Practice papers for people who build with AI
Sit the paper before you ship the code.
Timed practice papers on checking code an assistant wrote: secrets, untrusted input, access, tests, packages, agents and the edge cases in between. Every answer is marked, with the reasoning behind each option and a link to its source.
Short papers are free. Deskcheck Pass $1.95/month or $19.50/year, or $1.00 for one full paper · Free during preview
79 original questions in 8 sections · no account, no email · practice only, no certificate
Instructions to candidates
- 1
Choose a paper
A free short paper (12 questions, 15 minutes, one from every section), a full paper (32 questions, 40 minutes), or a drill on one section.
- 2
Answer against the clock
One best answer per question. Flag any question to come back to; the answer sheet shows what is done, flagged and blank. Hide the timer if it puts you off.
- 3
Read the mark scheme
Hand in and every question comes back marked: why the right answer is right, why each wrong answer is wrong, one line to remember and the source.
Try a question
Question 1, as it appears on a paper
Pick an answer and the server marks it. This one is from Section B, Secrets.
On your live site you press F12, search the downloaded JavaScript for sk- and find your AI key. The assistant had put it in .env as VITE_AI_API_KEY. What is going on?
The syllabus
Eight sections, all about the code you were handed
Not how to prompt, not how to run a business: what to check before code an assistant wrote goes live.
- A10 questions
Read the code
What the code an assistant wrote really does when it runs, not what its comment says.
- B9 questions
Secrets
Keys, passwords and tokens: where they leak, and what to do first when one does.
- C10 questions
Untrusted input
Anything a visitor, an upload or another site sends you, and how it turns into an attack.
- D10 questions
Accounts and access
Who may see and change what, checked on the server on every request.
- E10 questions
Tests that prove it
Tests that can fail, fail for the right reason, and keep a fixed bug fixed.
- F10 questions
Packages
The code you install: real names, pinned versions, install scripts and known holes.
- G10 questions
Agents and prompts
Working safely with an assistant that can read, write and run things for you.
- H10 questions
Edge cases
Money, time, text and timing: where correct-looking code quietly gives wrong answers.
What it costs
Short papers are free. Full papers are $1.95 a month.
Deskcheck is in preview: the prices below are the real prices, but nothing is charged yet and every paper is open to everyone. Free during preview.
Free
$0
no account, no card
- Short papers: 12 questions in 15 minutes, as often as you like
- Section drills of 4 questions
- The full mark scheme for everything you answer
- A private record link with your readiness map
Deskcheck Pass
$1.95
a month, or $19.50 a year
- Full papers: 32 questions, 40 minutes, 4 from every section
- Whole-section drills
- Missed rounds: up to 20 of the questions your record shows you got wrong
- Everything in Free
Payments are not switched on yet: everything here is open to everyone now.
One full paper
$1.00
once, no renewal
- One full paper, started within 30 days
- Its marked script and readiness map
- Everything in Free
Read before you sit
What a Deskcheck score means
It is
- Practice: an unproctored, open-book quiz you can take as often as you like.
- A rough map of what to read up on, section by section.
- Original questions, each checked against the source it links to.
It is not
- A certification, a credential or a qualification. Nothing is issued.
- Preparation for any particular exam or provider.
- Proof that an app is secure. Only checking the real code does that.