SpeedScript is a word processor originally printed as a type-in MLX machine language listing in 1984-85 issues of Compute!

Approximately 5 KB in length, it provided many of the same features as commercial word processing packages of the 8-bit era, such as PaperClip and Bank Street Writer.

published Scriptor, a word processor written by staff writer Charles Brannon in BASIC and assembly language, as a type-in program for the Atari 8-bit computers.

Publications later released book/disk combinations that contained the complete commented source code (as well as the machine language in MLX format) for each platform.

When the Commodore 128 was released, featuring an 80-column display, many users requested an updated version of SpeedScript to take advantage of this new capability.

's Gazette published SpeedScript-80, a short patch for SpeedScript 3.0 or higher, which enabled the use of the VDC's new 80-column capabilities on a Commodore 128 running in 64 mode.

A native version for the C128 called SpeedScript 128, written by Bob Kodadek, was finally released in October 1987 Compute!

's Gazette published Instant 80, a utility for the C64 version of SpeedScript that allowed 80-column document previewing (though not editing) on a standard C64.

[26] This external utility accepted SpeedScript files (as well as those from compatible word processors, such as PaperClip) and spell-checked them against a user-defined dictionary.

ScriptRead[29] was developed to identify and preview SpeedScript documents on a disk, with the ability to scratch any files no longer needed.

In a review of four word processors, The Transactor in May 1986 praised SpeedScript as "extremely sophisticated", citing its large text buffer, logical cursor navigation, and undo command.

While criticizing its lack of right justification, the magazine concluded that SpeedScript was not only "an easy winner" among budget-priced word processors, but also "a serious contender even when compared with the higher priced programs".