Building on our previous blog post on Understanding Types in TypeScript, in this post, we will explore how to configure the TypeScript compiler to enforce strict type checking and catch potential errors at compile-time. We will also cover some advanced type-related features of TypeScript, such as type aliases, interfaces, and generics. By the end of this post, you should have a better understanding of how to use TypeScript's powerful type system to write safer and more maintainable code.

What is tsconfig.json?

The tsconfig.json file is a configuration file used by the TypeScript compiler to determine how to compile TypeScript code into JavaScript. It contains a set of options that control the behavior of the compiler, such as which files to include or exclude, which version of ECMAScript to target, and whether to emit source maps.

By default, the TypeScript compiler looks for a tsconfig.json file in the root directory of your project. If it finds one, it uses the options specified in the file to compile your TypeScript code.

Basic Configuration Options

Let's start by looking at some of the basic configuration options that you can specify in your tsconfig.json file.

compilerOptions

The compilerOptions property is the most important property in the tsconfig.json file. It contains a set of options that control how the TypeScript compiler behaves. Here are some of the most commonly used options:

target: Specifies the version of ECMAScript that the compiler should target. For example, es5, es6, es2015, es2016, es2017, es2018, es2019, es2020, es2021, or esnext.
module: Specifies the module system that the compiler should use. For example, commonjs, amd, es2015, es2020, or esnext.
outDir: Specifies the output directory for compiled JavaScript files.
sourceMap: Specifies whether to emit source maps for compiled JavaScript files.
strict: Enables strict type-checking options.
esModuleInterop: Enables compatibility with CommonJS modules.

Here is an example compilerOptions section:

"compilerOptions": {
  "target": "es2015",
  "module": "commonjs",
  "outDir": "./dist",
  "sourceMap": true,
  "strict": true,
  "esModuleInterop": true
}

include and exclude

The include and exclude properties are used to specify which files should be included or excluded from the compilation process. The include property is an array of file patterns that should be included, while the exclude property is an array of file patterns that should be excluded.

Here is an example include and exclude section:

"include": [
  "src/**/*"
],
"exclude": [
  "node_modules",
  "**/*.spec.ts"
]

This configuration will include all files in the src directory and its subdirectories, but exclude the node_modules directory and any files that end in .spec.ts.

Advanced Configuration Options

In addition to the basic configuration options, there are also a number of advanced configuration options that you can use to further customize the behavior of the TypeScript compiler.

paths

The paths property is used to specify a set of module name mappings. This is useful when you want to use a different import path than the actual file path. For example, you might want to use import { foo } from 'my-lib' instead of import { foo } from '../../lib/my-lib'.

Here is an example paths section:

"paths": {
  "my-lib": ["../../lib/my-lib"]
}

baseUrl

The baseUrl property is used to specify the base directory for resolving non-relative module names. For example, if you have a module named my-lib and you specify a baseUrl of src, the compiler will look for the module in src/my-lib.

Here is an example baseUrl section:

"baseUrl": "./src"

rootDir

The rootDir property is used to specify the root directory of your TypeScript project. This is useful when you have multiple projects in the same repository and you want to specify a different root directory for each project.

Here is an example rootDir section:

"rootDir": "./src"

noEmit

The noEmit property is used to disable emitting output files from the compiler. This is useful when you want to check your code for errors without actually compiling it.

Here is an example noEmit section:

"noEmit": true

Conclusion

In this blog post, we have explored the tsconfig.json file and learned how to configure it to suit our needs. We have covered the basic configuration options, such as compilerOptions, include, and exclude, as well as some of the more advanced options, such as paths, baseUrl, rootDir, and noEmit.

By customizing the tsconfig.json file, you can tailor the behavior of the TypeScript compiler to fit your specific needs and preferences. This can help you write better code and improve the overall quality of your TypeScript projects.