Shape Sorting

So, which input device offers better productivity, the keyboard or the mouse?

Let's find out.

Shape Sorting is a game, or, ok maybe better, an activity, about sorting shapes by color or shape, played with the keyboard, the mouse, or both.

It's written in Rust using the Incredible TUI framework. It can be played, or, ok maybe better, it can be experienced, in the terminal, using native macOS and Windows app or right here in the browser.

⚠️ Warning This activity is an utter total waste of time that is not even remotely enjoyable. Like, seriously.

Install

Web

No install needed: https://ronilan.github.io/shape-sorting/

Native binaries

Prebuilt binaries are provided for each release.

Linux via Docker

To try the Linux terminal version, build and run:

docker build -t shape_sorting .
docker run --rm -it shape_sorting

Type shape_sorting in the container shell to launch.

TUI Install / Uninstall

Installs the latest release binary — /usr/local/bin (macOS/Linux) or C:\Program Files\shape_sorting (Windows).

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ronilan/shape-sorting/main/install.sh | bash

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ronilan/shape-sorting/main/install.ps1 | iex

Uninstall the same way with uninstall.sh / uninstall.ps1.

Play

• Splash screen: pick your input mode — keyboard (🔑), mouse (🐭), or both (🔑 & 🐭). Press Enter (or click) to start.
• Sort shapes from the shape box into the drop boxes, by shape or by color.
• When the shape box is emptied, your time is shown.

Keyboard controls (🔑)

• Arrow keys — select
• X — pick up a shape
• V — place the carried shape
• Esc — cancel the carried shape / reset
• Space — switch
• Enter — go inside

Mouse controls (🐭)

• Drag & drop — carry shapes from the shape box into the drop boxes

In the mixed mode (🔑 & 🐭) either set of controls works.

Files

Your fastest game and total time wasted are saved between runs in a per-user file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/shape_sorting/.shape_sorting
• Linux: ~/.local/share/shape_sorting/.shape_sorting
• Windows: %APPDATA%\shape_sorting\.shape_sorting

The web version stores your stats in the browser's local storage. If the file can't be written (or the browser blocks storage), the game simply runs without saving — nothing crashes.

Other ways to install

Look before you run

If you prefer to inspect the installer scripts before running them, download first, then execute:

macOS / Linux:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ronilan/shape-sorting/main/install.sh -o install.sh
bash install.sh

Windows:

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ronilan/shape-sorting/main/install.ps1" -OutFile install.ps1
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File install.ps1

Manual install

macOS / Linux — download the binary for your platform from the latest release, then move it to /usr/local/bin (a centralized folder on the default PATH) and give it execution permissions:

sudo mv shape_sorting /usr/local/bin/
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/shape_sorting

Windows — download shape_sorting-terminal-windows.zip from the latest release, create a dedicated folder (e.g. C:\Program Files\shape_sorting\), place shape_sorting.exe inside it, then search Windows for "Environment Variables", edit the system variables, and append that folder to the system PATH.

Verify it works by opening a new terminal anywhere and typing shape_sorting. If the program responds, it is correctly placed.

Development

See Development and Development Environment Prerequisites

---

Fabriqué au Canada : Made in Canada 🇨🇦