typo — CLI typing practice & speed test

Like Monkeytype / 10fastfingers, but in your terminal. Pure Node.js + TypeScript, zero runtime dependencies.

✨ Why typo?

• 🖥️ Fullscreen canvas — alternate-screen buffer, vertically + horizontally centered, no scrollback jitter
• ⌨️ Monkeytype feel — blinking block caret, dimmed history lines, active-word highlight, live burst ⚡ + consistency
• 📊 Real stats — WPM / raw / gross, accuracy, consistency, WPM trend sparkline, worst keys, CPM, corrections, char breakdown
• 🏆 Progression — XP + levels, daily streaks, milestone badges, per-mode personal bests
• ◉ Daily challenge — --daily is the same text all day on every machine (seeded, shareable)
• ▶️ Replay — --replay plays your last run back keystroke-by-keystroke with pause + speed control
• 📦 Portable history — --export csv|json / --import with dedupe, stored in ~/.typo/history.json

📸 What it looks like

Setup menu (typo with no flags):

╭────────────────────────────────────────╮
│   typo  ·  setup                       │
│   pick a setup, hit enter              │
│                                        │
│     ◷  mode                 ‹ time ›   │
│     ◔  duration              ‹ 30s ›   │
│     Aa punctuation             ○ off   │
│     #  numbers                 ○ off   │
│                                        │
│   ──────────────────────────────────   │
│                                        │
│   ▌ ▶  start test                      │
│     ↺  history                         │
│     ⎋  quit                            │
│                                        │
│   ──────────────────────────────────   │
│   lv 1  ▓▓░░░░░░  225 xp               │
│   1d streak  ·  ★ 62 best              │
╰────────────────────────────────────────╯

 [↑↓/jk] move  ·  [←→/hl] change  ·  [⏎] select  ·  [q] quit

Live typing HUD:

typo  ·  time 30s  ·  ◔ 24s  ·  45 wpm  ·  98.2%  ·  ⚡82  ·  96% cons
██████▊░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░  38%

the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog ...

Results panel:

╭──────────────────────────────────────────╮
│               ✦ done ✦                   │
│  wpm    52.7   raw 55.0   gross 58.1      │
│  acc    98.0%   cons 96.1%                │
│  trend  ▂▄▅▇█▇▅▄▂                         │
│  weak   e 92% 120ms   a 95% 98ms          │
│  miss   teh → the                         │
│  ✦ ★ new personal best! (49.1 → 52.7) ★ ✦ │
│  saved to ~/.typo/history.json · +30 XP   │
│  [r] retry   [tab/n] next   [q/esc] quit   │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────╯

History (typo --history) is colorized: best/avg, last-10, totals, 14-day activity bar, level + streak, badges, WPM trend, histogram, per-mode PBs, and a recent-runs table. The in-menu history viewer splits the same data across four tabbed screens (overview / trends / bests / runs) so it always fits: [←→/tab] switch tabs, [↑↓] scroll long lists, [esc] back to setup.

Install

Install globally to get the typo command:

npm install -g @reading_steiner/typo
typo

Or run it once without installing:

npx @reading_steiner/typo --time 30

From source

git clone https://github.com/Arunava-K/typo.git
cd typo
npm install
npm run build
npm link        # makes `typo` available globally

Usage

typo [options]

Just typo with no options opens the interactive setup menu — pick mode, duration, word count, punctuation/numbers, custom file, or history, all without memorizing flags. Your last setup is remembered between tests, and your level / streak / best shows under the panel.

| Option | Description | |---|---| | --time <sec> | Timed test, e.g. --time 15/30/60/120 (default: 30, 1–600s) | | --words <n> | Fixed word-count test, e.g. --words 10/25/50/100 (1–1000) | | --quote | Random quote / sentence ❝ | | --daily | Shared daily text, same all day on every machine ◉ | | --code <lang> | Code snippet test: python, javascript, typescript, go, rust, java, c, cpp, csharp, php, ruby, html | | --zen | Free typing, no prompt — Esc finishes (15s+ saved) | | --sentences [n] | Full-sentence test, default 5 | | --tricky-keys | Drill your worst keys + mistyped words | | --words <n> --time <s> | Combo: N words with a hard S cap (either order) | | --custom <file> | Practice with text from a file ✎ | | --text "..." | Practice with inline custom text | | -p, --punctuation | Add punctuation + capitals (words/time modes) | | --numbers | Add numbers (words/time modes) | | --sudden-death | First mistake ends the run as failed | | --no-backspace | Corrections disabled, expert style | | --min-acc <n> | Fail the run below n% accuracy (10-char grace) | | --pace <wpm> | Race a ghost caret at n wpm (5–300) | | --history | Show past results, PBs, averages & activity | | --history --mode <m> | Filter history by mode, e.g. "time" (repeatable) | | --history --last <n> | Show last n runs (default 10) | | --replay | Replay your last run keystroke-by-keystroke ▶ | | --export <csv\|json> | Print history to stdout (> backup.csv) | | --import <file> | Merge exported runs back in (dedupes) | | --debug-keys | Show key codes to diagnose shortcuts | | -h, --help | Colorized help with examples | | --version | Version |

Examples

typo                    # interactive setup menu
typo --time 120         # 120s test (any 1–600s works)
typo --time 60 -p       # 60s with punctuation
typo --words 50         # 50 words
typo --quote            # random quote
typo --daily            # today's shared text
typo --code python      # python snippet
typo --zen               # free typing
typo --sentences 10      # 10 sentences
typo --words 50 --time 60 # 50 words or 60s, whichever first
typo --tricky-keys       # practice your weak spots
typo --custom essay.txt # your own text
typo --history          # past scores (colorized)
typo --replay           # watch your last run back

Keys

• While typing: just start typing to begin the timer · [esc] quit · [⌫] fix · [ctrl+w] / ctrl+backspace delete word · ctrl+u clear all · [⏎] newline in code mode · [tab] fill indent in code mode
• On results: [r] retry · [tab/n] next test · [q/esc] quit
• In setup menu: [↑↓/jk] move · [←→/hl] change · [⏎] select · [q] quit
• In replay: [space] pause · [+/−] speed · [r] restart · [q] quit
• In code mode: syntax highlighting, bracket-pair underlines, [tab] fills the exact expected indent, [⏎] auto-indents the new line, empty pairs like () auto-close. Assisted chars match the target and are counted on the results screen (N assisted) so practice stays honest.

Live HUD shows countdown (or elapsed), live WPM, accuracy, current-word burst and consistency plus a fractional progress bar. Results show WPM, raw + gross WPM, accuracy, consistency, WPM trend, worst keys, word mistakes, CPM, corrections and char breakdown, earn XP toward levels, and are saved to ~/.typo/history.json.

Shortcut not working?

Terminals disagree on what combos like Ctrl+Backspace send. Run typo --debug-keys, press the combo, and check the wordDelete=yes verdict. If it says no, paste the bytes [...] line in an issue and we will add your terminal's sequence.

🗂️ Data & portability

• History lives in ~/.typo/history.json (last 500 runs), replay in ~/.typo/last-replay.json.
• typo --export csv > backup.csv for spreadsheets, --export json for full fidelity (weak keys, mistakes).
• typo --import backup.csv merges back in, skipping duplicates and rejecting bad rows with a count.

How WPM is calculated

Standard formula: (correct characters / 5) / minutes. Raw WPM counts every typed character. Gross WPM counts every keystroke ever pressed (including deleted ones). Accuracy = correct keystrokes / total keystrokes. Consistency = 100 × (1 − stdev/mean) over per-second raw WPM (steady pace → ~100).