How to Read Move Notation

Rubik's Cube sequences are usually written in "move notation": letters for each face combined with modifier symbols. Here is the standard notation used across the cubing community.

The six basic faces

The six letters U (Up), D (Down), L (Left), R (Right), F (Front), and B (Back) each name a face relative to how you're viewing the cube. A letter by itself means a 90° clockwise turn of that face (viewed head-on).

Modifier symbols

' (prime, e.g. R') means a 90° counter-clockwise turn; 2 (e.g. R2) means a 180° turn.

Wide moves (4x4x4 and larger)

A lowercase letter (e.g. r) or an uppercase letter followed by w (e.g. Rw) denotes a "wide move": the outer layer and the adjacent inner layer turned together in the same direction. Used on 4x4x4 and larger cubes.

Slice moves (odd-layered cubes)

Odd-layered cubes (3x3x3, 5x5x5, etc.) have "slice moves" that turn only the middle layer sandwiched between two outer layers: M (between L and R, same direction as L), E (between U and D, same direction as D), and S (between F and B, same direction as F).

Layer-range notation (2-3Rw / 2-4Rw)

Writing a layer range in front, as in 2-3Rw, turns only the 2nd and 3rd layers counted from that face. It does not include the outer layer, so it is a different move from Rw (layers 1–2). Available on 5x5x5 (2-3r means the same move). 2-4Rw uses the same form to turn layers 2–4 together (5x5x5 only).

Whole-cube rotations

x, y, and z reorient the whole cube in your hands rather than turning a face, and are not counted as moves.

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