Truchet Tile Generator
Truchet tiles are one square with two rotations, and the trick is that both rotations meet every edge at its midpoint. That means any arrangement at all produces continuous curves — the constraint lives in the tile rather than in where you put it. This fills a grid at random and counts every internal edge to confirm the property rather than simply asserting it.
What this generator does
Fills the grid with one of two rotations of a quarter-arc tile, chosen at random for each cell. Because both rotations meet all four edges at their midpoints, every internal edge joins — which is counted rather than assumed.
How to use this tool
- Set how many tiles across and down.
- Generate, and follow the curves across the grid.
- Note that no placement can ever be wrong.
- Use a seed to reproduce a tiling you liked.
Understanding the controls
- Grid size
- Tiles across and down. Larger grids show the long meandering paths the tiling is known for.
- Seed
- Reproduces exactly the same tiling, which matters once you have found one worth keeping.
Common use cases
- Generating decorative tile patterns for print or screen
- Producing maze-like backgrounds that always connect
- Teaching how a local constraint gives a global property
- Making patterns for a plotter, a cutter or a quilt
- Reproducing a particular tiling from a seed
How this generator works
Each cell takes one of two rotations of the same tile, chosen at random. Both rotations carry two quarter-arcs joining the midpoints of adjacent edges, so whatever sits next door, the curves meet — that is the whole idea, and it is why a random arrangement is never wrong. Before display every tile is confirmed to be one of the two rotations and every internal edge is counted, so the reported connection count matches the grid.
Randomness and fairness
Uses your browser's cryptographic random source to choose each tile's rotation. A seed switches to a reproducible sequence, which is deterministic and not cryptographically secure.
For how randomness is produced across the whole site, see how Generate Random works.
Limitations and good to know
- The classic two-rotation arc tile only; Truchet's original diagonal tiles and the many-tile variants look quite different.
- Tiles are placed independently, so there is no control over the length or shape of the paths that emerge.
- Colour and line weight are fixed, so this gives the structure rather than a finished design.
- Very large grids are slow to draw in the browser, which is why the size is capped.
Privacy and your data
The tiling is generated in your browser and nothing you choose is transmitted, stored or included in analytics.
Related generators
- Dither Pattern GeneratorTurns a grey level into a two-colour pattern whose average really is that grey, with the filled cells counted back.
- Spirograph GeneratorDraws the curve a wheel traces inside a ring, with the number of revolutions before it closes derived from the greatest common divisor.
- Geometric Pattern GeneratorBuilds a tiled pattern under a symmetry rule and hands you the SVG — mirrored, half-turn or quarter-turn.
- Tessellation GeneratorTiles a grid with squares, offset bricks or dominoes, checking cell by cell that nothing is uncovered and nothing is covered twice.