Single Number Others Twice

Last modified: July 21, 2026

Given a non-emptyΒ array of integers nums, every element appears twice except for one. Find that single one.

You mustΒ implement a solution with a linear runtime complexity and useΒ only constantΒ extra space.

Example 1:

Input: nums = [2,2,1]

Output: 1

Example 2:

Input: nums = [4,1,2,1,2]

Output: 4

Example 3:

Input: nums = [1]

Output: 1

Constraints:

  • 1 <= nums.length <= 3 * 104
  • -3 * 104 <= nums[i] <= 3 * 104
  • Each element in the array appears twice except for one element which appears only once.'

Approach

  • Take XOR of all the numbers
class Solution:
    def singleNumber(self, nums: List[int]) -> int:
        xor = nums[0]
        for i in range(1,len(nums)):
            xor =  nums[i] ^ xor
        return xor