Set

A Set in TypeScript is a generic, iterable collection of unique values. It wraps the native ECMAScript 6 Set object with TypeScript’s static type system, ensuring that all elements within the collection conform to a specified type parameter <T>. Uniqueness is evaluated using the SameValueZero algorithm, meaning NaN is considered equal to NaN, and duplicate values are silently ignored during insertion.

Instantiation and Type Inference

A Set can be instantiated empty with an explicit generic type argument, or initialized with an iterable object (like an Array), from which TypeScript will infer the type.

// Explicitly typed empty Set
const stringSet = new Set<string>();

// Type inferred as Set<number>
const numberSet = new Set([1, 2, 3, 3]); // Internal state: {1, 2, 3}

// Union types
const mixedSet = new Set<string | number>();

Core API

The Set prototype provides a standard set of methods for mutation and inspection.

• add(value: T): this: Appends a new element with the specified value. Returns the Set instance, enabling method chaining.
• has(value: T): boolean: Evaluates whether an element with the specified value exists within the collection.
• delete(value: T): boolean: Removes the specified element. Returns true if the element existed and was removed, or false if it did not exist.
• clear(): void: Removes all elements from the Set.
• size: number: A read-only property returning the total count of elements.

const registry = new Set<number>();

// Mutation
registry.add(100).add(200); 

// Inspection
const exists = registry.has(100); // true
const count = registry.size;      // 2

// Deletion
const removed = registry.delete(200); // true
registry.clear();                     // size is now 0

Object Reference Equality

When storing complex types (objects, arrays, functions), uniqueness is determined by memory reference, not structural equality. Two structurally identical objects are treated as distinct elements.

interface Config {
    retries: number;
}

const configSet = new Set<Config>();
const defaultConfig = { retries: 3 };

configSet.add(defaultConfig);
configSet.add(defaultConfig); // Ignored, same reference
configSet.add({ retries: 3 }); // Added, different reference

console.log(configSet.size); // 2

Iteration

Set objects are natively iterable and maintain insertion order. They can be traversed using for...of loops or the built-in forEach method.

const tokens = new Set<string>(['alpha', 'beta', 'gamma']);

// Iterable protocol
for (const token of tokens) {
    console.log(token);
}

// Callback-based iteration
// Note: 'value' and 'key' are identical in Sets to maintain compatibility with Map's forEach signature.
tokens.forEach((value: string, key: string, set: Set<string>) => {
    console.log(value === key); // true
});

Native Set Operations (TypeScript 5.5+ / ES2024)

Modern TypeScript supports native mathematical set operations, returning new Set instances without mutating the originals.

const evens = new Set<number>([2, 4, 6, 8]);
const primes = new Set<number>([2, 3, 5, 7]);

// Elements in either set
const union = evens.union(primes); // Set {2, 4, 6, 8, 3, 5, 7}

// Elements in both sets
const intersection = evens.intersection(primes); // Set {2}

// Elements in 'evens' but not in 'primes'
const difference = evens.difference(primes); // Set {4, 6, 8}

// Elements in either set, but not both
const symmetricDifference = evens.symmetricDifference(primes); // Set {4, 6, 8, 3, 5, 7}

// Boolean subset/superset checks
const isSubset = new Set([2, 4]).isSubsetOf(evens); // true
const isSuperset = evens.isSupersetOf(new Set([2])); // true

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