never stored in settings.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to do
"Session token must start with sf_ide_"	You pasted the wrong value — copy the full token from the assessment page.
"Failed to activate session" / token invalid	The token may be expired or already revoked. Generate a fresh one from the assessment page in the web app, or ask your hiring team.
"Authentication failed. Please re-activate your session." (mid-session)	Your session expired. Run Activate Assessment again with a new token — your local work is untouched.
Deep link (vscode://…?token=…) does nothing	Use the manual flow: Command Palette → SkillFoundry: Activate Assessment → paste token.
"Git is not installed"	Install Git and restart VS Code. Git is required for cloning and submitting.
"Failed to clone repository"	Check that you have access to the repository (private repos need your Git credentials) and that your network allows the clone.
"No workspace folder open" at submit	Open the cloned task repository folder in VS Code before submitting.
"Network issue detected. Events will be buffered…"	Keep working — telemetry is stored locally and synced automatically when the connection returns.
"Rate limit exceeded" in chat	The AI chat is rate-limited (about 10 messages/minute). Wait a moment and retry.
"No test or lint commands detected"	The auto-detection didn't recognize the project's stack. Run the tests manually in the terminal; results still count via your submission.
Time limit reached	Submit immediately with Submit Now — partial work is evaluated.
Anything else	Check the logs: View → Output → "SkillFoundry Assessment", and include them if you contact support.