typist

A fast, offline typing test for developers
_{No account. No paywall. No internet required.}

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Features

Quick Start

# Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/chuma-beep/typist
cd typist && go mod tidy && go build -o typist .

# Run
typist          # Terminal UI
typist --web    # Web UI (auto-opens browser)

Installation

Prerequisites

• Go 1.21+ — Download here

Build from Source

# 1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/chuma-beep/typist
cd typist

# 2. Install dependencies
go mod tidy

# 3. Build the binary
go build -o typist .

# 4. Move to your PATH (optional)
mv typist ~/.local/bin/  # Linux/Mac
# or
mv typist $GOPATH/bin/   # If GOPATH is set

Tip: The binary is completely self-contained — no runtime dependencies needed!

Usage

typist          # Launch terminal UI
typist --web    # Launch web UI on random free port
typist --help   # Show all options

Terminal UI

Menu Controls

Typing Controls

Results Screen

Web UI

The web interface provides a beautiful browser-based experience with:

• Chart.js WPM graphs
• Visual keyboard mistake heatmap
• Same core typing engine as TUI
• Responsive design

Launch with:

typist --web

The server automatically picks a free port on 127.0.0.1 — no conflicts, no firewall prompts.

Code Mode

Type real, idiomatic code snippets with full syntax highlighting:

Syntax Highlighting

Powered by Chroma — the same library used by Hugo, Goldmark, and GitHub's Go tooling.

Keywords, builtins, strings, comments, numbers, and operators each render in distinct colors using the Catppuccin Mocha palette.

Special Keys in Code Mode

• Tab and Enter are live keystrokes — you must type them correctly
• Perfect for building muscle memory on real code structure

Blind Mode

Press Ctrl+B during any test to toggle Blind Mode.

Every typed character becomes a · dot — green if correct, red if wrong — but the actual character is never shown.

Forces you to type from memory rather than watching your hands. Essential for improving muscle memory!

Scores & Export

All results are automatically saved to ~/.typist/scores.json.

Export Options (Results Screen)

The CSV is clean enough to drop into Excel or any data tool for your own analysis.

Architecture

typist/
├── main.go          # Entry point, --web flag
├── model.go         # Bubble Tea model — all states, update, view
├── highlight.go     # Chroma tokenizer → lipgloss StyleMap
├── words.go         # Word/quote/code generation + line wrapping
├── snippets.go      # Code snippet library (Go, JS, Python, Rust)
├── scores.go        # Persistent scores, PB tracking, JSON/CSV export
├── styles.go        # lipgloss styles (Catppuccin Mocha)
├── web.go           # Embedded HTTP server for --web mode
├── web/
│   └── index.html   # Single-file web UI (Chart.js, no other deps)
└── quotes.json      # Embedded literary quotes

Key Design Decisions

Tech Stack

Why Go?

• Single binary — easy distribution
• Fast startup — instant feel
• go:embed — zero-dependency distribution
• Dogfooding — you're literally typing Go while learning Go

Roadmap

• WPM graph in TUI (unicode sparkline → full bar chart)
• Dark / light theme toggle
• Focus mode (hide stats while typing)
• Custom text mode (paste your own code)
• WebAssembly build for browser deployment (no server needed)

License

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for more information.