1. Hold the cube the same way all the way through
Pick one face to be the front and keep it facing you for the whole
solve. Never turn the whole cube — only the layers. Every instruction below
assumes that grip.
Front the side facing you
Back the side facing away
Up the top layer
Down the bottom layer
Right the right-hand column
Left the left-hand column
2. Scanning: any side, any order, any way up
Fill the square on the camera picture with one side of the cube and hold
still for a moment — it reads the colours in your browser as you hold it,
and names the side from its centre sticker (white, red, green, yellow,
orange or blue). Show the other five the same way, in any order and turned
any way; once all six are in, it works out which way up each one was.
It assumes the standard colour layout — white opposite yellow, green
opposite blue, red opposite orange — which almost every cube uses. When it
starts solving, hold the cube with white on top and green facing you.
If you like a routine anyway, this order works well:
3. Every turn, with a picture
A letter on its own means turn that side a quarter turn clockwise,
as if you were looking straight at it. The blue squares are the pieces that
move, and the arrow is the way they go.
4. The mark after a letter
R turns the right side one way, R' (say "R prime") turns it
the other way — those are the twelve pictures above. R2 means turn it
twice, half a turn, and for that one the direction does not matter:
5. The bit that trips everyone up
"Clockwise" always means looking straight at that face. So for the
back face a clockwise turn looks anti-clockwise from where you sit,
and for the left face the column comes down at the front rather than
up. That is exactly why the pictures above are drawn the way you see
the cube, and why the app puts a live arrow on the 3D model. Follow the
arrow and you cannot get this backwards.
6. If you lose your place
Press ◀ to step back, or drag the slider. The 3D cube in the middle
always shows exactly what your cube should look like right now — compare it
with the one in your hands.
Want to solve it yourself? Read the full guide →
Four methods, step by step, with every move shown on a 3D cube.
There is also a full notation guide (wide, slice and rotation moves) and an
algorithms cheat sheet.
Found a bug, or want a 2×2 or mirror cube solver? Tell us →
7. Three ways to solve
Shortest finishes in about 20 turns and never more than 22. Two
solvers race for it — one in your browser, one on the server — and you get
whichever answer is shorter. The cube looks scrambled almost to the end;
that is normal, everything falls into place at once.
Beginner solves it layer by layer: bottom cross, bottom corners,
middle layer, then the top. Many more turns, but every stage has a goal you
can see.
CFOP is the method speedcubers use: Cross, First two
layers (four corner-and-edge pairs), Orient the last layer, Permute
the last layer. About 65 turns. You still never rotate the whole cube.
8. Questions people ask
What is Cube Solver?
Cube Solver is a free online Rubik's cube solver that runs in your web browser. You show each side of a 3×3 cube to your phone or computer camera (or upload photos, or enter the colours by hand), and it shows every turn as a 3D animation with an arrow until the cube is solved.
How many moves does it take to solve my cube?
In Shortest mode the solution is about 20 turns and never more than 22. Beginner mode solves it layer by layer, with many more turns but a goal you can see at every stage, and CFOP mode uses the speedcubers' method, about 65 turns.
Is Cube Solver free? Do I need an account?
Yes, it is free and needs no account or sign-up. It works in a web browser on phones and computers; the 3D cube needs JavaScript and WebGL.
Is my camera video uploaded?
No. When you scan with the camera, the colours are read in your browser from the live picture, and only the 54 colour readings are sent to the server to double-check them. If you upload photos instead, each photo is sent to the server so it can find the nine stickers.
Which cubes can it solve?
The standard 3×3 Rubik's cube with the usual colour layout: white opposite yellow, green opposite blue, red opposite orange. Other puzzles such as the 2×2 are not supported yet; you can ask for them on the support page.
Why does it say my cube cannot be solved?
Usually one sticker was read as the wrong colour, often red and orange under warm light. Use Fix a colour to correct it. If a piece was taken out and put back the wrong way, or a corner was twisted by hand, the cube really cannot be solved until that piece is put back correctly.
How can I learn to solve a Rubik's cube myself?
Read the step-by-step solving guide at cube.niranjand.in/guide. It starts with the pieces and the move notation, teaches the beginner layer-by-layer method, then CFOP, Roux and ZZ, with every move shown on a 3D cube.
Can it show the solution to my Rubik's cube step by step?
Yes. After you scan the cube or enter its colours, the solver shows the solution one turn at a time on a 3D cube, with an arrow for the direction of each turn and the move written in standard notation (R, U, F and so on). You can step back, drag through the turns or slow playback down to 0.01×.
Can I solve a Rubik's cube with my phone camera?
Yes. Open cube.niranjand.in in your phone's browser, allow the camera, and hold each of the six sides up to it in any order. Nothing needs to be installed. If the camera is not available you can upload photos or tap in the colours instead.
More: what every cube move means · Rubik's cube algorithms cheat sheet · cube timer
Made by Niranjan D