Spelling Bee Assistant

Spelling Bee Assistant is a handy add-on for the New York Times’ beloved word puzzle, Spelling Bee. Packed with features , it’s designed to enhance your experience without taking away the joy of the game.

Track your progress, uncover what challenges lie ahead, and – if you choose – get a hint or two to keep your momentum going. And when the ideas run dry, you can reveal today’s answers on your schedule – no more waiting for tomorrow!

The Spelling Bee Assistant adds a new layer of fun to this already excellent game, all without spoiling the magic. Promise!

Spelling Bee Assistant

What’s new in Version 5?

  • Keyboard shortcuts for almost everything – each one can be disabled individually if needed.
  • The Menu got a full makeover: fewer entries, bigger buttons, better accessibility
  • Dark Mode settings are now simpler and more visual – just pick a scheme in the new interface and see it instantly
  • Milestones offer a clearer picture of your progress through the ranks

Installation

By installing this software, you agree to the terms of the GNU General Public License v3.0.

Feature Overview

System requirements

Spelling Bee Assistant works best with a modern web browser in a recent version. Below is a chart of Browser/OS combinations that have been tested and are known to work in typical setups.

Browser Windows MacOS Ubuntu Android iOS
Blink ¹|² Extension Bookmarklet Extension Bookmarklet Extension Bookmarklet Extension ² ?
WebKit ³| n/a Bookmarklet ³ Bookmarklet n/a Bookmarklet ³
  1. Chrome, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi…
  2. Kiwi
  3. Safari
  4. Gnome Web
Browser extension | Bookmarklet

Follow the steps below to install Spelling Bee Assistant on your mobile device.

  • Android: Use the extension with Kiwi

    1. Download Kiwi Browser from the Google Play Store.
    2. Open Kiwi and navigate to the Spelling Bee Assistant’s page on the Chrome Web Store.
    3. Tap Add to Chrome to install the extension.
    4. Review the notice that appears; if acceptable, confirm by tapping OK.

    The extension will now enhance your gameplay whenever you visit the Spelling Bee game in Kiwi.

  • iOS / iPadOS: Use a shortcut on Safari

    Special thanks to Alex for contributing the iOS instructions and hosting the shortcut.

    1. Open the Settings app. Navigate to Shortcuts > Advanced and enable Allow Running Scripts to let shortcuts run scripts like those of Spelling Bee Assistant.
    2. Access the shortcut by opening this link. Tap Get Shortcut and then Add.
    3. To use the shortcut, open Spelling Bee in Safari and access the Share menu. Find and run SB Assistant.
    4. Upon first run, a security warning appears. If you agree, tap Allow.

    To keep it handy, pin SB Assistant to the top of your share sheet by tapping Edit Actions… and selecting the green plus next to the SB Assistant action.

Doesn’t it spoil the game?

Not at all! Spelling Bee Assistant is crafted to stay subtle and unobtrusive. User feedback – and plenty of gameplay testing – shows this strikes the right balance. The challenge and fun of the game remain the same. The Assistant simply gives you a set of helpful tools for those moments when you’re stuck in a corner.

What is a bookmarklet?

Bookmarklet
Regular bookmarks along with the Spelling Bee Assistant

Bookmarklets are clever little tools that work like bookmarks but include small pieces of code to enhance how a website functions. You’ll find them in your browser’s bookmarks menu, just like regular bookmarks.

I discovered a bug | I’d like to give feedback

You can report bugs or suggest features at GitHub. Please remember, this is a fun weekend project, and I aim to keep it light. While I address issues occasionally, I can’t make any promises.

Is the NYT behind this or are you affiliated with the NYT?

No, I have no affiliation with the New York Times. Spelling Bee Assistant is an independent project.

Your privacy

This website does not use any technology to collect personally identifiable information about its visitors. Both the site and the associated bookmarklet are hosted on GitHub Pages. For details on what data GitHub Pages collects, please refer to their privacy policy. I do not have access to any data collected by GitHub.

When installing the extension from a browser add-on store, you might see a message like, "This extension can read and change your data on www.nytimes.com [...]". This is standard for extensions and ensures functionality. Rest assured, the extension is strictly designed to read data from the Spelling Bee game – it does not access, modify, or submit any personal information.

Most add-on stores provide basic download statistics, such as aggregated numbers by country. These statistics do not include any personally identifiable information.

Spelling Bee Assistant on GitHub