Question 4: Live Feed POST + Verify

Why This Problem?

This is a practical API integration problem. It reflects a growing trend in technical interviews. Companies are letting candidates use AI tools, but they want to see you solve real-world problems, not just algorithm puzzles. Making API calls, handling authentication, and debugging HTTP requests are everyday engineering tasks.

Companies like Canva and Meta have started allowing AI in interviews because they recognize that AI is part of modern software development. What matters is whether you can actually build things and explain your work.

Read more about AI-assisted interviews:

• Canva: Yes, You Can Use AI in Our Interviews
• Wired: Meta AI Job Interview Coding
• Reddit: Canva’s AI-Assisted Coding Interview

Goal

1. Make a POST request to create a new post on the live feed
2. Programmatically verify the post exists in the database using the returned ID

A 200 OK response means nothing to stakeholders in the real world. Business users don’t care about HTTP status codes. They care whether the data shows up. Your code must prove the post made it to the database, not just trust the API response. Welcome to real world software engineering!

The Live Feed

Open this URL in your browser to see the live feed:

https://live.segunakinyemi.com

This page displays messages posted by workshop participants in real-time. Your goal is to make your message appear on this board AND verify it programmatically.

API Endpoints

POST /api/post

Creates a new post.

URL: https://live.segunakinyemi.com/api/post

Method: POST

Content-Type: application/json

Required Fields:

Field	Type	Description
Name	string	Your name or alias
Message	string	What you want to say
Workshop	string	Workshop name (e.g., “AI Interview Workshop”)
WorkshopKey	string	Secret key (see below)

Optional Fields:

Field	Type	Description
Tags	string	Comma-separated tags for your post

Success Response (200):

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Posted successfully!",
  "id": "recXXXXXXXXX"
}

Save the id from this response. You need it to verify your post exists.

Error Response (401 - Invalid Key):

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Invalid or missing WorkshopKey"
}

Error Response (400 - Missing Fields):

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Name is required"
}

Other missing field errors: "Message is required", "Workshop is required"

GET /api/posts

Retrieves posts for verification. Supports two query modes.

Mode 1: Verify a specific post by ID

Use the id returned from your POST request:

GET https://live.segunakinyemi.com/api/posts?id=recXXXXXXXXX&WorkshopKey=your-key

Success Response (200):

{
  "success": true,
  "post": {
    "id": "recXXXXXXXXX",
    "name": "Qorin Halfhand",
    "message": "First programmer checking in!",
    "workshop": "AI Interview Workshop",
    "tags": ["python", "first-post"],
    "createdAt": "2026-02-09T22:30:00.000Z"
  }
}

Not Found Response (404):

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Post not found",
  "id": "recXXXXXXXXX"
}

Mode 2: List recent posts by workshop

GET https://live.segunakinyemi.com/api/posts?workshop=AI%20Interview%20Workshop&WorkshopKey=your-key

Success Response (200):

{
  "success": true,
  "count": 12,
  "workshop": "AI Interview Workshop",
  "posts": [
    {
      "id": "recXXXXXXXXX",
      "name": "Qorin Halfhand",
      "message": "First programmer checking in!",
      "workshop": "AI Interview Workshop",
      "tags": ["python"],
      "createdAt": "2026-02-09T22:30:00.000Z"
    }
  ]
}

Mode 3: List recent posts by tag

GET https://live.segunakinyemi.com/api/posts?tag=python&WorkshopKey=your-key

Response: { success: true, count: 5, tag: "python", posts: [...] }

WorkshopKey

Click to reveal the WorkshopKey

The WorkshopKey value is `cinnamon-rolls-are-the-best-pastry-hands-down`. Your code will need to pass this key for things to work!

Example Request Flow

Step 1: POST to create your message

{
  "Name": "Qorin Halfhand",
  "Message": "First programmer checking in!",
  "Workshop": "AI Interview Workshop",
  "WorkshopKey": "your-workshop-key-here"
}

Step 2: Save the ID from the response

{
  "success": true,
  "message": "Posted successfully!",
  "id": "recABC123XYZ"
}

Step 3: GET to verify the post exists

GET /api/posts?id=recABC123XYZ&WorkshopKey=your-workshop-key-here

Step 4: Confirm the post data matches

Only print success after verification returns your post.

Your Task

1. Write a script that sends a POST request to create a post
2. Capture the id from the POST response
3. Send a GET request to verify the post exists using that id
4. Only print success confirmation after verification succeeds
5. Handle errors gracefully

Choose Your Tool

You can solve this using any tool you prefer:

• Python - Using requests library
• JavaScript/Node.js - Using fetch
• PowerShell - Using Invoke-RestMethod

Read the full API documentation above. The answer to most questions is already here.

Workshop Workflow

1. Clarifying Questions

• What does the POST response contain that I need for verification?
• How do I pass the WorkshopKey for GET requests vs POST requests?
• What HTTP status code indicates the post was not found?
• What happens if I verify before the post has propagated?

Propagation Delay: In real distributed systems, writes may not be immediately visible to reads. If your GET verification fails immediately after POST, consider adding a short delay or retry logic.

2. Plan Your Approach

1. Choose your language (Python, JavaScript, or PowerShell)
2. Construct the POST request with JSON payload
3. Parse the response and extract the id
4. Construct the GET request with id and WorkshopKey as query params
5. Check the verification response
6. Print confirmed success or handle failure

3. Verify

Your script should only claim success after the GET request confirms the post exists.

Deliverables

Create a solution file in question-4-live-feed/ using your preferred language:

• Python: post.py
• JavaScript: post.js
• PowerShell: post.ps1

Your script should print:

Posted OK: "<message>" (name=<name>, id=<id>)
Verified: post exists in database

The GET verification step is your test. If your script prints “Verified: post exists in database”, you’ve proven it works.

Extension Challenges

If you finish early:

1. Add Tags - Include the Tags field with your school name or something fun
2. Make it interactive - Prompt for name and message instead of hardcoding
3. Add retry logic - If verification fails, wait a moment and try again (real engineers think about propagation delays)
4. Try multiple tools - Solve it in more than one language