Rubik's Cube Solver

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How to Solve a Rubik's Cube: Beginner's Guide

Learn to solve the Rubik's Cube step by step using the Layer-by-Layer beginner method. No memorization of 50+ algorithms needed — just 7 clear steps and a handful of short sequences. Most people can learn this method in an afternoon.

Understanding Notation

Every Rubik's Cube move is a quarter turn of one face. A letter by itself means a clockwise turn (90°), a letter with an apostrophe (') means counter-clockwise, and a letter with 2 means a half turn (180°).

Move	Meaning
R	Right face clockwise (turn the right side towards you)
R'	Right face counter-clockwise
L	Left face clockwise (turn the left side away from you)
U	Up (top) face clockwise
D	Down (bottom) face clockwise
F	Front face clockwise
B	Back face clockwise

Tip: "Clockwise" means clockwise when you are looking directly at that face. Hold the cube so the face you want to turn faces you, then turn it like a clock.

The 7 Steps at a Glance

We solve the cube layer by layer, starting from the top (white face) down to the bottom (yellow face):

1. White Cross

2. White Corners

3. Middle Layer Edges

4. Yellow Cross

5. Orient Yellow Corners

6. Permute Yellow Corners

7. Permute Yellow Edges

Hold the cube with the white center on top and the yellow center on the bottom throughout the entire solve. The side centers (green, red, blue, orange) never move — they define each face's color.

1 White Cross

Goal: Form a plus sign (cross) on the white (top) face, where each edge piece's side color also matches the center of its adjacent face.

This step is mostly intuitive. Find the four white edge pieces (white paired with green, red, blue, or orange) and bring them to the top layer. Here are common cases:

White edge in the bottom layer, white facing down: Rotate the bottom layer (D) until the edge is directly below its target position, then do F2 (or R2, L2, B2 depending on which face it's under) to bring it straight up.
White edge in the bottom layer, white facing sideways: Rotate D to position the edge next to the matching center, then use a single face turn to insert it. For example, if the white-green edge is at the front-bottom with white facing front: F' brings it into the cross.
White edge in the middle layer: Use one face turn to push it to the bottom layer, reposition with D, then insert as above.
White edge already on top but flipped or in wrong position: Push it back down with a face turn, then reinsert correctly.

Tip: Always check that each cross edge's side color matches the center beneath it. A white-green edge must sit between the white center and the green center. If colors don't match, you just have the edge in the wrong slot.

2 White Corners

Goal: Place the four white corner pieces to complete the entire top (white) face, with all side colors aligned to the correct centers.

Find a white corner piece. Rotate the bottom layer (D) until the corner is directly below the position where it needs to go (look at the three colors on the corner to determine this). Then use one of these algorithms:

White sticker facing right: R U R' U'
White sticker facing front: F' U' F U
White sticker facing down: R U2 R' U' R U R'

If a white corner is already on top but in the wrong position or twisted, push it down first with R U R' U' (it will fall to the bottom layer), then reinsert it correctly.

Tip: You may need to repeat R U R' U' up to 5 times for a single corner — each repetition rotates the corner in its slot. This is often called the "sexy move" and is the single most useful sequence in cubing.

3 Middle Layer Edges

Goal: Place the four middle-layer edge pieces (the ones with no yellow) into their correct positions, completing the first two layers.

Flip the cube upside down so yellow is now on top. Find a middle-layer edge piece sitting in the top layer (it will have no yellow sticker). Rotate the top layer (U) until the edge's front color matches the center it's facing, then use one of these:

Edge needs to go RIGHT: U R U' R' U' F' U F
Edge needs to go LEFT: U' L' U L U F U' F'

If a middle-layer edge is already in the middle layer but in the wrong position or flipped, use either algorithm above to push a different edge into its slot — this will kick the incorrect edge back up to the top layer where you can reinsert it properly.

Tip: From this step onward, hold the cube with yellow on top. The first two layers are now solved and should stay solved for the rest of the method.

4 Yellow Cross

Goal: Form a yellow plus sign (cross) on the top (yellow) face. We don't care about the side colors yet — just get yellow stickers in the four edge positions on top.

You'll see one of three patterns on the yellow face:

Dot (no yellow edges on top) — Apply the algorithm once to get an L-shape.
L-shape (two adjacent yellow edges) — Hold the L in the back-left corner, apply once to get a line.
Line (two opposite yellow edges forming a horizontal line) — Hold the line horizontally, apply once to get the cross.

Yellow cross algorithm: F R U R' U' F'

Tip: This algorithm always progresses through the pattern: dot → L-shape → line → cross. In the worst case (dot), you'll apply it three times.

5 Orient Yellow Corners

Goal: Make the entire yellow face solid yellow. The corners may be in the wrong positions (we'll fix that next), but their yellow stickers should all face up.

Look at the yellow face. You'll have 0, 1, or 2 corners with yellow on top (plus the cross edges from step 4). Find the pattern and apply:

Sune algorithm (orient yellow corners): R U R' U R U2 R'

Before applying, rotate the top layer (U) so that any corner with yellow already facing up is in the front-left position. If no corners have yellow on top, hold the cube so a corner with yellow facing left (toward you) is in the front-left. You may need to apply this algorithm 1–3 times, re-orienting U each time.

6 Permute Yellow Corners

Goal: Move the four yellow-face corners into their correct positions. After this step, all corners on the cube will be correctly placed (even though the last layer edges may still be wrong).

Look at the four corners of the yellow face. Check if any two adjacent corners belong together (their side colors match on the shared face between them). If you find a pair of correctly matched corners, hold the cube so they are on the right side, then apply:

Corner permutation: U R U' L' U R' U' L

If no two corners are correctly paired, apply the algorithm from any angle — after one application, you'll find a matched pair. Then hold them on the right and apply again.

7 Permute Yellow Edges

Goal: Cycle the last-layer edges into their correct positions to complete the cube.

Look at the four edges on the yellow face. You'll see one of three situations:

All four edges correct — The cube is solved!
One edge correct — Hold the solved edge at the back, then apply the algorithm.
No edges correct — Apply the algorithm from any angle, then one edge will be correct. Reposition and apply again.

Edge cycle (clockwise 3-cycle): R U' R U R U R U' R' U' R2

If the edges need to cycle counter-clockwise, apply the algorithm twice, or use the inverse: R2 U R U R' U' R' U' R' U R'

Tip: If after applying the algorithm the edges are cycling the wrong way, do a U2 to swap two edges and try again, or simply apply the same algorithm one more time to cycle them in the other direction.

Summary & Next Steps

Congratulations! You now know the complete Layer-by-Layer beginner method. Here's a quick reference of all the algorithms:

Step 2 — White corners: R U R' U' / F' U' F U / R U2 R' U' R U R'
Step 3 — Middle edges (right): U R U' R' U' F' U F
Step 3 — Middle edges (left): U' L' U L U F U' F'
Step 4 — Yellow cross: F R U R' U' F'
Step 5 — Orient corners (Sune): R U R' U R U2 R'
Step 6 — Permute corners: U R U' L' U R' U' L
Step 7 — Permute edges: R U' R U R U R U' R' U' R2

With practice, you should be able to solve the cube in 2–3 minutes. Once comfortable, look into the CFOP method (Fridrich method) to bring your times under 30 seconds. Use the solver above to check your work or to see how each step plays out on the 3D cube!