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LeetCode 36, Medium. Topics: Array, Hash Table, Matrix. View on LeetCode. Generate this problem as a practice environment: tested reference solution, 16 parametrized pytest cases, and a playground notebook:

Problem

Determine if a 9 x 9 Sudoku board is valid. Only the filled cells need to be validated according to the following rules:
  1. Each row must contain the digits 1-9 without repetition.
  2. Each column must contain the digits 1-9 without repetition.
  3. Each of the nine 3 x 3 sub-boxes of the grid must contain the digits 1-9 without repetition.
Note:
  • A Sudoku board (partially filled) could be valid but is not necessarily solvable.
  • Only the filled cells need to be validated according to the mentioned rules.

Examples

Example 1

Constraints

  • board.length == 9
  • board[i].length == 9
  • board[i][j] is a digit 1-9 or '.'.

Solution

Reference implementation from solution.py on GitHub, full suite in test_solution.py:

Complexity

Tags

Grind, NeetCode 150, NeetCode 250, NeetCode All.
Last modified on August 25, 2026