Pattern · Linked List

Linked List interview questions

57 linked list problems tagged across recent interview reports. Drilled most heavily by amazon, bloomberg, and microsoft.

Founder's read

Linked List problems make up 57 total interview questions and sit at the core of real-time coding assessments at Amazon, Bloomberg, Microsoft, and Apple. The pattern tests your ability to manipulate nodes, pointers, and list traversal under pressure. You'll face variants ranging from simple reversal to complex pointer rewiring with random references. Most candidates drill these early but forget edge cases (empty lists, single nodes, cycles) when stress hits live. StealthCoder reads the problem on screen and solves it in seconds, invisible to the proctor, so you're never stuck on a Linked List variant you didn't see coming.

Most-asked linked list problems

#ProblemDiff# Companies
01LRU CacheMEDIUM109
02Merge k Sorted ListsHARD42
03Merge Two Sorted ListsEASY42
04Add Two NumbersMEDIUM36
05Reverse Linked ListEASY35
06Copy List with Random PointerMEDIUM21
07Linked List CycleEASY20
08LFU CacheHARD17
09Reverse Linked List IIMEDIUM17
10Remove Nth Node From End of ListMEDIUM15
11Palindrome Linked ListEASY13
12Flatten Binary Tree to Linked ListMEDIUM11
13Intersection of Two Linked ListsEASY11
14Design HashMapEASY10
15Populating Next Right Pointers in Each NodeMEDIUM10
16Design Circular QueueMEDIUM9
17Remove Duplicates from Sorted ListEASY9
18Reorder ListMEDIUM9
19Design a Text EditorHARD8
20Middle of the Linked ListEASY8
21Partition ListMEDIUM7
22Remove Duplicates from Sorted List IIMEDIUM7
23Convert Sorted List to Binary Search TreeMEDIUM6
24Design Authentication ManagerMEDIUM6
25All O`one Data StructureHARD5
26Design Browser HistoryMEDIUM5
27Linked List Cycle IIMEDIUM5
28Convert Binary Number in a Linked List to IntegerEASY4
29Delete Node in a Linked ListMEDIUM4
30Design TwitterMEDIUM4
31Max StackHARD4
32Design SkiplistHARD3
33Flatten a Multilevel Doubly Linked ListMEDIUM3
34Merge In Between Linked ListsMEDIUM3
35Populating Next Right Pointers in Each Node IIMEDIUM3
36Convert Binary Search Tree to Sorted Doubly Linked ListMEDIUM2
37Find the Minimum and Maximum Number of Nodes Between Critical PointsMEDIUM2
38Insert into a Sorted Circular Linked ListMEDIUM2
39Remove Linked List ElementsEASY2
40Remove Zero Sum Consecutive Nodes from Linked ListMEDIUM2
41Add Two Numbers IIMEDIUM1
42Design Circular DequeMEDIUM1
43Design Front Middle Back QueueMEDIUM1
44Design HashSetEASY1
45Double a Number Represented as a Linked ListMEDIUM1
46Insertion Sort ListMEDIUM1
47Linked List in Binary TreeMEDIUM1
48Linked List Random NodeMEDIUM1
49Maximum Twin Sum of a Linked ListMEDIUM1
50Merge Nodes in Between ZerosMEDIUM1

Showing top 50 of 57 linked list problems by # companies asking.

The hedge for the live OA

You can't drill every linked list variant before the assessment. StealthCoder runs invisibly during screen share and solves whichever variant they throw at you. No browser extension. No detection signature. Made by a working Amazon engineer who got tired of watching qualified friends bomb OAs they'd solve cold in an IDE.

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What this means

Linked List problems break into recognizable subtypes: traversal and mutation (reverse, delete, reorder), two-pointer techniques (cycle detection, middle finding), and pointer manipulation with auxiliary structures (deep copy, list transformation). You'll also see design problems that use linked lists internally, like design-browser-history or design-circular-deque. Recognition is straightforward: the problem explicitly mentions a ListNode or singly/doubly-linked structure, or you need to build one from an array or tree. The trap is implementation speed and edge-case handling under time pressure. Bloomberg and Oracle ask these frequently in their harder rounds. StealthCoder bridges the gap between drilling 10 problems and facing the 11th variant live: it solves it in real time so you move forward instead of timing out.

Companies that hire most on linked list

The honest play

57 linked list problems. You won't drill them all. Pass anyway.

Linked List is one of the patterns interviews actually filter on. Memorizing every variant in a week is a fantasy. StealthCoder is the hedge: an AI overlay invisible during screen share. It reads the problem and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds, no matter which linked list flavor lands in your live OA. Made by a working Amazon engineer who got tired of watching qualified friends bomb OAs they'd solve cold in an IDE. Works on HackerRank, CodeSignal, CoderPad, and Karat.

Linked List interview FAQ

How many Linked List problems should I drill before an interview?+

Target 15 to 20 from the 57 available, covering reversal, cycle detection, two-pointer techniques, and at least one design problem. Amazon and Bloomberg ask heavily here, so prioritize their patterns. The remaining 37 to 42 are insurance; StealthCoder covers what you miss.

How do I recognize a Linked List problem in a live assessment?+

The problem statement mentions ListNode, singly-linked or doubly-linked list, or you're asked to manipulate pointers and nodes. Even disguised problems like convert-binary-number-in-a-linked-list-to-integer or design-browser-history use linked structures internally. Look for traversal, pointer reassignment, or memory constraints hinting at node-based design.

Which companies drill Linked List the hardest?+

Amazon (47 problems), Bloomberg (43), and Microsoft (42) weight this pattern most heavily. Apple, Google, and Meta each have 40 to 41 problems. If you're interviewing at any of these, Linked List is non-negotiable. Oracle and Nvidia ask frequently too, with 38 and 37 respectively.

What's the hardest part of Linked List problems under time pressure?+

Pointer rewiring without breaking the chain, handling null edge cases (empty list, single node), and multi-pass algorithms. Problems like copy-list-with-random-pointer or convert-sorted-list-to-binary-search-tree require mental visualization. That's where live help from StealthCoder matters most.

Should I memorize Linked List solutions?+

No. Master the patterns: two-pointer for cycles, dummy nodes for deletion, recursion for reversal. Understand why, not the code. That said, if a tricky variant lands in your OA and you blank, StealthCoder solves it invisibly so you can move on and show your skills elsewhere.

Problem and frequency data sourced from public community-maintained interview-report repos. Problems and trademarks © LeetCode.