A visual step-by-step guide to solving a 3×3 Rubik's Cube using the beginner layer-by-layer method. Eight steps. One solved cube.
Start solving →Every algorithm is a sequence of face turns. Learn these six letters and you can read any cube notation.
Each letter = one face turned 90° clockwise (as if you're looking directly at that face).
Add an apostrophe (′) for counter-clockwise. Add 2 for a 180° turn.
"Clockwise" always means clockwise as if you're looking directly AT that face. For R (right), imagine your eye is on the right side looking left. For L (left), imagine your eye is on the left side looking right. For D (down), imagine you're looking straight up from below. This matters because L and R are mirror images — on the front face, R-clockwise makes the right column go up while L-clockwise makes the left column go down.
Think of D as "looking up at the bottom face and turning it clockwise" — from your normal solving view, the front edge of the bottom row moves to the left. D′ is the reverse. These are used in corner insertion algorithms where you position a piece beneath its target slot.
Hold yellow on top. Place the four white edge pieces around the yellow center so the top looks like a flower.
This step is intuitive — no single algorithm. Find white edge pieces wherever they are and maneuver them to the top layer. Look at all six faces and bring each white edge up around the yellow center.
R′ U F′ to flip it correctly into the daisy position.
Turn the daisy into a proper white cross by matching each edge's side color to its center.
F2 to drop it downKeep yellow on top. For each daisy petal: rotate the U layer until the petal's side color matches the center of the face it sits on. Then turn that face 180° (F2) to drop the white edge into the bottom cross. Repeat for all four petals.
Complete the entire first layer by inserting all four white corner pieces.
Keep the white cross on the bottom (yellow on top). Find a white corner in the top layer. Use D turns to position it above the slot where it belongs (the slot between the two matching side centers), then use the matching insertion algorithm.
R U R′ U′ (the "sexy move") to knock it out of the bottom layer, then re-insert it properly.
Insert the four middle-layer edge pieces — the ones with no yellow sticker.
Hold the cube with the solved white layer on the bottom. Find a non-yellow edge piece in the top layer. Rotate U until the edge's front sticker matches the front center. Then decide: does it need to go right or left?
Form a + shape on the yellow face. Edge alignment doesn't matter yet — just get the four yellow edge stickers facing up.
The yellow face is on top. Look at the top face and identify which pattern you have — Dot, L shape, or Line. A single algorithm handles all of them.
No yellow edges face up — only the center. Orientation doesn't matter. Apply once to get an L shape, then reorient.
Rotate U so the L points to the back and left (9-o'clock position). Apply once to get a Line.
Hold the line horizontal (left-to-right). Apply once to complete the Cross.
F U R U′ R′ F′ cycles through Dot → L → Line → Cross. If you hold wrong, you'll loop back to a Dot — just try again with correct orientation.
Orient all yellow corners so the entire top face is solid yellow.
The yellow cross is done. Now twist the corners so all nine stickers on top are yellow. Match your case, hold correctly, and apply the Sune.
Sune and Anti-Sune are inverses of each other — same moves, reversed order. You can solve Step 6 with Sune alone (up to 3 applications), but learning Anti-Sune lets you solve most cases in 1–2 applications instead. Quick rule: if the unsolved corner at front-right has yellow facing right, Anti-Sune is usually the faster choice. If yellow faces front, use Sune.
Hold the cube so the front-left corner has its yellow sticker pointing toward the left face (not up, not front). Apply Sune to get 1 solved corner.
Place the one solved yellow corner at the front-left position. Apply Sune to get 2 or 4 solved.
Find an unsolved corner (yellow NOT on top). Place it at the front-right position. Whether its yellow sticker faces the front or the right, apply Sune. You may land on 1 or 0 corners first — that's normal. Re-orient for the new case and continue. It may take 2–3 total applications.
After each Sune (or Anti-Sune), the number of solved corners changes, so the holding orientation also changes. Always stop, count corners, re-orient per the instructions above, then apply again. Maximum 3 applications total.
If you apply Sune and still have exactly 2 corners oriented, you held wrong. Sune oriented one corner but un-oriented another. To fix it:
R U2 R′ U′ R U′ R′) from the same position — it handles the cases that Sune loops on.The key insight: there are multiple 2-corner configurations (adjacent vs. diagonal, yellow facing different directions). No single holding rule solves all of them in one shot. If Sune doesn’t change the count, you’re in a sub-case that needs a different setup.
Get all four yellow-layer corners into the correct spots. They're oriented but may be in the wrong locations.
The entire top face is yellow. Now look at the side stickers of each corner — the two non-yellow colors. Each corner needs to be between the two centers that match its colors.
Rotate the whole cube so the headlights are on the back face. Apply the algorithm. Check if all corners are now correct.
Apply the algorithm from any orientation. After it finishes, headlights will appear. Put them on back and apply once more.
Skip this step! Move directly to Step 8.
The final step — cycle the last-layer edge pieces into their correct positions and solve the cube!
Corners are positioned and oriented. Now look at the side stickers of the four top-layer edges — each one needs to match the center color of its face. Keep yellow on top. This step uses an algorithm known to speedcubers as the U-perm — it cycles three edges while leaving everything else untouched.
Turn the U layer and see if all four edge stickers line up with their centers at the same time. If they do — congratulations, the cube is solved! Skip ahead to the celebration. If not, continue below.
Slowly rotate U and check each side: is there a position where one complete face (all 9 stickers) is solved? There are three possible scenarios:
Three edges need to cycle. Put the solved face on the back and proceed to "Pick the direction."
Two pairs of edges need to swap. Apply either algorithm once from any angle — this will create one solved face. Then put it on the back and do the correct algorithm a second time.
Nothing to do — the cube is already complete!
With the solved face on the back, look at the front edge (the top-layer edge sticker facing you). Its color tells you which center it belongs to, and therefore which direction the three edges need to rotate:
The front piece needs to go left → the cycle goes Front → Left → Right → Front. Use the clockwise algorithm (U version).
The front piece needs to go right → the cycle goes Front → Right → Left → Front. Use the counter-clockwise algorithm (U′ version).
Once the beginner F2-based algorithms feel natural, speedcubers graduate to M-slice U-perms — they're much more finger-trick friendly and only 7 moves each.
M turns the middle layer (the vertical slice between R and L) in the same direction as L — that means the front edge of the middle slice moves downward. M′ is the reverse (front moves upward, same direction as R). M2 flips it 180°.
Replaces the beginner counter-clockwise algorithm F2 U′ L R′ F2 L′ R U′ F2 from above. Use when the front edge matches the right center (edges cycle front → right → left).
Replaces the beginner clockwise algorithm F2 U L R′ F2 L′ R U F2 from above. Use when the front edge matches the left center (edges cycle front → left → right).
Holding is the same: solved face on the back, yellow on top — identical to how you held for the beginner F2-based versions. The only difference is the algorithm itself; same setup, faster execution.
Just like the beginner versions, these two algorithms differ by only one move: U vs. U′. These are the algorithms used by most competitive cubers for last-layer edge permutation.
Practice the algorithms until they become muscle memory. Once you can solve without looking at the guide, you're ready for finger tricks and faster methods.
Level up — learn CFOP →All algorithms on one screen. Print this section for a physical reference card.