Quick start

This section explains how to create your first contest in Yandex Contest.

Step 1. Sign in to Contest

The admin panel is available in demo mode by default. You can create problems and run contests in this mode, but limits apply to their number and to some features. To remove these limits, request full access.

A reply will be sent to the email address linked to your Yandex ID.

Step 2. Create problems

Open the admin panel home page.
In the Problems section, click Create problem.
Enter a name. It will appear in the participant interface.
Click Create. The problem settings page opens.
Choose the problem type based on the answer expected from participants:
- Programming problem: A participant submits a program. Its output is checked automatically by a checker.
  How to set it up
  1. In Problem type, select PROBLEM_WITH_CHECKER.
  2. Select the answer type:
    
    Text or file: Enter the solution in a multiline text field or upload it as a file.
    
    Single text line: Enter the solution on one line. This option is not available for every programming language.
    
    File: Upload the solution as a file.
    
    Text: Enter the solution in a multiline text field.
  3. In the menu on the left, select Statements.
  4. Select the Markdown + KaTeX statement type.
  5. Select a language:
    
    ru for Russian;
    
    en for English.
  6. On the right, click Add statement.
  7. Click the row with the new statement, for example, English (en) (markdown).
  8. Enter the statement and click Save.
  9. Repeat steps 4–8 to add more statements.
  10. In the menu on the left, select Tests and solutions and click Create a test.
  11. In Name of test file, enter a name for the input data file.
  12. In Test data, enter the input data.
  13. In Name of response file, enter a name for the file with the expected result.
  14. In Answer, enter the expected result.
  15. Click Add.
  16. Repeat steps 10–15 to add more tests.
- Test problem: A participant selects one or more answers from the options provided.
  How to set it up
  1. In Problem type, select TEST_PROBLEM.
  2. Select the answer type:
    
    One option for a problem with one correct answer.
    
    Several options for a problem with multiple correct answers.
  3. Enter an answer option and click Add.
  4. Repeat the previous step to add more options.
  5. In Correct?, select Yes for every correct answer. A problem with One option can have only one correct answer.
  6. In the menu on the left, select Statements.
  7. Select the Markdown + KaTeX statement type.
  8. Select a language:
    
    ru for Russian;
    
    en for English.
  9. On the right, click Add statement.
  10. Click the row with the new statement, for example, English (en) (markdown).
  11. Enter the statement and click Save.
  12. Repeat steps 7–11 to add more statements.
- Text problem: A participant enters an answer in a text field.
  How to set it up
  1. In Problem type, select TEXT_ANSWER_PROBLEM.
  2. Select the answer type:
    
    Text or file: Enter the solution in a multiline text field or upload it as a file.
    
    Single text line: Enter the solution on one line. This option is not available for every programming language.
    
    File: Upload the solution as a file.
    
    Text: Enter the solution in a multiline text field.
  3. Enter the maximum answer length in characters.
  4. Optionally, use a regular expression to restrict the format of participants' answers. For example:
    
    Lowercase English letters: ^[a-z]{1,}$.
    
    An English word starting with a capital letter: ^[A-Z]{1}[a-z]{1,}$.
    
    One to five lowercase English letters: ^([a-z]){1,5}$.
    
    The ^ and $ symbols mark the start and end of the answer. Without them, an answer can contain other characters around the matching text. For more information, see RegExr.
  5. Enter the correct answer. A participant's answer is accepted only if it matches this text exactly, including capitalization, spaces, and line breaks.
  6. In the menu on the left, select Statements.
  7. Select the Markdown + KaTeX statement type.
  8. Select a language:
    
    ru for Russian;
    
    en for English.
  9. On the right, click Add statement.
  10. Click the row with the new statement, for example, English (en) (markdown).
  11. Enter the statement and click Save.
  12. Repeat steps 7–11 to add more statements.
- Interactive problem: A participant's solution exchanges data with an interactor program run by the system.
  How to set it up
  1. In Problem type, select INTERACTIVE_PROBLEM.
  2. In the menu on the left, select Statements.
  3. Select the Markdown + KaTeX statement type.
  4. Select a language:
    
    ru for Russian;
    
    en for English.
  5. On the right, click Add statement.
  6. Click the row with the new statement, for example, English (en) (markdown).
  7. Enter the statement and click Save.
  8. Repeat steps 3–7 to add more statements.
  9. In the menu on the left, select Tests and solutions and click Create a test.
  10. In Name of test file, enter a name for the input data file.
  11. In Test data, enter the input data.
  12. In Name of response file, enter a name for the file with the expected result.
  13. In Answer, enter the expected result.
  14. Click Add.
  15. Repeat steps 9–14 to add more tests.
  16. Add an interactor.
- Matching problem: A participant matches horizontal options with vertical options.
  How to set it up
  1. In Problem type, select PROBLEM_WITH_MATCH_SETS.
  2. In Answer field, add columns and rows. Mark each cell with a correct match.
  3. In the menu on the left, select Statements.
  4. Select the Markdown + KaTeX statement type.
  5. Select a language:
    
    ru for Russian;
    
    en for English.
  6. On the right, click Add statement.
  7. Click the row with the new statement, for example, English (en) (markdown).
  8. Enter the statement and click Save.
  9. Repeat steps 4–8 to add more statements.
Repeat steps 2–5 to add more problems.

Step 3. Create a contest

In the Contests section, click Add contest.
Enter a name and click Create. The contest settings page opens.

A contest is created with standard settings. You can change them. For details, see Main settings.

Step 4. Add problems to the contest

After you create a contest, a problemset with the same name appears in the Problemsets section. To add problems to it:

In the Problemsets section, open the problemset named after the contest.
At the bottom of the page, click .
Select one or more problems from the list.
Click Add. The problems appear in the main list.

You can use the same problemset in multiple contests. For details, see Problem set settings.

Step 5. Run the contest

Decide whether the contest is for external or internal users:

External users sign in with Yandex ID and can participate in public contests.
Internal users register within Contest. Add them to closed contests, such as those held by an educational institution.

To give participants access to the contest:

Open the contest page: at the top of the contest settings page, click its name.
Copy the contest link from the address bar. If the contest uses the new participant interface, the link for external users looks like this:

https://new.contest.yandex.com/contests/12345/start

For internal users, use the same path on the int.contest.yandex.com domain. For example:

https://int.contest.yandex.com/contests/12345/start

If the contest uses the classic participant interface, use the contest.yandex.com domain for external users or official.contest.yandex.com for internal users.
Send the link to participants.

Step 6. Review the results

The contest ends when the last participant finishes at the specified time.

The leaderboard is a results table that shows:

the number of submissions sent;
the number of submissions that passed the tests;
the points and penalties for solved problems.

You can view the leaderboard or download the results as a CSV file.

View the leaderboard

Download the results table

On the contest page, open Leaderboard. The results open in a new browser tab in the participant interface. The leaderboard is also available during the contest and displays submissions in real time.

Its layout and point calculation depend on the leaderboard settings.

On the contest settings page, select Submissions in the menu on the left.
Select More → Download results in CSV to download the CSV file, or More → Generate archive of all submissions to create an archive.

For more information, see Results.

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