What this skill does
human-type generates a keystroke event script from a desired final text
and plays it back in the focused browser element. The script includes:
- Adjacent-key typos — wrong chars from QWERTY neighbors
- Immediate fixes — backspace and retype on the spot
- Deferred fixes — finish typing the paragraph, then navigate back to fix
- French accent omissions — type
e instead of é, fix later (French mode)
- Thinking pauses — random hesitation gaps
- Speed jitter — each keystroke has independent timing noise
- Seeded reproducibility —
--seed gives identical replays
The final text produced is always exactly the target string.
Installation check
node "{baseDir}/human-type.js" --version
Optional global install:
npm install -g human-type-cli
Core command
node "{baseDir}/human-type.js" run \
--text "<final text>" \
--duration <seconds> \
[--mistakes <0-100>] \
[--pauses <0-100>] \
[--defer <0-100>] \
[--french] \
[--accent-omit <0-100>] \
[--selector "<css>"] \
[--seed <n>] \
[--dry-run]
All flags
| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|
--text | (required) | Final text to produce |
--duration | 10 | Total time in seconds |
--mistakes | 20 | Immediate typo rate % |
--pauses | 15 | Pause frequency % |
--defer | 35 | % of typos deferred (fixed after paragraph) |
--french | off | Enable French accent omission mode |
--accent-omit | 60 | % of accented chars omitted initially (French mode) |
--selector | — | CSS selector to click/focus before typing |
--delay-start | 500 | Ms to wait before first keystroke |
--seed | random | Fix RNG for reproducible output |
--dry-run | off | Print script without typing |
--cdp-url | http://127.0.0.1:18800 | Chrome DevTools Protocol URL |
Workflow
# 1. Start and use the OpenClaw browser tool
# Never use macOS `open` or any shell browser launch command for this workflow.
openclaw browser start
# 2. Navigate to target page
openclaw browser open https://example.com
# 3. Get element refs
openclaw browser snapshot --interactive
# 4. Type like a human into a specific element
# Prefer --selector so the CLI can focus the field itself.
# 5. Type like a human
node "{baseDir}/human-type.js" run \
--text "Hello, I'd like to ask about your services." \
--duration 10 \
--mistakes 20 \
--defer 40 \
--selector "textarea"
# 6. Verify
openclaw browser snapshot --interactive
Common patterns
Natural English paragraph
node "{baseDir}/human-type.js" run \
--text "The meeting went well. I think we aligned on the key points." \
--duration 15 \
--mistakes 25 \
--defer 40 \
--pauses 20
French text (accent omissions fixed later)
node "{baseDir}/human-type.js" run \
--text "Être ou ne pas être, voilà la question." \
--duration 15 \
--french \
--accent-omit 70 \
--defer 30
Reproducible (for testing / demo recording)
node "{baseDir}/human-type.js" run \
--text "Exact same every time." \
--duration 8 \
--seed 42
Preview before running
node "{baseDir}/human-type.js" run --text "Check this first" --duration 6 --dry-run
Save and replay a script
# Generate and save
node "{baseDir}/human-type.js" generate \
--text "Reuse this exact sequence." \
--duration 8 --seed 42 \
--output ./my-script.json
# Replay later
node "{baseDir}/human-type.js" play ./my-script.json --selector "#comment"
# Inspect stats
node "{baseDir}/human-type.js" inspect ./my-script.json
WPM reference
| Style | WPM | Duration for 100 chars |
|---|
| Fast typist | 70+ | ~9s |
| Average adult | 50 | ~12s |
| Slow / careful | 30 | ~20s |
| Hunt-and-peck | 15 | ~40s |
Rules
- Always use the OpenClaw browser tool for browser startup, navigation, and inspection before typing.
- Never use macOS
open, shell browser launch commands, or any non-OpenClaw browser startup path for this workflow.
- If the OpenClaw browser is not running yet, start it with
openclaw browser start before opening the page.
- In OpenClaw, prefer
node "{baseDir}/human-type.js" so the workspace skill works without any global install.
- Always prefer
--selector over clicking manually before running because the CLI works directly through CDP, not OpenClaw ref IDs.
- Use
--dry-run first when the duration or behavior is uncertain.
- For multi-field forms, call
human-type run once per field with the appropriate --selector.
- For French text,
--french without --accent-omit uses the 60% default — adjust if you want more or fewer accent omissions.
--defer 0 means all typos are fixed immediately (backspace-and-retype). --defer 100 means all typos are left in place and fixed after the paragraph.- The browser must already be open in OpenClaw before running. By default the CLI connects to
http://127.0.0.1:18800, which matches the standard openclaw browser profile.
--seed values are fully deterministic — the same seed + same text + same options always produces an identical keystroke sequence.
Event format (JSON script)
Each event in the generated script has:
{ "type": "type", "ch": "H", "time": 0, "duration": 195 }
{ "type": "delete", "time": 195, "duration": 140 }
{ "type": "pause", "time": 335, "duration": 480 }
{ "type": "arrow", "dir": "Left", "n": 4, "time": 815, "duration": 320 }
{ "type": "select-back", "n": 1, "time": 1135,"duration": 110 }
{ "type": "select-replace", "ch": "é", "time": 1245,"duration": 200 }
time is ms offset from start. duration is gap until next event.
