Algorithm Visualizer

An algorithm visualizer turns abstract computer science concepts into animated bar charts you can watch, pause, and step through at your own pace. This tool covers the most important sorting and searching algorithms every developer should know. Sorting algorithms rearrange an array of values into a specific order. Bubble Sort repeatedly swaps adjacent elements that are out of order — simple to understand but O(n²) in the average case. Selection Sort finds the minimum element in the unsorted portion on each pass and swaps it into place. Insertion Sort builds a sorted section from left to right, inserting each new element at the correct position — it performs well on nearly sorted data. Merge Sort uses a divide-and-conquer approach: split the array in half, recursively sort each half, then merge the two sorted halves. It guarantees O(n log n) time at the cost of O(n) extra space. Quick Sort also uses divide-and-conquer but picks a pivot element and partitions the array around it. On average it's O(n log n) and is often faster than Merge Sort in practice due to better cache performance. Searching algorithms find a target value in an array. Linear Search checks every element from left to right — O(n) time, works on unsorted arrays. Binary Search is much faster at O(log n) but requires a sorted array: it repeatedly halves the search range by comparing the middle element with the target. Use the speed control to slow down and see every comparison and swap clearly. Use the step button to advance one operation at a time. Generate a new array to see how the algorithm behaves on different inputs. For binary search, the array is automatically sorted before the animation begins.