A typing coach at your cursor
In the DuckyHelper Mac app, Ducky can help you type something exactly right, a sentence, a formula, a phrase in another language, a line of code, without typing it for you. Grey ghost letters appear at your cursor, inside the real text box of the app or site you are in. Each letter you type replaces its ghost, and a wrong letter is marked in red so you can fix it.
Every letter is yours.
Ask help me type it, or reach a type this step in a tutorial, and the coach opens right where your cursor is. You type, it keeps up: the next letters wait in grey, the one you just typed turns solid, and a slip gets a red mark under that letter. Fix it and keep going. Press Escape to close it early.
The letters sit in the app or site you are using: an essay in Google Docs, a cell in a spreadsheet, a message, a search box.
The coach only shows the letters. Every letter in the box is one you typed.
When a step in a tutorial says type this, the same coach appears, so you learn the exact words a form or a formula needs.
Walk me through writing this.
In VS Code, a coding site or any text box, ask Ducky to walk you through writing a piece of code. It says what the next line does, then ghosts that small chunk at your cursor. When you have typed it, the next step follows. You end up with code you wrote and understand.
Ask for help typing it. Type.
How the coach goes on a Mac.
- 1. Click into the text box
Wherever the words have to go, in any app.
- 2. Press fn and ask
Help me type it, or can you help me type the fixed sentence?
- 3. Type over the grey letters
Each one turns solid as you type it. A wrong letter is marked red.
- 4. Fix it and finish
Reach the end and it is done. Escape closes it early.
The typing coach is in the Mac app. It reads your typing only while the coach is open, through the Accessibility switch you allowed.
Small things that have to be exactly right.
A sentence, fixed
A comma splice, a run-on, a quote with the right punctuation, typed by you.
Another language
A phrase in Spanish or French with every accent where it belongs.
A formula
=AVERAGE(B2:B6) in the right cell, in a tutorial for your spreadsheet.
A line of code
One chunk at a time, said first, then ghosted, then typed by you.
Feedback on every letter.
You see a slip the moment you make it, while you still remember why you typed it, and you fix it yourself. Want a number for your speed too? Our typing speed test measures it. The learning science behind it: Feedback right away, on the step.
How to use it
Frequently asked questions
What is DuckyHelper's typing coach?
It is a Mac app feature: grey ghost letters appear at your cursor inside the real text box of any app or site, and each letter you type replaces its ghost. A wrong letter is marked red under it so you can fix it. It never types for you.
Can I use it to practice typing in another language?
Yes. Ask Ducky to help you type a phrase in Spanish, French or another language and the coach shows each letter, accents included, right where you are typing. For saying the words out loud, see practice a language out loud.
Does it work for code?
Yes. Ask Ducky to walk you through writing something, in VS Code, a coding site or any text box. It says what the next line does, then ghosts that small chunk at your cursor, and the next step follows when you have typed it.
How do I close it?
Press Escape to close it early, or Cancel in the small pill that follows your mouse. When you reach the end of the text, it is done. Nothing you typed is undone either way.
Does it work on a Chromebook?
No. The typing coach needs the DuckyHelper Mac app, because it writes into other apps' text boxes, and there is no Chromebook or web version right now. The Mac app needs macOS 14 or later on Apple silicon.
More features
Type it right, yourself
Download DuckyHelper for Mac, click into any text box, press fn and ask for help typing it.
