yangshun/tech-interview-handbook

A curated, pragmatic tech-interview prep handbook — opinionated guidance for "busy software engineers" who want signal-rich prep without doing 500 LeetCode problems.

What it is

A handbook + companion site (techinterviewhandbook.org) that covers the full tech-interview surface: coding (algorithms, data structures), system design, behavioral, negotiation, and resume building. Authored by Yang Shun (with community contributors); aimed at experienced engineers preparing for senior IC interviews at top tech companies who don't have months to spend on prep. The "busy engineer" framing differentiates it from jwasham/coding-interview-university's "study full-time for 8 months" pacing.

Key features

Algorithms / DSA chapter with patterns + targeted problem lists (the "Blind 75" / "Grind 75" curated lists originated here).
System-design chapter with framework templates + worked examples.
Behavioral and negotiation chapters — uncommon depth for an interview-prep repo.
Resume + cover-letter advice with role-specific templates.
Companion site at techinterviewhandbook.org with polished navigation and ad-supported reading.
MIT-licensed.

Tech stack

TypeScript at the language tag (companion site built with Docusaurus).
Markdown for the content.
Docusaurus for the site generation.

When to reach for it

You're a senior IC preparing for tech-company interviews and want a curated handbook rather than a 500-problem grind.
You're a mentor coaching candidates and want a single resource to reference.
You specifically want the "Blind 75" or "Grind 75" curated problem lists.

When not to reach for it

You want a long-form curriculum-style approach — jwasham/coding-interview-university is closer-fit.
You want Chinese-language interview prep — CyC2018/CS-Notes or labuladong/fucking-algorithm are better matches.
You want pure system-design depth — donnemartin/system-design-primer is more focused on that single topic.

Maturity signal

139k stars, 16k forks, MIT, last push April 2026 — actively maintained. 9-year-old project with stable maintainership and an ad-supported site that funds ongoing work. The 46 open-issues count is exceptionally low for the scope, signaling tight triage. The "Blind 75" / "Grind 75" lists this repo originated are now industry-standard candidate-prep references.

Alternatives

donnemartin/system-design-primer — use for English-language system-design specifically.
jwasham/coding-interview-university — use for a longer, narrative-driven CS canon study plan.
LeetCode + AlgoExpert + interviewing.io — use when you want platforms with active practice rather than a static handbook.

Notes

The "busy engineer" pragmatism is the project's defining choice — Yang Shun explicitly rejects "study everything" pacing in favor of "study what's likely to come up". The Blind 75 / Grind 75 lists became canonical references inside FAANG-tier candidate prep because of their tight curation. MIT license + Docusaurus site + ad-supported funding make this a stable target for both individual learners and corporate training programs.

Wiki: yangshun/tech-interview-handbook