Magic Eye Solver

How to use it

1. Add a stereogram. Press "Choose a stereogram" and pick the picture. On a phone this opens your photo library; on a computer you can also drop the file on the box. No picture to hand? Press "Try an example".
2. Look at the outline. The solver finds how wide the pattern repeats and shows the hidden shape in light colours on a dark background. This takes a moment on most phones.
3. Switch to "Depth". This view shows how far forward each part of the shape stands: the lighter, the nearer. If it looks inside out, the picture was made for crossed eyes: turn on "Flip depth (cross-eyed picture)".
4. Download the revealed picture as a PNG, if you want to keep it or send it to someone who could not see it.

If the outline looks noisy, move the "Repeat width" slider slowly. The clearest outline appears at the picture's own repeat; the tool shows the width it detected and how sure it is.

How the solver works

A Magic Eye picture (a single-image stereogram, or autostereogram) is a pattern that repeats across the picture every few centimetres. Where the hidden shape is, the pattern repeats at a slightly different width. Your eyes, when they look "through" the picture, read those small differences as depth.

The solver does the same comparison with numbers. It slides the picture over a copy of itself and measures how well the two match at every shift. The background matches best at one shift, the repeat width. It then subtracts the picture from itself shifted by exactly that width. The background cancels out and goes dark; the hidden shape, which repeats at another width, does not cancel and stays light. That is the outline. This "shift and difference" method is the classic way to solve stereograms by computer.

For the depth view, the solver goes further: for every small area it tries a range of repeat widths and keeps the one that fits best. A narrower repeat means a nearer surface, so the widths turn back into a depth map. A picture made for cross-eyed viewing works the other way round (the shape repeats wider than the background); the solver tries both and keeps the reading that fits better.

Everything runs in your browser, on your device. Your picture is not uploaded.

What it can and cannot show

The solver shows the hidden shape's outline and a rough depth map: enough to tell a shark from a heart, or to read large hidden letters. It does not show colours, fine detail or faces, because a stereogram does not hold them: the only thing hidden in it is depth.

It works best on the original file. A picture that has been sent through a chat app, screenshotted, photographed from a page, or shrunk a lot has lost some of the fine pattern the solver compares, and the outline gets noisier or disappears. Pictures with large areas of one flat colour are hard too, since a flat area matches at every width. Some pictures are not single-image stereograms at all (for example two or four copies of a scene side by side, meant for crossing the eyes); the solver may show something, but not a clean shape.

Frequently asked questions

How do I solve a Magic Eye picture without seeing it?

Open it in this solver. It compares the picture with itself shifted sideways and shows the hidden shape as a light outline on a dark background, then as a depth map. You do not need to relax or cross your eyes, and it works on a phone.

Why can't I see Magic Eye pictures?

Seeing them takes practice, and some people cannot see them at all. To see a stereogram, your eyes have to point at one distance while focusing at another, and you need working stereo (two-eyed) depth vision. Studies estimate that roughly 2% to 7% of adults have no stereo vision: 2.2% of 1,060 people in Bosten et al. (2015), and about 7% of people under 60 in Chopin, Bavelier and Levi (2019). Not seeing a Magic Eye picture is not a test of anything. For tips on how to look, see How to see Magic Eye pictures.

What is the hidden picture in this Magic Eye?

Add it here and look at the outline view: that is the hidden shape. If the outline is unclear, move the "Repeat width" slider slowly until the shape comes out, then switch to the depth view to see which parts stand forward.

Is my picture uploaded?

No. The solver runs in your browser on your device. Your picture is not uploaded to our servers.

Does it work on a screenshot or a photo of a book page?

Often, if the picture is sharp and straight. A photo taken at an angle bends the repeat, and heavy compression smooths away the pattern, so the outline can come out noisy or not at all. The original file, at full size, works best.

Why does the depth look inside out?

The picture was made for cross-eyed viewing. Those pictures hold the depth the other way round: the hidden shape repeats wider than the background, not narrower. The solver guesses which kind a picture is; if it guesses wrong, turn on "Flip depth (cross-eyed picture)".

Can I make my own Magic Eye picture?

Yes: the Magic Eye maker turns a shape, a word or your own depth map into a stereogram, in your browser.

Learn more

Tips for seeing stereograms with your own eyes: How to see Magic Eye pictures. Make one: Magic Eye maker. Pictures to practise on: Magic Eye pictures.

Magic Eye is a registered trademark of Magic Eye Inc. Owl3D is not affiliated with Magic Eye Inc.