Polyman: Stop Fighting with Polygon — Create and Test Problems Locally Like a Pro

A modern CLI tool that brings the entire problem-setting workflow to your terminal

TL;DR: I built Polyman — a command-line tool that lets you create, test, and verify competitive programming problems entirely on your local machine before touching Polygon. It supports test generation, validation, multiple solutions, standard checkers, and full Polygon integration.

Installation: npm install -g polyman-cli

The Problem with Problem Setting

If you've ever tried to create a problem for Codeforces (or other competitive programming platforms), you know the pain:

• Upload a solution to Polygon → Wait → Compile error → Fix → Repeat
• Upload tests one by one → Realize they're invalid → Delete → Upload again
• Test your checker → It fails → Download, fix locally, re-upload
• Want to test multiple solutions? Good luck switching between them all on Polygon
• Need to regenerate 100 tests? Hope you enjoy clicking buttons

Sound familiar?

I got tired of this workflow. So I built Polyman — a tool that lets you do everything locally, with your favorite text editor, your terminal, and full automation.

What is Polyman?

Polyman is a CLI tool (think testlib.h, but for the entire problem-setting workflow) that helps you:

• Create problems with a single command — complete folder structure, templates, everything
• Generate tests programmatically using C++ generators (with testlib.h)
• Validate inputs automatically against your constraints
• Run multiple solutions (correct, wrong answer, TLE, etc.) and verify their verdicts
• Use standard checkers (or write custom ones) to verify outputs
• Sync with Polygon — pull problems, work locally, push changes back
• Verify everything with a single command before uploading

All from your terminal. No browser tabs. No waiting for Polygon to compile. No clicking through endless menus.

Quick Example: Creating Your First Problem

Let's create a simple problem — "Sum of Two Numbers":

# Create problem
polyman new sum-problem
cd sum-problem

# Download testlib.h
polyman download-testlib

Now you have this structure:

sum-problem/
├── Config.json              # Problem configuration
├── solutions/               # Your solutions
├── generators/              # Test generators
├── validator/               # Input validator
├── checker/                 # Output checker
├── testsets/                # Generated tests
└── statements/              # Problem statements

Write your solution (solutions/Solution.cpp):

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
    int a, b;
    cin >> a >> b;
    cout << a + b << endl;
    return 0;
}

Write your validator (validator/Validator.cpp):

#include "testlib.h"

int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
    registerValidation(argc, argv);

    int a = inf.readInt(1, 1000, "a");
    inf.readSpace();
    int b = inf.readInt(1, 1000, "b");
    inf.readEoln();
    inf.readEof();

    return 0;
}

Write your generator (generators/Generator.cpp):

#include "testlib.h"

int main(int argc, char* argv[]) {
    registerGen(argc, argv, 1);

    int testNum = atoi(argv[1]);
    int maxValue = min(100 * testNum, 1000);

    int a = rnd.next(1, maxValue);
    int b = rnd.next(1, maxValue);

    cout << a << " " << b << endl;
    return 0;
}

Configure your problem (Config.json):

{
  "name": "sum-problem",
  "timeLimit": 1000,
  "memoryLimit": 256,
  "inputFile": "stdin",
  "outputFile": "stdout",

  "solutions": [
    {
      "name": "main",
      "source": "./solutions/Solution.cpp",
      "tag": "MA"
    }
  ],

  "checker": {
    "name": "ncmp",
    "isStandard": true
  },

  "testsets": [
    {
      "name": "tests",
      "generatorScript": {
        "commands": [
          {
            "type": "generator-range",
            "generator": "gen",
            "range": [1, 20]
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}

Now verify everything:

polyman verify

That's it. One command. It will:

• Generate all 20 tests
• Validate all inputs
• Run your solution on all tests
• Verify all outputs with the checker
• Tell you if anything is wrong

If everything passes, your problem is ready to upload to Polygon!

Real Power: Working with Multiple Solutions

Want to test that your problem actually rejects wrong solutions? Add them to Config.json:

"solutions": [
  {
    "name": "main",
    "source": "./solutions/correct.cpp",
    "tag": "MA"
  },
  {
    "name": "wrong",
    "source": "./solutions/wrong.cpp",
    "tag": "WA"
  },
  {
    "name": "slow",
    "source": "./solutions/slow.cpp",
    "tag": "TL"
  }
]

Run polyman verify and it will:

• Verify main solution gets AC on all tests
• Verify wrong solution gets WA on at least one test
• Verify slow solution gets TLE on at least one test

If any solution doesn't behave as expected, it tells you immediately. No more uploading 5 different solutions to Polygon and manually checking each one.

Standard Checkers: No Need to Reinvent the Wheel

Polyman includes all the standard testlib.h checkers:

polyman list-checkers

Shows you:

• wcmp — Compare tokens (whitespace-insensitive)
• ncmp — Compare sequences of numbers
• fcmp — Compare floating-point numbers
• lcmp — Compare lines exactly
• yesno — Compare yes/no answers
• And 20+ more...

Just set "isStandard": true in your config. No need to download or compile them manually.

Polygon Integration: The Best of Both Worlds

Already have problems on Polygon? No problem. Polyman syncs with Polygon seamlessly:

# Register your API key (one-time)
polyman remote register

# Pull a problem from Polygon
polyman remote pull 123456 ./my-problem
cd my-problem

# Work on it locally...
# Make changes, test everything

# Push changes back to Polygon
polyman remote push .

# Commit your changes
polyman remote commit . -m "Added new test cases"

# Build and download package
polyman remote package . --full

Work locally with your tools, then push to Polygon when ready. No more choosing between local development and Polygon's features.

Advanced Features

Organized Test Groups

"testsets": [{
  "name": "tests",
  "groupsEnabled": true,
  "groups": [
    {"name": "samples"},
    {"name": "small"},
    {"name": "large"}
  ],
  "generatorScript": {
    "commands": [
      {
        "type": "manual",
        "manualFile": "./manual/sample1.txt",
        "group": "samples"
      },
      {
        "type": "generator-range",
        "generator": "gen-small",
        "range": [1, 30],
        "group": "small"
      },
      {
        "type": "generator-range",
        "generator": "gen-large",
        "range": [1, 70],
        "group": "large"
      }
    ]
  }
}]

Selective Generation/Validation

polyman generate --testset tests --group samples    # Only samples
polyman validate --testset tests --index 5          # Only test 5
polyman run main --testset tests --group large      # Only large tests

Multiple Languages

Polyman supports C++ (g++, clang, MSVC), Java, and Python solutions. Mix and match as needed.

Custom Checkers

Write your own checker with testlib.h, test it with checker_tests.json, and Polyman handles the rest.

Installation

Requirements:

• Node.js v14+
• C++ compiler (g++, clang, or MSVC)
• Java/Python (optional, for those solution types)

Install:

npm install -g polyman-cli

Verify:

polyman --version

That's it. You're ready to create problems.

Documentation & Learning Resources

• GitHub Repository: github.com/HamzaHassanain/polyman
• Beginner Tutorial: Step-by-step walkthrough (perfect if you're new to problem setting)
• Complete User Guide: Comprehensive reference (covers all features in depth)
• API Documentation: TypeDoc documentation

The tutorial walks you through creating your first problem from scratch. The guide covers everything — validators, generators, checkers, testsets, remote operations, best practices, troubleshooting, and more.

Why I Built This

I love creating problems, but I hated the workflow. Every time I had to:

• Switch between my editor and Polygon
• Wait for compilations
• Manually test edge cases
• Upload tests one by one

I thought: "There has to be a better way."

So I built Polyman. It's the tool I wish I had when I started problem setting. It lets you work the way developers actually work — locally, with automation, with proper testing, with version control.

Try It Out!

If you're a problem setter (or want to become one), give Polyman a try:

npm install -g polyman-cli
polyman new my-first-problem
cd my-first-problem
polyman download-testlib
# ... create your problem ...
polyman verify

Follow the tutorial if you're new, or dive into the complete guide if you want to see everything it can do.

Found a bug? Have a feature request? Open an issue on GitHub. PRs are welcome!

Star the repo if you find it useful: github.com/HamzaHassanain/polyman ⭐

Want to Contribute?

Polyman is open source and I'd love your help making it better! Whether you're a beginner or experienced developer, there are plenty of ways to contribute.

Open Issues & Feature Requests

Here are some exciting features we're working on that you can help with:

• Auto-Deriving Config Names from File Paths (#12) — Simplify configuration by automatically inferring names from file paths
• Smart Compilation Cache with Dependency Tracking (#11) — Speed up workflow by caching compilations intelligently
• Diff Viewer for Local vs Remote Changes (#10) — See what changed before pushing to Polygon
• Shell Auto-Completion Support (#9) — Add tab completion for bash/zsh/fish
• Comprehensive Unit Test Coverage (#8) — Help us reach better test coverage
• Parallel Execution for Independent Operations (#7) — Make test generation and validation faster
• Java Class Naming Conflict Resolution (#6) — Handle Java/Polygon naming conflicts better
• Time Scaling for Java & Python (#5) — Automatically adjust time limits for different languages

All issues are tagged with good first issue, help wanted, enhancement, or documentation to help you find where you can contribute. Check out the full list of issues on GitHub!

How to Get Started

1. Fork the repository
2. Pick an issue (or suggest a new feature!)
3. Create a branch and make your changes
4. Submit a pull request

Questions?

Drop them in the comments! I'd love to hear:

• What features would make your problem-setting workflow easier?
• What problems have you faced when creating problems?
• What would you want to see in future versions?

Happy problem setting!

P.S. — Polyman is open source (MIT license) and actively maintained. If you use it and like it, consider starring the repo or contributing. Every bit helps!