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TypeScript Setup

Install TypeScript, then compile .ts files to .js with the compiler tsc. A tsconfig.json configures how your project is checked and built.

Install and initialize

bash

npm install -D typescript
npx tsc --init      # creates tsconfig.json
npx tsc             # compiles the project to .js

tsc --init generates a tsconfig.json with sensible defaults; tsc reads it and compiles every file in the project.

Run a file quickly while learning

Compiling then running is fine for projects, but during learning it's handy to run a .ts file directly with tsx (no separate compile step):

bash

npx tsx app.ts       # type-aware, runs immediately

Watch mode

tsc --watch recompiles automatically on every save — useful during active development for instant feedback.

bash

npx tsc --watch

In real projects

Note: In frameworks (React, Angular, NestJS, Next.js) the build tool (Vite, webpack, esbuild, or the framework CLI) handles TypeScript for you — you rarely call tsc directly. You still keep a tsconfig.json to configure the type checker.

Tip: For learning, npx tsx file.ts is the fastest loop. For projects, let your framework's tooling compile TypeScript and use tsc --noEmit in CI purely as a type-check gate — catching type errors without producing output files.

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