Technical Challenge — Mid-Level

Background

A small project management startup wants to build a simple internal tool for their team to organize work visually. They need a basic task board where team members can create boards, organize tasks into columns, and move tasks between stages.

In this challenge, you'll build a simplified task board application with a REST API, a database, and a functional UI.

We are not evaluating specific tools or patterns. We simply want to understand how you think, how you code, and how you approach real-world problems. Be yourself.

What You Need to Build

A functional full stack application with the ability to:

1. Create and view boards
2. Add columns to a board
3. Create, update, and delete tasks within columns
4. Move tasks between columns
5. View a board in a kanban-style layout

Database Schema

Design the schema yourself. At minimum, you should support:

• Boards with a name and creation date
• Columns belonging to a board, with a name and display order
• Tasks belonging to a column, with: title, description, priority, and creation date

Include appropriate indexes and a seed script that creates one board with sample data.

Tech Stack

Backend

• Runtime: Bun
• Framework: Next.js (App Router)
• Database: SQLite (ORM, query builder, or raw SQL — your choice)

Frontend

• Framework: Next.js
• Styling: TailwindCSS
• Additional UI libraries are welcome but not required

Required API Endpoints

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/api/boards	List all boards
POST	/api/boards	Create a board
GET	/api/boards/:id	Get a board with its columns and tasks
POST	/api/columns	Create a column (linked to a board)
POST	/api/tasks	Create a task (linked to a column)
PATCH	/api/tasks/:id	Update a task (title, description, move to another column)
DELETE	/api/tasks/:id	Delete a task

• Validate input on every endpoint.
• Return proper HTTP status codes (400, 404, etc.).
• Use a consistent JSON response structure.

Required UI

1. A page showing a board in kanban-style layout (columns side by side, tasks as cards)
2. Ability to create a new task via a modal or dialog
3. Ability to move a task between columns (a simple dropdown is fine, no drag-and-drop required)
4. Loading and empty states

Submission Instructions

• Fork this repository, complete your work, and submit a pull request.
• Include a README.md with:
  • Clear instructions to run the project locally
  • A short explanation of your architecture or design decisions
  • A seed script to preload sample data

Time Expectation

You should spend no more than 2 hours on this task.

Don't worry if you can't finish everything. What matters most is how far you get and how you approach the problem.

Evaluation & Guidance

What we mainly evaluate:

• Solution design and structure (architecture, modularity, separation of concerns).
• Clarity of reasoning and documentation (decisions, trade-offs, assumptions).
• Code quality (readability, consistency, error handling, good practices).
• API design (RESTful conventions, validation, error responses).
• UI completeness and usability.
• Git workflow (incremental commits with clear messages).
• Prioritization and scope management: it's valid to leave items pending if you explain what and why.

Use of AI (optional but allowed):

• You may use AI tools (e.g., Claude, Copilot, ChatGPT, Cursor) to assist with your solution.
• We care most about how you structure the solution and explain your decisions.
• If you used AI, add a brief note in your PR/README: which tools you used, which parts were assisted, and what changes you made after review.
• Only include code you understand and can justify.