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Quick Start

Get typing with Baboon in under a minute!

Launch Baboon

baboon

# Start backend + web frontend
make web-start

# Or manually:
./baboon -server &
cd web && npm start

Then open http://localhost:3000

Your First Round

When Baboon starts, you'll see a large word displayed in block letters:

    ██   ██ ███████ ██      ██       ██████
    ██   ██ ██      ██      ██      ██    ██
    ███████ █████   ██      ██      ██    ██
    ██   ██ ██      ██      ██      ██    ██
    ██   ██ ███████ ███████ ███████  ██████

How to Play

  1. Start typing - The timer begins when you type the first correct character
  2. Watch the colours:
  3. Green = Correct
  4. Red = Incorrect
  5. Gray = Not yet typed
  6. Press SPACE - Move to the next word when you've typed all letters
  7. Complete 30 words - View your statistics
  8. Press ENTER - Start a new round
  9. Press ESC - Quit at any time

Basic Controls

Key Action
Any letter Type the next character
Backspace Remove the last typed character
Space Move to the next word (when current word is complete)
Enter Start a new round (on results screen)
Esc Exit Baboon

Command Line Options

# Standard mode
baboon

# With punctuation practice
baboon -p

# Server mode (for multiple clients)
baboon -server

# Connect to existing server
baboon -client

# Custom port
baboon -port 9000

Understanding the Display

During Typing

                    Word 5/30

    ██████  ██████  ██████  █████  ████████
    ██   ██ ██   ██ ██      ██   ██    ██
    ██████  ██████  ██████  ███████    ██
    ██      ██   ██ ██      ██   ██    ██
    ██      ██   ██ ██████  ██   ██    ██

    ▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂▂░░░░░░░░░░  52 WPM
    0                60              120
  • Word counter - Shows your progress through the 30 words
  • Block letters - The current word to type
  • WPM bar - Real-time typing speed indicator

Results Screen

After completing 30 words, you'll see:

  • WPM - Words per minute (higher is better)
  • Accuracy - Percentage of correct keystrokes
  • Time - How long the round took
  • Letter statistics - Accuracy heatmap for each letter
  • Finger accuracy - How each finger performed
  • Hand balance - Left vs right hand usage

Pro Tips

Baboon's Typing Tips

  1. Don't look at the keyboard - Trust your muscle memory
  2. Aim for accuracy first - Speed will follow naturally
  3. Use all your fingers - Proper touch typing technique matters
  4. Practice daily - Even 10 minutes a day helps
  5. Check your weak letters - The heatmap shows where to focus

What's Next?