TMT - Typing TrainerWebsite Guide
Everything you need to know about how TheMonkeyType works.
This page is your full guide to the website. It explains how tests work, what the numbers mean, how rankings are calculated, how 1v1 challenges work, and what you can expect from pages like Stats, Leaderboard, Blog, and the live lobby.
Typing tests
Practice with timed tests, change duration, and choose whether punctuation and numbers are included.
Rankings
Compare your best saved scores on the leaderboard by mode, duration, and region.
1v1 challenges
Challenge online players to live competitive duels and race on the same shared text.
Stats and history
Track local progress over time, review past runs, and keep your challenge history in one place.
Core Experience
Typing tests
TheMonkeyType is built around timed typing tests. You start with a block of generated text and type through it for the selected duration. The main goal is to balance speed and control instead of only rushing for a high score.
Before starting a test, you can change language, duration, punctuation, and number settings. Shorter tests like 15 seconds reward quick bursts, while longer tests like 60 or 120 seconds reveal consistency, endurance, and rhythm.
Useful shortcut: press Tab and then Enter to restart quickly.
Scoring Rules
Competitive mode
Competitive mode is a stricter version of the typing test. It is designed for more serious comparison and is also the mode used in live 1v1 challenges.
Key rule
In competitive mode, pressing Backspace does not erase mistakes normally. Instead, each Backspace adds a time penalty. This makes accuracy matter more during pressure situations.
Why it exists
Competitive mode creates a fairer head-to-head format by rewarding clean typing under pressure instead of heavy correction after mistakes.
Public Rankings
How the leaderboard works
The leaderboard tracks best saved results, not every single run. It separates results by mode and duration, so a player's classic 60-second result does not overwrite their competitive 60-second result.
- Classic and Competitive are tracked separately.
- Each duration category keeps its own best saved result.
- Global view compares you against everyone in that mode.
- Country view filters rankings by country when country data is available.
- All-time view picks each player's strongest entry inside the selected mode, then sorts by WPM, accuracy, and recency.
You can also use the Update Records action on the leaderboard to sync your strongest local runs back to your online record when you are signed in.
Live Play
How 1v1 challenges work
The live lobby shows recently online players. If you are signed in, you can challenge someone directly from the lobby or from the competitive leaderboard.
Challenge requirements
- You must be signed in to send or accept a challenge.
- The other player must be online recently enough to appear as available.
- You cannot challenge yourself.
- Only one active or pending challenge can exist between the same two players at a time.
- Challenges use competitive mode rules and a shared text for both players.
Once a challenge is accepted, both players type the same generated text. The winner is decided by WPM first, then accuracy, then finish time if the scores are still tied. If one player finishes first, the other player can still submit and the result will update when both sides are in.
Personal Progress
What the Stats page contains
The Stats page is your local progress dashboard. It helps you understand not only your best scores, but also how your typing changes over time.
Typing history
- Best WPM
- Best accuracy
- Average WPM
- Total tests
- Total words typed
- Performance chart over time
- Filtered results by duration
- Challenge history with wins, losses, draws, and win rate
How to read it
The chart helps you spot trends over time. The results table helps you inspect specific sessions. Challenge history gives you a personal record of wins, losses, draws, and the opponents you played.
Most of this page is powered by local browser storage, which means it follows your current device and browser unless you sync or export it elsewhere later.
Accounts and Data
What is saved locally and what is saved online
Some parts of the site are public, while others depend on being signed in. You can practice without an account, but account-based features give you online identity, rankings, and challenge access.
Saved locally
Preferences, many past test runs, filtered stats views, and challenge history are stored in your browser so your experience feels fast and personal.
Saved online
Best scores used for the leaderboard, your signed-in identity, and active challenge state are stored online so they can be shared across rankings and multiplayer features.
Helpful Notes
Tips and common questions
Why is my leaderboard rank different from my latest run?
The leaderboard only reflects your best saved results for the selected mode and duration, not every session. A recent lower score will not push your best rank down.
Why can't I challenge someone?
Usually because you are not signed in, the other player is offline, or there is already an active or pending challenge between the same two accounts.
Where should I start?
Start with classic 60-second tests, focus on accuracy first, and only use competitive mode once you feel comfortable typing without heavy correction.