Learn to type on Colemak
Colemak is a modern alternative to QWERTY released in 2006 that moves 17 keys to put the most common letters on the home row while keeping Z, X, C, V and most punctuation in place.
The Basic course teaches touch typing on Colemak from the first key: every drill, hint and keyboard on screen follows your layout.
Sets your keyboard layout to Colemak. You can change it any time in Settings.
- Created
- 2006
- By
- Shai Coleman
- Home row
- A R S T · N E I O
- Course
- Free · 65 tasks
The Colemak home row
Your fingers rest on A R S T N E I O
The first step finds T and N under your index fingers.
- ALeft pinky
- RLeft ring
- SLeft middle
- TLeft index
- NRight index
- ERight middle
- IRight ring
- ORight pinky
Step 1 of 65 · Find Your Starting Position
~2 mintttt nnnn
nnnn tttt
Index fingers on T and N — feel the bumps.
Colemak next to QWERTY
10 letters stay exactly where they are on QWERTY: Q, W, A, H, Z, X, C, V, B and M. The other 16 move. So the course starts from the home row rather than from what you already know.
QWERTY
What most keyboards ship with
Colemak
Moves 17 keys and keeps Z, X, C and V, and their shortcuts, in place.
- Same key on both
- Colemak home row
- Moved
The course
How the course works on Colemak
Eight levels, 65 tasks, from the first key to everyday writing.
Positions, not letters
Every lesson names a finger and a row, so each drill is built from the keys on Colemak. Your first two keys are T and N.
A Colemak keyboard on screen
The next key lights up in its finger’s colour on a Colemak keyboard, and the hands show which finger presses it.
Progress that stays yours
Stars and checkpoints are saved as you go. Switch layouts later and nothing is lost: steps passed on another layout are marked, not wiped.
- 16 tasks
Foundations
Where your hands rest, how they move, and why you look at the screen.
- 213 tasks
Home Row Mastery
All eight home keys, one finger at a time, then together and in real words.
- 310 tasks
Upper Row
Reaching up from home, finger by finger, until two rows feel like one.
- 48 tasks
Lower Row
Reaching down, then all three rows and the whole alphabet.
- 57 tasks
Shift and Punctuation
Capitals with the opposite Shift, and the marks that make sentences.
- 67 tasks
Numbers and Symbols
The number row and the symbols above it, in the contexts they appear.
- 78 tasks
Fluency
From letters to patterns, words and paragraphs, and your first timed test.
- 86 tasks
Full Layout Graduation
Real messages, documents, a mixed-character challenge, endurance and the final assessment.
About Colemak
Moves 17 keys and keeps Z, X, C and V, and their shortcuts, in place.
Colemak was created by Shai Coleman and released on 1 January 2006. The Tarmak learning steps were added by DreymaR in 2014.
Put the most frequent English letters on the home row while keeping QWERTY’s shortcuts and punctuation where they are.
Colemak is typed with standard touch-typing fingering on any keyboard. The original also turns Caps Lock into a second Backspace.
Why people learn Colemak
- Q, W, A, Z, X, C, V, B, H and M stay where QWERTY has them, so copy, paste, undo and most punctuation do not move.
- About three quarters of letters are typed on the home row.
- Built into macOS, Linux and Windows 11 (24H2 and later), with Tarmak steps for a gradual switch.
Setting it up on your computer
Linux
Built in.
Windows
Built into Windows 11 from version 24H2.
macOS
Built in.
FAQ
Questions about Colemak
Colemak was created by Shai Coleman and released on 1 January 2006. The Tarmak learning steps were added by DreymaR in 2014.
Your fingers rest on A R S T on the left and N E I O on the right. The course starts by finding T and N under your index fingers.
10 letters stay exactly where they are on QWERTY: Q, W, A, H, Z, X, C, V, B and M. The other 16 move.
Yes. Colemak is built into macOS, Linux and ChromeOS, and into Windows 11 from version 24H2. The Tarmak steps are not built in anywhere.
Yes. It runs in your browser; sign in when you want to keep your stars.
No. Steps passed on another layout are marked, not wiped.
Courses for other layouts
Same course, same progress — on the layout you type with.
Ready for T and N?
Free, in your browser. Sign in when you want to keep your stars.