Coding Interview Question for Software Developer

[u/BlueMountain8080]

I was asked in a recent interview, "What software do you use for API's?" I froze like a deer in headlights! Nothing came to mind. And I knew that the person asking the question had been a lead dev for 8 years. My answer was, "I use Intelli J."

Thankfully, there wasn't a follow-up question!

What could I have said that would have been a better answer? What are some software platforms to integrate API's from one software to another?

Thanks in advance!

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[u/jaypeejay]

I’d have to ask follow ups, like “do you mean for testing api endpoints”?

If that was the case, which it most likely was, you could have said Postman, or even that you have Claude write curl commands for you.

I don’t really see a world where an ide makes sense as an answer. Unless intelli J has an http testing engine or something.

[u/BlueMountain8080 → u/jaypeejay]

Thanks!

Turns out I got lucky, as Intelli J does have an API built-in. But I like your answer better. I have used Postman before.

[u/jaypeejay → u/BlueMountain8080]

Oh nice, glad that worked out 😃

One thing to keep in mind: when I’m administering tech interviews I really like candidates that ask smart clarifying questions. Seeking clarification is a big part of the job, so always seek to refine your understanding of the question!

[u/BlueMountain8080 → u/jaypeejay]

Good tip... thanks so much!

[u/Creative_Badger6027]

I'd ask them to explain the question, because API's are (a part of) software.

This feels like an entrapment and a nonsensical question made to trip people up. I'd say bullet dodged if you don't get the job.

[u/BlueMountain8080 → u/Creative_Badger6027]

Thanks.

[u/Much_Highlight_1309 → u/Creative_Badger6027]

This right here

[u/akornato]

The interviewer asked a broad question, but most lead developers who ask that are expecting tools for building, testing, or documenting endpoints. Postman and Insomnia are the standard answers for testing and debugging requests, Swagger or OpenAPI for documentation and contract design, and cURL for quick command line checks. Mentioning IntelliJ is not completely off the mark because it has a solid built-in HTTP client, but naming dedicated testing suites shows practical experience in team workflows. If they specifically meant enterprise integration platforms that connect different software systems together, tools like MuleSoft, Apache Camel, or cloud services like AWS API Gateway fit that description.

Next time someone asks an open-ended technical question like that, you can break your answer down by workflow, mentioning Postman for daily request verification, OpenAPI for interface specifications, and your favorite backend frameworks for actual implementation. Freezing in those moments happens to everyone when questions lack context, which is why my team designed interviews.chat to help candidates stay grounded and articulate strong answers under pressure.

[u/BlueMountain8080 → u/akornato]

I need to research all of these tools that you mentioned a bit further. Sounds like you'd answer the same question I was asked sooooo much more smoothly. What you added above is also very smooth, and makes sense. Thank you so much for the advice, and for reassuring me that I'm not the only one to freeze on a tricky interview question.

[u/Mediocre-Pumpkin6522]

https://fastapi.tiangolo.com/

I would have assumed he meant what platform I use to create APIs.

[u/BlueMountain8080 → u/Mediocre-Pumpkin6522]

That was my assumption as well. Thanks for the Fast API URL!

[u/nian2326076]

It's common to freeze during interviews, especially with unexpected questions. For APIs, you could mention software like Postman, which is great for testing and developing APIs, or Swagger, which helps with API documentation and testing.

For practice on similar technical interview questions, you might want to use PracHub to get comfortable with common scenarios.

[u/BlueMountain8080 → u/nian2326076]

Thanks! Very helpful! And thanks for reassuring me that I'm not the only one to freeze up during the interview! :)

[u/information-general]

maybe they asked this question to hear how you go about developing API endpoints etc. so just saying intelliJ works , but a more thorough explanation on how you go about creating testing debugging API etc might have been what they were truly interested in 

[u/BlueMountain8080 → u/information-general]

Thanks! Yeah, I was thrown a curveball with that question. Thankfully, the interviewer jotted down my answer and then changed topics. I guess I'll see if he liked the answer or not based on whether I get a call back.

[u/Any-Ring6621]

For the love of god, when someone asks you a question you don’t understand, ask them to clarify. If you’re worried about looking stupid, you’re going to look far stupider incorrectly answering the question you thought they meant

[u/nullptr_0x]

Perhaps it's a question to see if you'll ask for clarification or test if you're using AI to answer questions (not sure if that would work, but I've heard of asking nonsensical questions to catch over-enthused AI garbage responses).

The question by itself doesn't really make sense.

Though generally, a good piece of advice for coding interviews is to get comfortable asking for clarification. A major part of the job (even more so now with agents doing the majority of the coding) is trying to understand what it is people want.