Cowinx

Pre-flight check

You know how a session works. This is the last gate before a real interview — five minutes that turn “it should be invisible” into “I watched it be invisible.” Run it the day before, then again right before the call.

Verify, never assume

No setting and no marketing copy can replace seeing it yourself. Always confirm stealth from a second device before you rely on it.

1. Verify the overlay is hidden

The most important check, and the only one that proves the core promise. Do it from a second device — your phone is fine — so you see exactly what the interviewer would see.

  1. Open the same conferencing app the interviewer will use (Zoom, Teams, Meet, Webex).
  2. Start a meeting with yourself — no other participants needed.
  3. Join that same meeting from a second device, or record the share, so you can watch the outgoing screen.
  4. Click Share Screen and share what you plan to share in the real call.
  5. On the second device, scan for any Cowinx UI. The control bar and workspace should both be invisible while staying visible on your own display.
  6. Open Activity Monitorand search “Cowinx.” You should see no Cowinx-branded process.

Platform-specific share settings (the Zoom capture mode in particular) live in Meeting platforms. If your test shows the overlay in the shared view, stop and fix the share settings before continuing.

2. Verify Cowinx hears the interviewer

A silent transcript mid-interview is the second most common failure. Confirm the audio path before it matters.

  1. Start a Cowinx session.
  2. Play any speech through the same output device the meeting will use — a video, a voice memo, anyone talking.
  3. Watch the transcript fill in within a second or two.
  4. If it stays empty, confirm Microphone and Screen & System Audio Recording are granted, then quit and reopen Cowinx. Full steps in Troubleshooting.

3. Set language & rehearse hotkeys

Two small things that ruin a call if you discover them live.

  • In Settings → Meeting, set Meeting Language to what the interviewer will speak, and Coding Language to your preferred language for code in answers. If the interview is in another language, set Translate To — see Translation & language.
  • Rehearse the two hotkeys you'll actually use under pressure: ⌥⏎ to solve and ⌥S to screenshot. Muscle memory beats hunting for a key mid-question.
  • Position the control bar where you want it now with ⌘⇧ + arrow keys, and confirm ⌥H hides it.

What this check does not prove

Passing the pre-flight means it worked in your test, on today's software. It is not a permanent guarantee:

  • An OS, meeting-app, or proctoring update can change capture behavior — re-test after any update.
  • Opening unrelated windows, notifications, or Cowinx settings during the call can still reveal activity.
  • Company policy and interview rules still apply. Use Cowinx only where assistance is permitted.

For how the invisibility works under the hood and what we do and don't store, read How we keep you invisible.