Tower of Hanoi Visualizer — Recursive Solver
Animated recursive Tower of Hanoi solver — moves disks in the minimum 2ⁿ−1 steps with step controls. Runs in your browser.
Pseudocode
Press Run to animate the algorithm.
Time · Space
How to use
- 1 Press Run to watch the recursive solution move every disk from peg A to peg C.
- 2 A bigger disk may never sit on a smaller one — watch the rule hold every move.
- 3 Use Shuffle for a different number of disks, or step through one move at a time.
- 4 The minimum number of moves for n disks is 2ⁿ − 1.
Why use this tool
- See the classic recursion: move n−1 disks aside, move the biggest, then move them back.
- Understand why the move count doubles with each extra disk (2ⁿ − 1).
- A perfect first example of recursive problem decomposition.
- Runs entirely in your browser. No signup, no uploads.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Tower of Hanoi?
A puzzle with three pegs and a stack of disks of decreasing size. The goal is to move the whole stack to another peg, moving one disk at a time and never placing a larger disk on a smaller one.
How many moves does it take?
The minimum is 2ⁿ − 1 moves for n disks — 7 for 3 disks, 31 for 5, and over a million for 20.
How does the recursive solution work?
To move n disks from A to C: recursively move n−1 disks from A to B, move the largest disk from A to C, then recursively move the n−1 disks from B to C.
Why is it a classic recursion example?
It reduces a problem of size n to two problems of size n−1 plus one move, which is the essence of recursive decomposition.
What is Tower of Hanoi Visualizer?
A Tower of Hanoi Visualizer animates the recursive solution to the classic three-peg puzzle: to move n disks it moves n−1 aside, moves the largest disk, then moves the n−1 back — never placing a larger disk on a smaller one, in 2ⁿ−1 moves.
Tower of Hanoi Visualizer is a free algorithm utility by Zerethon Tools. Animated recursive Tower of Hanoi solver — moves disks in the minimum 2ⁿ−1 steps with step controls. Runs in your browser. Runs entirely in the browser — no signup, no upload.
- Category
- Algorithm
- Pricing
- Free
- Privacy
- Browser-based
- Signup
- Not required
Privacy
Your data never leaves your browser unless explicitly stated. Tower of Hanoi Visualizer runs entirely client-side — no server upload, no logging, no tracking of your input.
New to this? Read the step-by-step explanation with Big-O analysis: Learn Dynamic Programming →
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