Skip to main content
Back to problems
Leetcode
Medium
Arrays
Google
Amazon
Microsoft
Minimum Size Subarray Sum

Find the shortest contiguous subarray whose sum is at least a target value.

Acceptance 88%
Problem Statement

Given an array of positive integers and a target sum, determine the minimum length of any contiguous subarray whose elements add up to at least the target. If no such subarray exists, return 0.

You are looking for a contiguous slice of the array, not a subsequence. Because all numbers are positive, the sum of a window changes in a predictable way as you expand or shrink it.

Input Format

  • An integer target.
  • An integer array nums of positive integers.

Output Format

Return the minimum length of a contiguous subarray whose sum is at least target. If no valid subarray exists, return 0.

Constraints

  • 1 <= nums.length
  • 1 <= nums[i]
  • 1 <= target
  • The array contains only positive integers.
Examples
Sample cases returned by the problem API.

Example 1

Input

target = 7, nums = [2,3,1,2,4,3]

Output

2

Explanation

The subarray [4,3] has sum 7 and length 2, which is the minimum possible.

Example 2

Input

target = 4, nums = [1,4,4]

Output

1

Explanation

The single element [4] already reaches the target, so the answer is 1.

Show 1 more example

Example 3

Input

target = 11, nums = [1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1]

Output

0

Explanation

No contiguous subarray reaches a sum of 11.

Premium problem context

Unlock deeper context for this problem

Premium adds guided hints, editorial links, similar variants, discussion resources, and concept maps so you can understand why a problem matters, not just solve it once.

Guided hints
Editorial and discussion links
Concept map and variants
Sign in to unlock
Track your progress
Sign in to bookmark this problem, save notes, and manage its revision plan.