Live WPM Counting

A VSCode extension that displays your real-time typing speed directly in the status bar while you code. Track your words per minute (WPM) or characters per minute (CPM) with intelligent word detection that avoids inflating your score from autocomplete and paste operations.

Features

Real-Time WPM Display

Your current typing speed updates every second in the top-right status bar. It counts actual words typed — not characters divided by 5 — for accurate measurement.

Intelligent Word Detection

The extension distinguishes between:

Normal typing — counts words as you complete them
Autocomplete / snippets — does not inflate your WPM for code the editor inserted for you
Multi-line pastes — counts real words in the pasted text without spiking your score
Enter key / newlines — treated as word boundaries

Session Average WPM

Alongside your current speed, the extension tracks your session average:

Calculated as total words typed ÷ active time span
Idle periods are excluded from the time span
Persists through inactivity until you manually reset

Idle Detection & Auto-Reset

After a configurable period of inactivity (default: 5 seconds), the current WPM display resets to 0. Your session stats (total words, average WPM) are preserved.

Visual Speed Indicators

The status bar icon and color change based on your typing speed:

Speed	Icon	Color
80+ WPM	⚡	Orange
50–79 WPM	🚀	Yellow
20–49 WPM	⌨️	Default
Under 20 WPM	✏️	Gray

CPM Mode

Prefer characters per minute? Toggle CPM display in settings. The extension still uses WPM thresholds internally for icon and color selection (CPM ÷ 5).

Commands

Command	Description
`Typing Speed Meter: Reset`	Resets current WPM, session word count, and session average
`Typing Speed Meter: Toggle Visibility`	Shows or hides the WPM display in the status bar

You can also click the status bar item to reset all statistics instantly.

Settings

All settings are under the typingSpeedMeter namespace in your VSCode settings:

Setting	Type	Default	Description
`typingSpeedMeter.windowSeconds`	number	`10`	Sliding window duration (3–60 s) used to calculate current WPM
`typingSpeedMeter.idleResetSeconds`	number	`5`	Seconds of inactivity before current WPM resets to 0 (1–30 s)
`typingSpeedMeter.showCharactersPerMinute`	boolean	`false`	Display CPM instead of WPM

Example `settings.json`

{
  "typingSpeedMeter.windowSeconds": 15,
  "typingSpeedMeter.idleResetSeconds": 10,
  "typingSpeedMeter.showCharactersPerMinute": false
}

How It Works

The extension uses a sliding window approach:

Every text insertion is timestamped.
Word completions (space, punctuation, newline) are recorded separately.
Each second, the extension counts words typed within the last windowSeconds seconds to compute current WPM.
Session average is computed from the first word typed until the most recent, excluding idle gaps.

This means your WPM reflects what you actually typed, not what the editor inserted for you.

Installation

From the VSIX Package

Download typing-speed-meter-1.0.0.vsix.
Open VSCode and go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X).
Click the ... menu (top-right of the Extensions panel) → Install from VSIX…
Select the downloaded .vsix file.
Reload VSCode if prompted.

From the Marketplace

Search for "Live WPM counting" by SwiftkeyC in the Extensions Marketplace.

Development

Prerequisites

Node.js
npm
VSCode 1.85.0+

Setup

npm install

Build

npm run compile

Watch Mode (auto-recompile on change)

npm run watch

Debug

Press F5 in VSCode to launch the Extension Development Host with the extension loaded.

Requirements

VSCode 1.85.0 or later

Known Limitations

WPM is measured only in the active editor. Switching tabs does not transfer the current window but session stats persist.
Autocomplete accepted via Tab or Enter is intentionally excluded from the word count to keep scores meaningful.

Publisher

SwiftkeyC — View on Marketplace

Live WPM counting

SwiftkeyC