Initialize a project to work with Typescript

Initialize Your Project #

Create a new directory for your project and navigate into it.

Run npm init -y to create a package.json file with default values.

Install TypeScript #

Install TypeScript globally (optional)

npm install -g typescript

Install TypeScript in your project as a development dependency:

npm install --save-dev typescript

Create a TypeScript Configuration File #

Run tsc --init to create a tsconfig.json file in your project. This file is used to configure TypeScript compiler options.

Edit the tsconfig.json file to suit your project needs. A recommended configuration include:

• "target": "es2016": Set the ECMAScript target version.
• "module": "commonjs": Set the module code generation method.
• "rootDir": "./src": Specify the root directory of your source files.
• "outDir": "./dist": Specify the output directory for the compiled JavaScript files.

Install TypeScript Definitions (if needed) #

If you’re using libraries like Express, you may need to install TypeScript definitions for them, e.g., npm install --save-dev @types/express.

Write TypeScript Code #

Create .ts files in the src directory.

Compile TypeScript #

Run the TypeScript compiler using tsc. This will compile your .ts files to .js files based on your tsconfig.json settings.

tsc

After compiling, you can run your JavaScript code using Node.js, e.g., node dist/app.js.

Optional #

Automating Compilation #

Automate the TypeScript compilation process by adding a script in your package.json file:

"scripts": {
"build": "tsc"
}

Now, you can run npm run build to compile your TypeScript code.

Using a Task Runner or Bundler #

For larger projects, use task runners like Gulp or Webpack for more complex build processes.