--- title: "Run TypeScript Without Compiling" lang: "en" author: "Mohammad Abu Mattar" canonical: https://mkabumattar.com/post/run-typescript-without-compiling --- ![Blog post image for Run TypeScript Without Compiling - We can run TypeScript without compiling it to JavaScript. This is useful for debugging and testing. In this post, I will show you how to do it.](/_astro/hero.EI1J4T1U_1xifw3.webp) [Home](/)›[Blog](/blog)›[All Categories](/blog/categories)›[TypeScript](/blog/categories/typescript) Blog [Prev in TypeScriptCaching Strategies with Redis in Node.js and TypeScript](/blog/post/caching-strategies-with-redis-in-node-js-and-typescript)[Next in TypeScriptSetting up JWT Authentication in TypeScript with Express, MongoDB, Babel, Prettier, ESLint, and Husky - Part 2](/blog/post/setting-up-jwt-authentication-in-typescript-with-express-mongodb-babel-prettier-eslint-and-husky-part-2) [TypeScript](/blog/categories/typescript)[Node.js](/blog/categories/nodejs)[JavaScript](/blog/categories/javascript)[Development Tools](/blog/categories/development-tools) # Run TypeScript Without Compiling [Mohammad Abu Mattar](/authors/mohammad-abu-mattar)Published: 02 Dec 202202 Mins read02 Mins listen [Markdown for AI(opens in a new tab)](/post/run-typescript-without-compiling/index.md "Open the plain-Markdown version of this page, for pasting into an AI tool") TL;DR We can run TypeScript without compiling it to JavaScript. This is useful for debugging and testing. In this post, I will show you how to do it. Series [Programming Languages](/series/programming-languages)1/2 [NextTypeScript vs. JSDoc: Static Type Checking in JavaScript Compared](/blog/post/typescript-vs-jsdoc-exploring-the-pros-and-cons-of-static-type-checking-in-javascript) All posts in this series (2) Blog2 1. [Run TypeScript Without CompilingYou are here](/blog/post/run-typescript-without-compiling) 2. [TypeScript vs. JSDoc: Static Type Checking in JavaScript Compared](/blog/post/typescript-vs-jsdoc-exploring-the-pros-and-cons-of-static-type-checking-in-javascript) ### Run TypeScript Without Compiling Contents [Introduction](#introduction)[Set up a TypeScript project](#set-up-a-typescript-project)[Step 1: create a directory](#step-1-create-a-directory)[Step 2: initialize a Node.js project](#step-2-initialize-a-nodejs-project)[Step 3: install TypeScript and `@types/node`](#step-3-install-typescript-and-typesnode)[Step 4: initialize a TypeScript project](#step-4-initialize-a-typescript-project)[Step 5: create a TypeScript file](#step-5-create-a-typescript-file)[Step 6: example code](#step-6-example-code)[Step 7: run the TypeScript file](#step-7-run-the-typescript-file)[Conclusion](#conclusion)[References](#references) ## [Introduction](#introduction) In this post, I will show you how to run TypeScript without compiling it to JavaScript first. This is useful for debugging and testing. ## [Set up a TypeScript project](#set-up-a-typescript-project) ### [Step 1: create a directory](#step-1-create-a-directory) Create a directory for the project. Terminal window ``` 1# Create a directory2mkdir run-typescript-without-compiling3 4# Change directory5cd run-typescript-without-compiling ``` ### [Step 2: initialize a Node.js project](#step-2-initialize-a-nodejs-project) Initialize a Node.js project. Terminal window ``` 1# Initialize a Node.js project2yarn init -y ``` ### [Step 3: install TypeScript and `@types/node`](#step-3-install-typescript-and-typesnode) Install TypeScript and `@types/node`. Terminal window ``` 1# Install TypeScript and @types/node2yarn add -D typescript @types/node ``` ### [Step 4: initialize a TypeScript project](#step-4-initialize-a-typescript-project) Initialize a TypeScript project. Terminal window ``` 1# Initialize a TypeScript project2yarn tsc --init ``` ### [Step 5: create a TypeScript file](#step-5-create-a-typescript-file) Create a TypeScript file. Terminal window ``` 1# Create a src directory2mkdir src3 4# Create a TypeScript file5touch src/index.ts ``` ### [Step 6: example code](#step-6-example-code) Add the following code to the TypeScript file. src/index.ts ``` 1const sum = (a: number, b: number): number => a + b;2const subtract = (a: number, b: number): number => a - b;3const multiply = (a: number, b: number): number => a * b;4const divide = (a: number, b: number): number => a / b;5 6console.log(sum(1, 2));7console.log(subtract(1, 2));8console.log(multiply(1, 2));9console.log(divide(1, 2)); ``` ### [Step 7: run the TypeScript file](#step-7-run-the-typescript-file) Now, we will install `ts-node` and run the TypeScript file. Terminal window ``` 1# Install ts-node2yarn add -D ts-node ``` Add the following code to the `package.json` file. package.json ``` 1{2 ...3 "scripts": {4 "playground": "ts-node src/index.ts",5 "playground:watch": "nodemon -e ts -w . -x esr src/index.ts",6 "build": "tsc",7 "build:watch": "tsc -w",8 "build:debug": "tsc --sourceMap",9 "build:debug:watch": "tsc -w --sourceMap",10 "start": "node dist/index.js",11 "start:watch": "nodemon -e js -w dist -x esr dist/index.js"12 },13 ...14} ``` Note `nodemon` is a utility that will monitor for any changes in your source and automatically restart your server. You can install it using `yarn global add nodemon` or `npm install -g nodemon`. Run the TypeScript file. Terminal window ``` 1# Run the TypeScript file2yarn playground3 4# Output536-17280.5 ``` ## [Conclusion](#conclusion) In this post, I showed how to run TypeScript without first converting it to JavaScript. For testing and troubleshooting, that is helpful. ## [References](#references) - [TypeScript Official Website](https://www.typescriptlang.org/) - [TypeScript Documentation](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/) - [ts-node on npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/ts-node) - [ts-node GitHub Repository (TypeStrong/ts-node)](https://github.com/TypeStrong/ts-node) - [nodemon on npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/nodemon) - [nodemon Official Website](https://nodemon.io/) - [Node.js Official Website](https://nodejs.org/) - [Node.js Documentation](https://nodejs.org/en/docs/) - [Yarn Package Manager](https://yarnpkg.com/) - [TypeScript `tsconfig.json` Reference](https://www.typescriptlang.org/tsconfig) - [npm `package.json` Guide](https://docs.npmjs.com/cli/v7/configuring-npm/package-json) - [`@types/node` package on npm](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@types/node) (for Node.js type definitions) - [TypeScript Playground](https://www.typescriptlang.org/play) (for quick experiments) Was this useful? ## Tags [#TypeScript](/blog/tags/typescript)[#Node.js](/blog/tags/nodejs)[#Ts node](/blog/tags/ts-node)[#Nodemon](/blog/tags/nodemon)[#JavaScript](/blog/tags/javascript)[#Development Workflow](/blog/tags/development-workflow)[#Debugging](/blog/tags/debugging)[#Testing](/blog/tags/testing)[#TypeScript Execution](/blog/tags/typescript-execution) ## Share [Facebook](https://facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmkabumattar.com%2Fblog%2Fpost%2Frun-typescript-without-compiling "Share on Facebook")[Twitter](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet/?text=Run%20TypeScript%20Without%20Compiling&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmkabumattar.com%2Fblog%2Fpost%2Frun-typescript-without-compiling "Share on Twitter")[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmkabumattar.com%2Fblog%2Fpost%2Frun-typescript-without-compiling&title=Run%20TypeScript%20Without%20Compiling&summary=We%20can%20run%20TypeScript%20without%20compiling%20it%20to%20JavaScript.%20This%20is%20useful%20for%20debugging%20and%20testing.%20In%20this%20post%2C%20I%20will%20show%20you%20how%20to%20do%20it.&source=https://mkabumattar.com "Share on LinkedIn")[WhatsApp](https://wa.me/?text=Run%20TypeScript%20Without%20Compiling%20https%3A%2F%2Fmkabumattar.com%2Fblog%2Fpost%2Frun-typescript-without-compiling "Share on WhatsApp")[Telegram](https://t.me/share/url?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmkabumattar.com%2Fblog%2Fpost%2Frun-typescript-without-compiling&text=Run%20TypeScript%20Without%20Compiling "Share on Telegram")[Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/submit?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmkabumattar.com%2Fblog%2Fpost%2Frun-typescript-without-compiling&title=Run%20TypeScript%20Without%20Compiling "Share on Reddit")[Hacker News](http://news.ycombinator.com/submitlink?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmkabumattar.com%2Fblog%2Fpost%2Frun-typescript-without-compiling&t=Run%20TypeScript%20Without%20Compiling "Share on Hacker News")[Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmkabumattar.com%2Fblog%2Fpost%2Frun-typescript-without-compiling&media=&description=We%20can%20run%20TypeScript%20without%20compiling%20it%20to%20JavaScript.%20This%20is%20useful%20for%20debugging%20and%20testing.%20In%20this%20post%2C%20I%20will%20show%20you%20how%20to%20do%20it. 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