How to actually remember the LeetCode problems you solve
Straight answers about writing up solutions, avoiding the Solutions tab, and building a revision set you will genuinely use before an interview.
Should you write up your LeetCode solutions?
Yes. Writing up a solution is what turns solving into learning. Solving is recognition; explaining your approach in your own words is retrieval, and retrieval is what makes knowledge durable.
It also forces real complexity analysis. You will hand-wave O(n) in your head, but you will not hand-wave it in something you might publish. And after twenty write-ups you can see which techniques you reach for and which you quietly avoid — a pattern that stays invisible if you never write anything down.
Why do most people skip the write-up?
Because of when the work lands. LeetCode's template asks for Intuition, Approach and Complexity only after you have already spent thirty to forty minutes on the problem itself.
Facing another ten to fifteen minutes of writing at that moment, most people close the tab. It is a timing problem, not a motivation problem — which is why the fix is to make the write-up take about two minutes instead of fifteen.
How do I stop looking at LeetCode solutions too early?
Put a lock between yourself and the Solutions tab instead of relying on willpower. Most people peek within about ninety seconds of getting stuck, feel productive, and retain nothing — reading someone else's solution feels like learning without being learning.
A commitment device beats good intentions: decide in advance how long you will think, and make that decision irreversible. SQLens does this with a thinking timer you set yourself. Once it starts it cannot be shortened, paused or cancelled, and AI study notes lock at the same time so there is no side door.
What is the best Chrome extension for LeetCode SQL practice?
SQLens is built for turning practice into revision material rather than for solving problems faster, which is what most LeetCode extensions do.
It saves the problem you are working on with one click or Alt+Q, drafts the intuition, approach and complexity from the code you wrote, tags each problem by the SQL clauses your query actually used — joins, window functions, CTEs, aggregation — exports the notebook as a printable revision PDF, and can sync every Accepted solution — with its notes — to your own GitHub repo. It works on any LeetCode problem in any language; the clause tagging is SQL-specific.
How do I revise LeetCode problems before an interview?
Revise your own write-ups rather than re-solving from scratch. Re-solving is slow and tells you little. Rereading why an approach worked, in your own words, reactivates the reasoning in minutes.
Write a short note immediately after each problem — intuition, approach, complexity — tag it by technique, and export the set as a PDF you can read away from a computer. Forty of your own notes the night before an interview beat five new problems attempted in a panic.
Does SQLens send my code anywhere?
Only to Groq when you press a button, and to your own GitHub repo if you turn on sync. Everything else stays in local browser storage on your machine: saved problems, your queries, your notes, your usage counters.
Nothing is captured automatically, nothing is posted or submitted to LeetCode on your behalf, and there is no analytics or telemetry of any kind. GitHub sync is optional and only commits to a repo in your own account after you connect it. If you never enter a Groq key, the extension never contacts an AI provider and the notebook still works. Full detail is in the privacy policy.
Is SQLens free?
Yes, with limits. The free tier covers two captures a week, one PDF export a week, two AI write-ups a month and two AI solutions in total.
Pro removes the limits and is priced in local currency — $2.50/month in the US, ₹129 in India, with an annual option that works out cheaper. AI features on every tier use your own free Groq API key, so there is no shared API cost to pass on.
Try it on your next problem
Save the problem, write your own solution, and let the write-up take two minutes instead of fifteen.