Anthropic's original take home assignment open sourced
github.com
January 21, 2026
1 min read
Summary
Anthropic has released a version of its original performance take-home challenge, allowing users to compete against Claude Opus 4.5 with unlimited time. Claude Opus 4.5 achieved a performance of 1790 cycles, while Claude Opus 4 reached 1579 cycles, and Claude Opus 4 took 2164 cycles after extensive testing.
Key Takeaways
- Anthropic's original performance take-home is now available for public testing.
- Claude Opus 4.5 achieved a performance of 1487 cycles after 11.5 hours in the test-time compute harness.
- Users can attempt to optimize their performance below 1487 cycles to potentially engage with Anthropic for recruitment opportunities.
- The performance metrics are measured in clock cycles from a simulated machine environment.
Community Sentiment
NegativePositives
- The use of Chrome tracing tools for profiling in the assignment showcases innovative techniques that could enhance performance analysis in AI applications.
Concerns
- The take-home assignment is perceived as a one-sided waste of time, raising concerns about the fairness and value of the evaluation process for potential candidates.
- The tone of the assignment's challenge, suggesting only exceptional candidates need apply, may discourage talented individuals from engaging with the company.
Source
github.com
Published
January 21, 2026
Reading Time
1 minutes
Relevance Score
36/100
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