TCS Interview Process 2026 — Rounds, Tips & Questions

Published July 22, 2026 · Updated July 22, 2026

Everything about the TCS interview process: rounds, what each round tests, difficulty level, and 167 real questions asked by engineers who cleared the loop.

4 rounds
167 real questions
4785 engineers asked

Interview Rounds at TCS

  1. TCS NQT / Online test
  2. Technical interview
  3. Managerial round
  4. HR round
Insider tip

TCS NQT tests Aptitude, Verbal, Coding. Technical round focuses on Java/Python basics, OOPs, DBMS, and OS. Be specific about project experience.

Real Questions Asked at TCS

TCS Medium Technical round JavaSpring Boot

What are the SOLID principles? Explain each with a real-world Java example. Then describe a scenario where rigidly following SOLID leads to over-engineering, and how you balance pragmatism with good design.

↑ 93 upvotes · 36 engineers asked this · SDE2
TCS Easy Technical round 1-3 years

Implement a function that checks if a string of brackets is valid. Brackets: (), [], {}. Must handle nested brackets.

↑ 84 upvotes · 32 engineers asked this · SDE1
TCS Medium Technical round 2-4 years

A developer puts async code inside useEffect by returning an async arrow function: useEffect(() => async () => {...}). Why is this wrong?

↑ 84 upvotes · 22 engineers asked this · SDE2
TCS Medium Screening round 3-6 years

Explain service discovery in microservices. How does Eureka work with Spring Cloud?

↑ 84 upvotes · 32 engineers asked this · SDE2
TCS Medium Technical round 2-5 years

Your PostgreSQL query plan shows 'Seq Scan' on a small 1000-row table despite having an index. Why might Postgres choose not to use the index?

↑ 83 upvotes · 41 engineers asked this · SDE2
TCS Medium Screening round 2-5 years

What is React.StrictMode and what bugs does it help catch?

↑ 83 upvotes · 21 engineers asked this · SDE2
TCS Medium Technical round 2-5 years

Your React app uses React Router. Users report the browser back button doesn't work after programmatic navigation. What are the likely causes?

↑ 81 upvotes · 19 engineers asked this · SDE2
TCS Medium Screening round 2-5 years

Explain Docker layer caching. Why do developers often put COPY . . before RUN npm install (wrong) and how to fix it?

↑ 81 upvotes · 49 engineers asked this · SDE2
TCS Medium Screening round 3-6 years

What is Spring Boot Actuator? What security risks does it introduce and how do you mitigate them?

↑ 81 upvotes · 29 engineers asked this · SDE2
TCS Medium Scenario round 2-5 years

Your Node.js API uses async/await throughout. A developer reports that errors thrown in async route handlers are causing the process to crash with 'UnhandledPromiseRejectionWarning'. What's the architectural fix?

↑ 80 upvotes · 48 engineers asked this · SDE2

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What TCS asks by topic

Domain System Design Behavioral DSA / Arrays React / Strict Mode React / Browser Compatibility React / Cross-browser React / State Management React / Migration Node.js / Performance Node.js / Streams Node.js / Error Handling SQL / Query Planning SQL / Indexing SQL / MySQL SQL / Advanced SQL SQL / Maintenance SQL / Database Architecture Java / Spring Transactions Java / Connection Pool Java / Concurrency Java / Performance Java / Spring Async Java / Design Patterns Python / Django ORM DevOps / Docker Security / Information Disclosure Security / Cryptography Behavioral / Technical Debt DSA / Stack DSA / Sliding Window React / Code Splitting React / Hooks Java / Spring Boot Java / Threading Java / Optional Java / Exception Handling Java / Memory Java / Core Java Java / Spring AOP Java / Hibernate Java / Generics Python / Deployment Python / Core Python SQL / Window Functions SQL / Set Operations Security / CORS TypeScript / Migration Java / API Versioning Java / Spring Boot Internals Java / Scheduling Java / Spring Security Java / Spring Core Java / Spring MVC Java / Spring Scopes Java / Testing DSA / String DSA / Bit Manipulation Behavioral / Project Management Behavioral / Agile React / Keys React / Framework Comparison Node.js / Middleware Node.js / Clustering SQL / MySQL Query Analysis SQL / Data Types React / Mobile Debugging Behavioral / Team Collaboration Java / Migration DevOps / Debugging Performance / N+1 Redis / Operations React / Routing React / Best Practices React / State React / Modules Java / Streams Java / Functional Programming Java / JVM Node.js / Modules Node.js / Security Python / Advanced Python Python / Flask Python / Security Python / OOP DSA / Strings DSA / Sorting Security / OWASP Security / Access Control Security / Authentication Security / Transport Security SQL / Joins SQL / Transactions SQL / Data Cleaning SQL / Basics MongoDB / Use Cases MongoDB / Aggregation MongoDB / Data Modeling TypeScript / Types TypeScript / Best Practices Security / Auth Architecture / Design Principles React / Forms React / Context React / Error Handling Java / Spring Cloud Java / Spring Batch Java / Database Web / Real-time Behavioral / Business Analysis Business Analysis / Requirements Business Analysis / Requirements Gathering Business Analysis / Analysis Business Analysis / Documentation Web / Security React / DOM Security / SQL Injection Security / Web Security DSA / Graph DSA / Data Structures Java / Modern Java Java / Collections Architecture / REST API

TCS questions by technology

TCS Java TCS Spring Boot

Other company interview processes

Amazon Interview Process Google Interview Process Microsoft Interview Process Flipkart Interview Process Swiggy Interview Process Meta Interview Process Apple Interview Process Netflix Interview Process Uber Interview Process Airbnb Interview Process

Frequently asked questions

What is the TCS hiring process?
The TCS hiring process has 4 stages: TCS NQT / Online test, Technical interview, Managerial round, HR round. Most candidates report 167 distinct questions across these rounds.
How many rounds does TCS interview have?
TCS typically has 4 rounds: TCS NQT / Online test, Technical interview, Managerial round, HR round.
What happens in a TCS technical interview?
The technical round at TCS focuses on Domain, System Design, Behavioral. TCS NQT tests Aptitude, Verbal, Coding. Technical round focuses on Java/Python basics, OOPs, DBMS, and OS. Be specific about project experience.
What topics does TCS ask in technical rounds?
Domain, System Design, Behavioral, DSA / Arrays, React / Strict Mode, React / Browser Compatibility, React / Cross-browser, React / State Management, React / Migration, Node.js / Performance, Node.js / Streams, Node.js / Error Handling, SQL / Query Planning, SQL / Indexing, SQL / MySQL, SQL / Advanced SQL, SQL / Maintenance, SQL / Database Architecture, Java / Spring Transactions, Java / Connection Pool, Java / Concurrency, Java / Performance, Java / Spring Async, Java / Design Patterns, Python / Django ORM, DevOps / Docker, Security / Information Disclosure, Security / Cryptography, Behavioral / Technical Debt, DSA / Stack, DSA / Sliding Window, React / Code Splitting, React / Hooks, Java / Spring Boot, Java / Threading, Java / Optional, Java / Exception Handling, Java / Memory, Java / Core Java, Java / Spring AOP, Java / Hibernate, Java / Generics, Python / Deployment, Python / Core Python, SQL / Window Functions, SQL / Set Operations, Security / CORS, TypeScript / Migration, Java / API Versioning, Java / Spring Boot Internals, Java / Scheduling, Java / Spring Security, Java / Spring Core, Java / Spring MVC, Java / Spring Scopes, Java / Testing, DSA / String, DSA / Bit Manipulation, Behavioral / Project Management, Behavioral / Agile, React / Keys, React / Framework Comparison, Node.js / Middleware, Node.js / Clustering, SQL / MySQL Query Analysis, SQL / Data Types, React / Mobile Debugging, Behavioral / Team Collaboration, Java / Migration, DevOps / Debugging, Performance / N+1, Redis / Operations, React / Routing, React / Best Practices, React / State, React / Modules, Java / Streams, Java / Functional Programming, Java / JVM, Node.js / Modules, Node.js / Security, Python / Advanced Python, Python / Flask, Python / Security, Python / OOP, DSA / Strings, DSA / Sorting, Security / OWASP, Security / Access Control, Security / Authentication, Security / Transport Security, SQL / Joins, SQL / Transactions, SQL / Data Cleaning, SQL / Basics, MongoDB / Use Cases, MongoDB / Aggregation, MongoDB / Data Modeling, TypeScript / Types, TypeScript / Best Practices, Security / Auth, Architecture / Design Principles, React / Forms, React / Context, React / Error Handling, Java / Spring Cloud, Java / Spring Batch, Java / Database, Web / Real-time, Behavioral / Business Analysis, Business Analysis / Requirements, Business Analysis / Requirements Gathering, Business Analysis / Analysis, Business Analysis / Documentation, Web / Security, React / DOM, Security / SQL Injection, Security / Web Security, DSA / Graph, DSA / Data Structures, Java / Modern Java, Java / Collections, Architecture / REST API. Based on 167 questions reported by engineers.
How hard is the TCS interview?
Difficulty ranges from Medium, Easy, Hard. TCS NQT tests Aptitude, Verbal, Coding. Technical round focuses on Java/Python basics, OOPs, DBMS, and OS. Be specific about project experience.