About & FAQ
How CubeSnap works
CubeSnap is a free Rubik’s Cube solver that runs entirely in your browser. Scan your 3x3 cube with a camera or type in its colors, and it shows a short solution you can follow move by move in 3D.
Solve a cube in three steps
- Scan or enter the colors. Scan with Camera walks you through six photos, one per face. Enter Colors lets you tap each sticker on an unfolded cube instead.
- Check the cube. CubeSnap makes sure the colors make a real, solvable cube. If something is off (a color appears ten times, a corner is twisted, an edge is flipped) it says what and where, in plain words.
- Follow the solution. Play the moves as an animation or step through them one at a time. You can drag the cube to look around and change the speed.
Tips for a good scan
- Use even, bright light. Daylight from a window is ideal; avoid strong shadows and glare on the stickers.
- Fill the square with the face and hold the cube still for a moment. CubeSnap captures it on its own.
- Keep the face the screen asks for on top, so every sticker lands in the right place.
- Red and orange are the colors cameras confuse most. Tap Fix colors while scanning to correct any sticker, or fix it on the next screen before solving.
Following the moves
- Hold the cube with the white face on top and the green face facing you, the way the cube on screen starts.
- Do the move shown, then tap Next move to see the one after it. Play only previews the whole solution as an animation.
- Tap a move in the list to jump straight to that point, and Previous move to step back.
- Not sure what a letter means? The notation guide has a picture of every move.
Supported cubes
CubeSnap solves the standard 3x3 cube with the usual Western color scheme: white opposite yellow, green opposite blue and red opposite orange. With white on top and green in front, red is on the right. Cubes with a different color scheme, and other sizes such as 2x2 or 4x4, are not supported.
Reading the moves
Solutions use standard cube notation. Each letter is one face, turned as you look straight at it:
- U
- Up (top)
- D
- Down (bottom)
- F
- Front
- B
- Back
- L
- Left
- R
- Right
A letter on its own means a quarter turn clockwise. R' (with an apostrophe) is a quarter turn
counter-clockwise, and R2 is a half turn. The notation guide has a picture
of every move.
Questions
How does CubeSnap find a solution?
It uses Herbert Kociemba’s two-phase algorithm, running in the background of your browser. Solutions take at most 22 moves and are found in a fraction of a second. They are short, but not always the shortest possible.
Does it work offline?
Yes. After your first visit everything CubeSnap needs is stored by your browser, so it works with no connection at all. You can also install it like an app from your browser’s menu (Install app or Add to Home Screen).
Are my camera images uploaded anywhere?
No. The camera picture is read on your device and never leaves it. There is no account, no server and no analytics. The privacy policy has the details.
It says my cube cannot be solved. What now?
Usually one or two stickers were read or entered wrong. Look for the stickers marked in red and the message that explains the problem. If the colors are all correct, the cube may have been taken apart and put back together with a piece twisted; it then really cannot be solved without reassembling that piece.
Why does the camera not open?
Your browser needs your permission, and it only allows the camera on secure (https://) pages.
If you blocked it once, allow it again in the site settings of your browser. You can always enter the
colors by hand instead.
Does it cost anything?
No. CubeSnap is free, with no ads and nothing to buy.