Core algorithm: Frequency map subset check

For standard unscrambling, we convert your input letters into a character frequency map, then check each dictionary word to see if your map has enough of every required letter. This correctly handles duplicates and runs in O(n × L) time.

// Build letter frequency map
function freqMap(s) {
  const m = {};
  for (const c of s.toLowerCase())
    m[c] = (m[c] || 0) + 1;
  return m;
}

// Check if word can be formed from input letters
function canForm(wordMap, inputMap) {
  for (const [l, n] of Object.entries(wordMap))
    if ((inputMap[l] || 0) < n) return false;
  return true;
}

Phase 3: Wildcard expansion

When your input contains ? characters, we expand each wildcard into all 26 possible letters, generating a set of input variants. A word matches if it can be formed from any one variant — efficiently handling blank Scrabble tiles.

// Expand wildcards into all letter combinations
function expandWildcards(letters) {
  if (!letters.includes('?')) return [letters];
  const variants = [];
  for (const c of 'abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz')
    variants.push(...expandWildcards(
      letters.replace('?', c)
    ));
  return [...new Set(variants)];
}

Crossword pattern matching

Crossword mode uses regex pattern matching. Each ? becomes a wildcard character class, and we test every dictionary word against the resulting pattern for exact positional matches.

Wordle constraint solving

Wordle helper mode applies three constraint types simultaneously:

• Green letters must appear in that exact position
• Yellow letters must appear somewhere, but not in the guessed position
• Grey letters must not appear anywhere in the word

Every 5-letter word in the dictionary is tested against all active constraints simultaneously — typically returning results in under 2ms.

Dictionary

Phase 3 ships with 3,500+ curated words covering 2–12 letters, including all common Scrabble words, everyday vocabulary, and targeted word-game terms. Phase 4 will integrate a 170,000-word dictionary loaded from a compressed static file.