Kruskal’s Minimum Spanning Tree (MST) Algorithm

Last Updated : 05 Oct, 2023

A minimum spanning tree (MST) or minimum weight spanning tree for a weighted, connected, undirected graph is a spanning tree with a weight less than or equal to the weight of every other spanning tree. To learn more about Minimum Spanning Tree, refer to this article.

Introduction to Kruskal’s Algorithm:

Here we will discuss Kruskal’s algorithm to find the MST of a given weighted graph.

In Kruskal’s algorithm, sort all edges of the given graph in increasing order. Then it keeps on adding new edges and nodes in the MST if the newly added edge does not form a cycle. It picks the minimum weighted edge at first and the maximum weighted edge at last. Thus we can say that it makes a locally optimal choice in each step in order to find the optimal solution. Hence this is a Greedy Algorithm.

How to find MST using Kruskal’s algorithm?

Below are the steps for finding MST using Kruskal’s algorithm:

Sort all the edges in non-decreasing order of their weight.
Pick the smallest edge. Check if it forms a cycle with the spanning tree formed so far. If the cycle is not formed, include this edge. Else, discard it.
Repeat step#2 until there are (V-1) edges in the spanning tree.

Step 2 uses the Union-Find algorithm to detect cycles.

So we recommend reading the following post as a prerequisite.

Union-Find Algorithm | Set 1 (Detect Cycle in a Graph)

Union-Find Algorithm | Set 2 (Union By Rank and Path Compression)

Kruskal’s algorithm to find the minimum cost spanning tree uses the greedy approach. The Greedy Choice is to pick the smallest weight edge that does not cause a cycle in the MST constructed so far. Let us understand it with an example:

Illustration:

Below is the illustration of the above approach:

Input Graph:

The graph contains 9 vertices and 14 edges. So, the minimum spanning tree formed will be having (9 – 1) = 8 edges.
After sorting:

Weight Source Destination

1 7 6

2 8 2

2 6 5

4 0 1

4 2 5

6 8 6

7 2 3

7 7 8

8 0 7

8 1 2

9 3 4

10 5 4

11 1 7

14 3 5

Now pick all edges one by one from the sorted list of edges

Step 1: Pick edge 7-6. No cycle is formed, include it.

Add edge 7-6 in the MST

Step 2: Pick edge 8-2. No cycle is formed, include it.

Add edge 8-2 in the MST

Step 3: Pick edge 6-5. No cycle is formed, include it.

Add edge 6-5 in the MST

Step 4: Pick edge 0-1. No cycle is formed, include it.

Add edge 0-1 in the MST

Step 5: Pick edge 2-5. No cycle is formed, include it.

Add edge 2-5 in the MST

Step 6: Pick edge 8-6. Since including this edge results in the cycle, discard it. Pick edge 2-3: No cycle is formed, include it.

Add edge 2-3 in the MST

Step 7: Pick edge 7-8. Since including this edge results in the cycle, discard it. Pick edge 0-7. No cycle is formed, include it.

Add edge 0-7 in MST

Step 8: Pick edge 1-2. Since including this edge results in the cycle, discard it. Pick edge 3-4. No cycle is formed, include it.

Add edge 3-4 in the MST

Note: Since the number of edges included in the MST equals to (V – 1), so the algorithm stops here

Weight	Source	Destination
1	7	6
2	8	2
2	6	5
4	0	1
4	2	5
6	8	6
7	2	3
7	7	8
8	0	7
8	1	2
9	3	4
10	5	4
11	1	7
14	3	5

Below is the implementation of the above approach:

C++

// C++ program for the above approach 
  
#include <bits/stdc++.h> 
using namespace std; 
  
// DSU data structure 
// path compression + rank by union 
class DSU { 
    int* parent; 
    int* rank; 
  
public: 
    DSU(int n) 
    { 
        parent = new int[n]; 
        rank = new int[n]; 
  
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) { 
            parent[i] = -1; 
            rank[i] = 1; 
        } 
    } 
  
    // Find function 
    int find(int i) 
    { 
        if (parent[i] == -1) 
            return i; 
  
        return parent[i] = find(parent[i]); 
    } 
  
    // Union function 
    void unite(int x, int y) 
    { 
        int s1 = find(x); 
        int s2 = find(y); 
  
        if (s1 != s2) { 
            if (rank[s1] < rank[s2]) { 
                parent[s1] = s2; 
            } 
            else if (rank[s1] > rank[s2]) { 
                parent[s2] = s1; 
            } 
            else { 
                parent[s2] = s1; 
                rank[s1] += 1; 
            } 
        } 
    } 
}; 
  
class Graph { 
    vector<vector<int> > edgelist; 
    int V; 
  
public: 
    Graph(int V) { this->V = V; } 
  
    // Function to add edge in a graph 
    void addEdge(int x, int y, int w) 
    { 
        edgelist.push_back({ w, x, y }); 
    } 
  
    void kruskals_mst() 
    { 
        // Sort all edges 
        sort(edgelist.begin(), edgelist.end()); 
  
        // Initialize the DSU 
        DSU s(V); 
        int ans = 0; 
        cout << "Following are the edges in the "
                "constructed MST"
             << endl; 
        for (auto edge : edgelist) { 
            int w = edge[0]; 
            int x = edge[1]; 
            int y = edge[2]; 
  
            // Take this edge in MST if it does 
            // not forms a cycle 
            if (s.find(x) != s.find(y)) { 
                s.unite(x, y); 
                ans += w; 
                cout << x << " -- " << y << " == " << w 
                     << endl; 
            } 
        } 
        cout << "Minimum Cost Spanning Tree: " << ans; 
    } 
}; 
  
// Driver code 
int main() 
{ 
    Graph g(4); 
    g.addEdge(0, 1, 10); 
    g.addEdge(1, 3, 15); 
    g.addEdge(2, 3, 4); 
    g.addEdge(2, 0, 6); 
    g.addEdge(0, 3, 5); 
  
    // Function call 
    g.kruskals_mst(); 
  
    return 0; 
}

C

// C code to implement Kruskal's algorithm 
  
#include <stdio.h> 
#include <stdlib.h> 
  
// Comparator function to use in sorting 
int comparator(const void* p1, const void* p2) 
{ 
    const int(*x)[3] = p1; 
    const int(*y)[3] = p2; 
  
    return (*x)[2] - (*y)[2]; 
} 
  
// Initialization of parent[] and rank[] arrays 
void makeSet(int parent[], int rank[], int n) 
{ 
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) { 
        parent[i] = i; 
        rank[i] = 0; 
    } 
} 
  
// Function to find the parent of a node 
int findParent(int parent[], int component) 
{ 
    if (parent[component] == component) 
        return component; 
  
    return parent[component] 
           = findParent(parent, parent[component]); 
} 
  
// Function to unite two sets 
void unionSet(int u, int v, int parent[], int rank[], int n) 
{ 
    // Finding the parents 
    u = findParent(parent, u); 
    v = findParent(parent, v); 
  
    if (rank[u] < rank[v]) { 
        parent[u] = v; 
    } 
    else if (rank[u] > rank[v]) { 
        parent[v] = u; 
    } 
    else { 
        parent[v] = u; 
  
        // Since the rank increases if 
        // the ranks of two sets are same 
        rank[u]++; 
    } 
} 
  
// Function to find the MST 
void kruskalAlgo(int n, int edge[n][3]) 
{ 
    // First we sort the edge array in ascending order 
    // so that we can access minimum distances/cost 
    qsort(edge, n, sizeof(edge[0]), comparator); 
  
    int parent[n]; 
    int rank[n]; 
  
    // Function to initialize parent[] and rank[] 
    makeSet(parent, rank, n); 
  
    // To store the minimun cost 
    int minCost = 0; 
  
    printf( 
        "Following are the edges in the constructed MST\n"); 
    for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) { 
        int v1 = findParent(parent, edge[i][0]); 
        int v2 = findParent(parent, edge[i][1]); 
        int wt = edge[i][2]; 
  
        // If the parents are different that 
        // means they are in different sets so 
        // union them 
        if (v1 != v2) { 
            unionSet(v1, v2, parent, rank, n); 
            minCost += wt; 
            printf("%d -- %d == %d\n", edge[i][0], 
                   edge[i][1], wt); 
        } 
    } 
  
    printf("Minimum Cost Spanning Tree: %d\n", minCost); 
} 
  
// Driver code 
int main() 
{ 
    int edge[5][3] = { { 0, 1, 10 }, 
                       { 0, 2, 6 }, 
                       { 0, 3, 5 }, 
                       { 1, 3, 15 }, 
                       { 2, 3, 4 } }; 
  
    kruskalAlgo(5, edge); 
  
    return 0; 
}

Java

// Java program for Kruskal's algorithm 
  
import java.util.ArrayList; 
import java.util.Comparator; 
import java.util.List; 
  
public class KruskalsMST { 
  
    // Defines edge structure 
    static class Edge { 
        int src, dest, weight; 
  
        public Edge(int src, int dest, int weight) 
        { 
            this.src = src; 
            this.dest = dest; 
            this.weight = weight; 
        } 
    } 
  
    // Defines subset element structure 
    static class Subset { 
        int parent, rank; 
  
        public Subset(int parent, int rank) 
        { 
            this.parent = parent; 
            this.rank = rank; 
        } 
    } 
  
    // Starting point of program execution 
    public static void main(String[] args) 
    { 
        int V = 4; 
        List<Edge> graphEdges = new ArrayList<Edge>( 
            List.of(new Edge(0, 1, 10), new Edge(0, 2, 6), 
                    new Edge(0, 3, 5), new Edge(1, 3, 15), 
                    new Edge(2, 3, 4))); 
  
        // Sort the edges in non-decreasing order 
        // (increasing with repetition allowed) 
        graphEdges.sort(new Comparator<Edge>() { 
            @Override public int compare(Edge o1, Edge o2) 
            { 
                return o1.weight - o2.weight; 
            } 
        }); 
  
        kruskals(V, graphEdges); 
    } 
  
    // Function to find the MST 
    private static void kruskals(int V, List<Edge> edges) 
    { 
        int j = 0; 
        int noOfEdges = 0; 
  
        // Allocate memory for creating V subsets 
        Subset subsets[] = new Subset[V]; 
  
        // Allocate memory for results 
        Edge results[] = new Edge[V]; 
  
        // Create V subsets with single elements 
        for (int i = 0; i < V; i++) { 
            subsets[i] = new Subset(i, 0); 
        } 
  
        // Number of edges to be taken is equal to V-1 
        while (noOfEdges < V - 1) { 
  
            // Pick the smallest edge. And increment 
            // the index for next iteration 
            Edge nextEdge = edges.get(j); 
            int x = findRoot(subsets, nextEdge.src); 
            int y = findRoot(subsets, nextEdge.dest); 
  
            // If including this edge doesn't cause cycle, 
            // include it in result and increment the index 
            // of result for next edge 
            if (x != y) { 
                results[noOfEdges] = nextEdge; 
                union(subsets, x, y); 
                noOfEdges++; 
            } 
  
            j++; 
        } 
  
        // Print the contents of result[] to display the 
        // built MST 
        System.out.println( 
            "Following are the edges of the constructed MST:"); 
        int minCost = 0; 
        for (int i = 0; i < noOfEdges; i++) { 
            System.out.println(results[i].src + " -- "
                               + results[i].dest + " == "
                               + results[i].weight); 
            minCost += results[i].weight; 
        } 
        System.out.println("Total cost of MST: " + minCost); 
    } 
  
    // Function to unite two disjoint sets 
    private static void union(Subset[] subsets, int x, 
                              int y) 
    { 
        int rootX = findRoot(subsets, x); 
        int rootY = findRoot(subsets, y); 
  
        if (subsets[rootY].rank < subsets[rootX].rank) { 
            subsets[rootY].parent = rootX; 
        } 
        else if (subsets[rootX].rank 
                 < subsets[rootY].rank) { 
            subsets[rootX].parent = rootY; 
        } 
        else { 
            subsets[rootY].parent = rootX; 
            subsets[rootX].rank++; 
        } 
    } 
  
    // Function to find parent of a set 
    private static int findRoot(Subset[] subsets, int i) 
    { 
        if (subsets[i].parent == i) 
            return subsets[i].parent; 
  
        subsets[i].parent 
            = findRoot(subsets, subsets[i].parent); 
        return subsets[i].parent; 
    } 
} 
// This code is contributed by Salvino D'sa

Python3

# Python program for Kruskal's algorithm to find 
# Minimum Spanning Tree of a given connected, 
# undirected and weighted graph 
  
  
# Class to represent a graph 
class Graph: 
  
    def __init__(self, vertices): 
        self.V = vertices 
        self.graph = [] 
  
    # Function to add an edge to graph 
    def addEdge(self, u, v, w): 
        self.graph.append([u, v, w]) 
  
    # A utility function to find set of an element i 
    # (truly uses path compression technique) 
    def find(self, parent, i): 
        if parent[i] != i: 
  
            # Reassignment of node's parent 
            # to root node as 
            # path compression requires 
            parent[i] = self.find(parent, parent[i]) 
        return parent[i] 
  
    # A function that does union of two sets of x and y 
    # (uses union by rank) 
    def union(self, parent, rank, x, y): 
  
        # Attach smaller rank tree under root of 
        # high rank tree (Union by Rank) 
        if rank[x] < rank[y]: 
            parent[x] = y 
        elif rank[x] > rank[y]: 
            parent[y] = x 
  
        # If ranks are same, then make one as root 
        # and increment its rank by one 
        else: 
            parent[y] = x 
            rank[x] += 1
  
    # The main function to construct MST 
    # using Kruskal's algorithm 
    def KruskalMST(self): 
  
        # This will store the resultant MST 
        result = [] 
  
        # An index variable, used for sorted edges 
        i = 0
  
        # An index variable, used for result[] 
        e = 0
  
        # Sort all the edges in 
        # non-decreasing order of their 
        # weight 
        self.graph = sorted(self.graph, 
                            key=lambda item: item[2]) 
  
        parent = [] 
        rank = [] 
  
        # Create V subsets with single elements 
        for node in range(self.V): 
            parent.append(node) 
            rank.append(0) 
  
        # Number of edges to be taken is less than to V-1 
        while e < self.V - 1: 
  
            # Pick the smallest edge and increment 
            # the index for next iteration 
            u, v, w = self.graph[i] 
            i = i + 1
            x = self.find(parent, u) 
            y = self.find(parent, v) 
  
            # If including this edge doesn't 
            # cause cycle, then include it in result 
            # and increment the index of result 
            # for next edge 
            if x != y: 
                e = e + 1
                result.append([u, v, w]) 
                self.union(parent, rank, x, y) 
            # Else discard the edge 
  
        minimumCost = 0
        print("Edges in the constructed MST") 
        for u, v, weight in result: 
            minimumCost += weight 
            print("%d -- %d == %d" % (u, v, weight)) 
        print("Minimum Spanning Tree", minimumCost) 
  
  
# Driver code 
if __name__ == '__main__': 
    g = Graph(4) 
    g.addEdge(0, 1, 10) 
    g.addEdge(0, 2, 6) 
    g.addEdge(0, 3, 5) 
    g.addEdge(1, 3, 15) 
    g.addEdge(2, 3, 4) 
  
    # Function call 
    g.KruskalMST() 
  
# This code is contributed by Neelam Yadav 
# Improved by James Graça-Jones 

C#

// C# Code for the above approach 
  
using System; 
  
class Graph { 
  
    // A class to represent a graph edge 
    class Edge : IComparable<Edge> { 
        public int src, dest, weight; 
  
        // Comparator function used for sorting edges 
        // based on their weight 
        public int CompareTo(Edge compareEdge) 
        { 
            return this.weight - compareEdge.weight; 
        } 
    } 
  
    // A class to represent 
    // a subset for union-find 
    public class subset { 
        public int parent, rank; 
    }; 
  
    // V-> no. of vertices & E->no.of edges 
    int V, E; 
  
    // Collection of all edges 
    Edge[] edge; 
  
    // Creates a graph with V vertices and E edges 
    Graph(int v, int e) 
    { 
        V = v; 
        E = e; 
        edge = new Edge[E]; 
        for (int i = 0; i < e; ++i) 
            edge[i] = new Edge(); 
    } 
  
    // A utility function to find set of an element i 
    // (uses path compression technique) 
    int find(subset[] subsets, int i) 
    { 
        // Find root and make root as 
        // parent of i (path compression) 
        if (subsets[i].parent != i) 
            subsets[i].parent 
                = find(subsets, subsets[i].parent); 
  
        return subsets[i].parent; 
    } 
  
    // A function that does union of 
    // two sets of x and y (uses union by rank) 
    void Union(subset[] subsets, int x, int y) 
    { 
        int xroot = find(subsets, x); 
        int yroot = find(subsets, y); 
  
        // Attach smaller rank tree under root of 
        // high rank tree (Union by Rank) 
        if (subsets[xroot].rank < subsets[yroot].rank) 
            subsets[xroot].parent = yroot; 
        else if (subsets[xroot].rank > subsets[yroot].rank) 
            subsets[yroot].parent = xroot; 
  
        // If ranks are same, then make one as root 
        // and increment its rank by one 
        else { 
            subsets[yroot].parent = xroot; 
            subsets[xroot].rank++; 
        } 
    } 
  
    // The main function to construct MST 
    // using Kruskal's algorithm 
    void KruskalMST() 
    { 
        // This will store the 
        // resultant MST 
        Edge[] result = new Edge[V]; 
  
        // An index variable, used for result[] 
        int e = 0; 
  
        // An index variable, used for sorted edges 
        int i = 0; 
        for (i = 0; i < V; ++i) 
            result[i] = new Edge(); 
  
        // Sort all the edges in non-decreasing 
        // order of their weight. If we are not allowed 
        // to change the given graph, we can create 
        // a copy of array of edges 
        Array.Sort(edge); 
  
        // Allocate memory for creating V subsets 
        subset[] subsets = new subset[V]; 
        for (i = 0; i < V; ++i) 
            subsets[i] = new subset(); 
  
        // Create V subsets with single elements 
        for (int v = 0; v < V; ++v) { 
            subsets[v].parent = v; 
            subsets[v].rank = 0; 
        } 
        i = 0; 
  
        // Number of edges to be taken is equal to V-1 
        while (e < V - 1) { 
  
            // Pick the smallest edge. And increment 
            // the index for next iteration 
            Edge next_edge = new Edge(); 
            next_edge = edge[i++]; 
  
            int x = find(subsets, next_edge.src); 
            int y = find(subsets, next_edge.dest); 
  
            // If including this edge doesn't cause cycle, 
            // include it in result and increment the index 
            // of result for next edge 
            if (x != y) { 
                result[e++] = next_edge; 
                Union(subsets, x, y); 
            } 
        } 
  
        // Print the contents of result[] to display 
        // the built MST 
        Console.WriteLine("Following are the edges in "
                          + "the constructed MST"); 
  
        int minimumCost = 0; 
        for (i = 0; i < e; ++i) { 
            Console.WriteLine(result[i].src + " -- "
                              + result[i].dest 
                              + " == " + result[i].weight); 
            minimumCost += result[i].weight; 
        } 
  
        Console.WriteLine("Minimum Cost Spanning Tree: "
                          + minimumCost); 
        Console.ReadLine(); 
    } 
  
    // Driver's Code 
    public static void Main(String[] args) 
    { 
        int V = 4; 
        int E = 5; 
        Graph graph = new Graph(V, E); 
  
        // add edge 0-1 
        graph.edge[0].src = 0; 
        graph.edge[0].dest = 1; 
        graph.edge[0].weight = 10; 
  
        // add edge 0-2 
        graph.edge[1].src = 0; 
        graph.edge[1].dest = 2; 
        graph.edge[1].weight = 6; 
  
        // add edge 0-3 
        graph.edge[2].src = 0; 
        graph.edge[2].dest = 3; 
        graph.edge[2].weight = 5; 
  
        // add edge 1-3 
        graph.edge[3].src = 1; 
        graph.edge[3].dest = 3; 
        graph.edge[3].weight = 15; 
  
        // add edge 2-3 
        graph.edge[4].src = 2; 
        graph.edge[4].dest = 3; 
        graph.edge[4].weight = 4; 
  
        // Function call 
        graph.KruskalMST(); 
    } 
} 
  
// This code is contributed by Aakash Hasija

Javascript

<script>  
// JavaScript implementation of the krushkal's algorithm.  
  
function makeSet(parent,rank,n) 
{ 
    for(let i=0;i<n;i++) 
    { 
        parent[i]=i; 
        rank[i]=0; 
    } 
} 
  
function findParent(parent,component) 
{ 
    if(parent[component]==component) 
        return component; 
  
    return parent[component] = findParent(parent,parent[component]); 
} 
  
function unionSet(u, v, parent, rank,n) 
{ 
    //this function unions two set on the basis of rank 
    //as shown below 
    u=findParent(parent,u); 
    v=findParent(parent,v); 
  
    if(rank[u]<rank[v]) 
    { 
        parent[u]=v; 
    } 
    else if(rank[u]<rank[v]) 
    { 
        parent[v]=u; 
    } 
    else
    { 
        parent[v]=u; 
        rank[u]++;//since the rank increases if the ranks of two sets are same 
    } 
} 
  
function kruskalAlgo(n, edge) 
{ 
    //First we sort the edge array in ascending order 
    //so that we can access minimum distances/cost 
    edge.sort((a, b)=>{ 
        return a[2] - b[2]; 
    }) 
    //inbuilt quick sort function comes with stdlib.h 
    //go to https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/comparator-function-of-qsort-in-c/ 
    //if there is any doubt regarding the function 
    let parent = new Array(n); 
    let rank = new Array(n); 
  
    makeSet(parent,rank,n);//function to initialize parent[] and rank[] 
  
    let minCost=0;//to store the minimun cost 
  
    document.write("Following are the edges in the constructed MST"); 
    for(let i=0;i<n;i++) 
    { 
        let v1=findParent(parent,edge[i][0]); 
        let v2=findParent(parent,edge[i][1]); 
        let wt=edge[i][2]; 
  
        if(v1!=v2)//if the parents are different that means they are in 
                  //different sets so union them 
        { 
            unionSet(v1,v2,parent,rank,n); 
            minCost+=wt; 
            document.write(edge[i][0] + " -- " + edge[i][1] + " == " + wt); 
        } 
    } 
  
    document.write("Minimum Cost Spanning Tree:",minCost); 
} 
  
  
//Here 5 is the number of edges, can be asked from the user 
//when making the graph through user input 
//3 represents the no of index positions for storing u --> v(adjacent vertices)  
//and its cost/distance; 
let edge = [ 
        [0,1,10], 
        [0,2,6], 
        [0,3,5], 
        [1,3,15], 
        [2,3,4] 
]; 
  
kruskalAlgo(5,edge); 
  
// The code is contributed by Arushi Jindal.  
</script>

Output

Following are the edges in the constructed MST
2 -- 3 == 4
0 -- 3 == 5
0 -- 1 == 10
Minimum Cost Spanning Tree: 19

Time Complexity: O(E * logE) or O(E * logV)

Sorting of edges takes O(E * logE) time.
After sorting, we iterate through all edges and apply the find-union algorithm. The find and union operations can take at most O(logV) time.
So overall complexity is O(E * logE + E * logV) time.
The value of E can be at most O(V²), so O(logV) and O(logE) are the same. Therefore, the overall time complexity is O(E * logE) or O(E*logV)

Auxiliary Space: O(V + E), where V is the number of vertices and E is the number of edges in the graph.

This article is compiled by Aashish Barnwal and reviewed by the GeeksforGeeks team.

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