xwTweaks is a browser extension that implements quality-of-life improvements for New York Times crosswords and puzzles on nytimes.com.

Available on the Chrome Web Store. Coming soon to other browsers.

xwTweaks is freely available under the MIT License. You can find the source code at github.com/oxguy3/xwtweaks.

Features

  • Keyboard shortcuts for crosswords/acrostics
    • Hold Shift for pencil mode
    • Press grave/backtick (`) to pause
  • Adds links to all puzzles in the navbar for easy access
  • Spelling Bee: Letter shading to assist with pangrams
  • SET: Clearer distinction selected vs. unselected tiles when hovering
  • Allows you to collapse all the days on the stats page bar graph
  • Nitpicky removal of style annoyances
    • Removes title text on crossword board
    • Replace the 'how to solve' link on the homepage with a much smaller one
    • Remove ugly "FREE" badges from puzzle links on the homepage