A job interview isn’t just for the company to find out if you are a good hire for them. It’s also for you to find out if the company is a good employer for you.

So yes, ask away. And if they cannot meet your criteria you just don’t start working there.

It is absolutely not weird and I would argue it’s even important. The whole point of the interview is that BOTH parties evaluate each other according to THEIR criteria. Maybe for them it is not important but for you it’s a requirement, maybe you discover through that the culture is not aligned. It’s great for both to understand this NOW rather than 3 months down the line, as you started to settle, they teach you everything about their specific infrastructure and… it doesn’t work, now both needs to redo the process again.

So yes IMHO it doesn’t matter how “silly” it might sound to you, now during the interview process, is the time to insure that it’s going to be an actual fit.

You have to also be aware that they might say no, or that the question itself might lead to a rejection. They might just not want this due to internal policy, security, culture, belief system, etc. This might feel like a loss but again, better know now and look for a place that match your needs that later on.

I also don’t conduct many interviews, especially not right now, but when I did anything that could help me understand what made the candidate tick, what got them genuinely excited or angry, was super important. Sure I wanted to insure the technical capability but beyond that I was looking for any clue to see if we were compatible beyond just task in, result out, because in the long run that’s what would make us both happy.

TL;DR: yes, ask for whatever YOU want.

Last 3 jobs I’ve worked at, I made it sure they understood I needed a Linux laptop to work. They all offered MacBooks (and I made the mistake of taking the MacBook once), but as long as it’s a good company (i.e. no removed IT department) they’ll allow it

It’s not weird, you can ask the recruiter or even the developer doing the interview what is the work environment (i.e. at the end, “do you have any question for me”). It’s a perfectly valid question.

You don’t have to go into details and go into a flamewar about Windows, at most just mention that it’s not your preference.

I think it’s better to avoid talking about how you “absolutely cannot tolerate”, “hate” a given platform because that in itself could be a red flag to some interviewers. If you feel this way about Windows, maybe you’ll feel this way about frameworks/libraries that has already been picked and be a pain to work with.

I usually ask after the interview and after i’ve received the offer. At that point it doesn’t impact the selection process and you are still in time to reject if you want.

i asked for Linux, they said sure… and gave me a windows laptop.

i asked thecnical support “we only supply windows laptop”

You should ask this, but maybe hold back on the “I abhor it” stuff.

While for some places it may even be a good sign you want Linux, serious rejection for other platforms may look like a lack of flexibility. Who’s to say you don’t have the same strong feelings about other stuff?

IMO generally be a positive about Linux rather than negative about Windows. Asking about what systems they support is reasonable though. Just know that you may be passing up jobs if this is your hill to die on.

I don’t ask for, I demand a Mac.

Edit: I’m sorry that I’m privileged enough to be able to do that.

Edit2: Didn’t realize I’m in the linux sub, of course there will be outrage. If it helps you sleep better, Linux would be my second choice.

I KNOW I’m gonna get A LOT of hate for typing this, but if a MacBook is cheaper than the laptop you want, you should get a MacBook…

Kind of unrelated but what do you like about MacOS and Linux versus Windows? I mean that in the way of things they share

I never really used a MacOS device for an extended period of time so when I did use one the differences between it and Windows/Linux really slowed me down and confused me.

It’s not a weird thing to ask during the interview. It would be a weird thing to request, but not to enquire about.

It’s a normal thing to ask in an interview, I ask the same every time, so far I’ve always gotten one, after all most things I work with require Windows machine to have WSL anyways, so might as well cut one layer.

That being said it all comes down to how you ask it and how valuable you are, if a junior said “I only work with Linux, either you give me a Linux box or I won’t take the job” you might be cut from the race by HR before any person who even understands what you’re asking gets to see you because you’re being inflexible. If on the other hand you’re a senior and go through the interview and at the end when you get to the questions ask what’s the policy for OS on work machines, you’re much more likely to get the answer you’re looking for. That is unless you’re working for a Windows specific program, which obviously will need a Windows box, and not many companies are willing to give you two PCs.