TypeScript

Compile Commands

Compile TypeScript to JavaScript with tsc. Learn watch mode, incremental builds, and compilation targets for different environments from browsers to Node.js.

10 commands

Pro Tips

Use 'tsc --watch' for continuous compilation during development — only recompiles changed files.

Use 'tsc --noEmit' to type-check without generating JavaScript — perfect for CI validation.

Enable 'incremental: true' in tsconfig for faster subsequent builds using cached type information.

Common Mistakes

tsc doesn't bundle code. Use a bundler (Vite, esbuild, webpack) for production builds — tsc is for type-checking.

Changing 'target' affects which JavaScript features are downleveled. Ensure your target matches your runtime.

Commands

Compile project

$ tsc

Compile project using tsconfig.json in current directory.

Compile specific file

$ tsc file.ts

Compile a single TypeScript file to JavaScript.

Watch mode

$ tsc --watch

Compile and automatically recompile on file changes.

Compile with output directory

$ tsc --outDir ./dist

Redirect compiled output to specific directory.

Compile to single file

$ tsc --outFile ./dist/bundle.js

Concatenate output to single file (AMD/System modules only).

Use specific config

$ tsc --project tsconfig.production.json

Compile using a specific tsconfig file.

Target ES version

$ tsc --target ES2022

Set ECMAScript target version (ES5, ES6, ES2020, ES2022, ESNext).

Set module system

$ tsc --module NodeNext

Specify module system (CommonJS, ES2015, ESNext, NodeNext).

Generate source maps

$ tsc --sourceMap

Generate .js.map files for debugging.

Stop on error

$ tsc --noEmitOnError

Don't emit JavaScript if type errors are found.