Alexis Kestler
As a developer, staying up-to-date with the latest libraries and runtimes for your language of choice is critical for building efficient, scalable applications. TypeScript has exploded in popularity over the last few years, with Stack Overflow‘s 2023 survey showing it is now used by over 38% of respondents.
As a TypeScript geek myself, I want to share my perspective on the top 13 libraries and runtimes that every developer should know about. These tools can seriously level up your TypeScript game! Let‘s dive in.
Why TypeScript Matters
Before we get into the libraries themselves, it‘s worth reflecting on why TypeScript has become so integral to modern JavaScript development.
TypeScript provides static typing on top of regular JavaScript code. This means you explicitly declare variable and function types, like string or number, when defining them.
The key benefit is type safety – the compiler will throw errors if you try to assign the wrong data type somewhere, or pass an invalid argument to a function. This allows you to catch a whole class of bugs before you even run your code!
As applications grow larger, type safety becomes critical for maintaining complex logic and data flows. It makes refactoring safer too.
TypeScript also offers top-notch IDE tooling, autocompletion, and helpful error messages. For large enterprises building mission-critical apps, its benefits are invaluable.
No wonder it‘s one of the fastest growing languages according to RedMonk‘s analysis. The TypeScript train is flying and these libraries help you take advantage of it.
Zod – Powerful Data Validation
Zod provides an elegant way to declare validation schemas for your data models and inputs. You define a schema object, like:
const userSchema = z.object({
name: z.string(),
age: z.number()
});Then validate values against it:
const result = userSchema.safeParse({ name: "Bob", age: "twenty" }); // ERRORThe major benefit is eliminating code repetition – you declare once and reuse everywhere. It‘s hugely powerful for validating API payloads, form inputs, database models – anything!
Zod schemas also double as TypeScript types, generating correctly typed functions. So you get end-to-end type safety.
The library is very lightweight at just 8kB gzipped. It has no dependencies either. Overall Zod is my top choice for bulletproof data validation.
Fastest Validator – Blazing Performance
Validating data is a common task in applications. Fastest Validator provides another great validation library optimized for raw speed.
It uses code generation rather than runtime reflection so can validate over 8 million objects per second! Of course, that kind of performance is mostly useful for high-load systems.
But it‘s also superbly easy to use like Zod. Define a schema:
const schema = {
name: { type: "string", min: 2 },
age: { type: "number", positive: true }
}And validate:
const obj = {
name: "Bob",
age: 27
};
validator.validate(obj, schema)
? "valid"
: "invalid";For most uses cases Zod is preferable in my opinion. But if you have intense validation needs, Fastest Validator is a great alternative.
GoJS – Interactive Diagramming
Visualizations are often easier to grasp than raw code. GoJS allows building interactive diagrams and graphs using TypeScript and React.
It has drag-and-drop nodes, customizable layouts, tooltips and other features you‘d expect from a quality diagramming library. You can build flowcharts, org charts, design tools – most custom graphics.
The documentation is extensive with examples for common use cases. Licenses start from $519/year for commercial use.
For building advanced interactive visualizations, GoJS is the leading TypeScript option out there today.
TypeScript Data Types with Type Fest
TypeScript depends on good type definitions. Type Fest provides a huge collection of high-quality TypeScript types for common JavaScript APIs and data structures.
It has types for Array, Object, RegExp, Map, Set, Promise and many more. You can import just what you need into your project.
For example:
// Import array types
import { ArrayElement, ArrayNonEmpty } from ‘type-fest‘;
// Use in your code
function getFirstElement(arr: ArrayNonEmpty<ArrayElement>): ArrayElement {
return arr[0];
}Rather than writing your own types, you can leverage the expertise of Type Fest‘s definitions. It brings the collective experience of the TS community to your fingertips!
Jest – Delightful JavaScript Testing
Testing is an important practice for producing high-quality applications. Jest is the top choice for testing TypeScript and JavaScript projects.
Its API is beautifully designed to be fluid and intuitive. Jest provides everything you need built-in – assertions, mocks, spies, coverage reports, etc.
Here‘s an example test:
test(‘uppercase string‘, () => {
const input = ‘hello‘;
const result = uppercaser(input);
expect(result).toBe(‘HELLO‘);
});The simple declarative style makes tests a joy to write. Jest also parallelizes test runs to maximize performance.
For enterprise apps, Jest can be configured to find tests based on filename conventions like moduleName.test.ts. This keeps things organized at scale.
Overall Jest hits the sweet spot between usability and flexibility. I‘m a big fan!
TypeDoc – Effortless Documentation
Good documentation is crucial for sustainable long-term code maintenance. TypeDoc analyzes your TypeScript source code and generates high-quality documentation in HTML or JSON formats.
The hardest part of docs is often just writing them. TypeDoc automates the process by pulling comments and type info directly from your source files.
For example:
/**
* Add two numbers together.
*/
function sum(a: number, b: number) {
return a + b;
}Produces:
You can even use JSDoc syntax for richer annotations. The docs look great out of the box with themes and search built-in.
TypeDoc saves massive effort over manual documentation approaches. The docs also automatically stay in sync with code changes. It‘s a lifesaver for large TS projects!
Bun – Blazing Fast TypeScript Runtime
TypeScript needs to be compiled to plain JavaScript before it can run in browsers and Node.js. Bun provides an alternative runtime that understands TS directly.
The key benefit is lightning fast start up time – about 3-4x faster than Node according to Bun‘s benchmarks. It implements a top-notch compiler pipeline under the hood.
Bun also includes a package manager, transpiler, and bundler right out of the box. Everything you need for a modern web project in one neat toolchain.
The catch is that Bun is relatively new, so you may encounter missing features or bugs compared to mature platforms like Node. But for greenfield TS projects, it‘s definitely worth considering.
The pace of innovation shows no sign of slowing down as the Bun community grows. Exciting times ahead!
Deno – Secure TypeScript Runtime
Like Bun, Deno provides a runtime for TS that doesn‘t require transpiling to JS first. It‘s created by Ryan Dahl, the original inventor of Node.js.
Deno focuses on security and developer experience. All scripts run in a sandbox by default with no file/network access unless explicitly allowed. This prevents malicious code execution.
It also bundles an excellent set of built-in tools like a test runner, code formatter, and linter. Configuration is minimal – just point Deno at a .ts file to start running it.
While Deno hasn‘t yet caught up with Node.js in terms of ecosystem maturity, it improves the developer experience in many ways. Definitely give it a look for your next project!
Prettier – Opinionated Code Formatting
Consistent code style is important for readability and collaboration. Prettier takes the effort out of formatting by auto-formatting your code based on opinionated rules.
It supports TypeScript, JavaScript, JSON, HTML, CSS and more. Just run Prettier on save and you‘ll never have to think about code style again!
The key benefit of Prettier over ESLint styles is that there‘s no decision fatigue – you don‘t spend time tweaking configs. Prettier handles it for you.
This allows teams to stop bikeshedding over trivial style preferences and focus on actual problems. It‘s a godsend for enforcing consistency!
Prisma – Next-Gen TypeScript ORM
Interacting with databases is a major part of most web apps. Prisma provides a next-gen ORM for TypeScript that simplifies database workflows.
It replaces tedious boilerplate with a declarative API:
const user = await prisma.user.update({
where: { id: 1 },
data: { name: ‘Alice‘ }
})Prisma also integrates directly with TS types. It generates TypeScript interfaces for your models allowing autocompletion when querying.
Additional features like migrations, relation management, and visual data browsing setup a truly enjoyable database experience. Prisma is absolutely worth checking out.
Phaser – Fun 2D Game Development
For a change of pace, Phaser allows building HTML5 games with TypeScript and JavaScript. It uses the Canvas API for rendering.
Phaser handles fundamentals like animations, cameras, sprites, sounds and input handling so you can focus on game logic. It has an active community producing plugins and tutorials.
Here‘s a simple example:
const config: GameConfig = {
width: 640,
height: 480,
scene: SampleScene
};
const game = new Game(config);While you won‘t build the next Fortnite with Phaser, it enables dipping your toes into game dev without learning complex 3D graphics APIs. Give it a try for a fun weekend project!
Tiny Invariant – Helpful Runtime Checks
Tiny Invariant provides a lightweight way to add runtime checks and validations to your code:
import invariant from ‘tiny-invariant‘;
function invert(matrix: number[][]) {
invariant(matrix.length === matrix[0].length, ‘Matrix must be square‘);
// ... rest of fn
}It‘s like console.assert() but with proper error messages. Invariants help document assumptions in your code.
The library is tiny, well-typed, and dependency-free. If you find yourself debugging at 3am because some unexpected condition occurred, Tiny Invariant is there to help!
ESBuild – Lightning Fast TypeScript Bundler
As frontends grow, bundling all your code into slim packages becomes important. esbuild provides by far the fastest bundling experience available today.
It uses Go and Rust under the hood to achieve blazing speeds – often 10-100x faster than alternatives. Here‘s a quick example:
const { build } = require(‘esbuild‘);
build({
// entry points
entryPoints: [‘app.ts‘],
// output dir
outdir: ‘dist‘,
// bundle format
format: ‘esm‘
}).catch(() => process.exit(1));For large apps, esbuild can massively cut iteration times improving developer experience. It has a simple CLI and Node API available.
The only downside is limited plugin support currently. But for sheer speed, esbuild dominates the field.
Transform Your TypeScript Skills
That wraps up my overview of essential TypeScript libraries and runtimes for 2022! Here are some key takeaways:
- Leverage types and validation with Zod and Fastest Validator
- Build interactive diagrams with GoJS
- Access community type definitions using Type Fest
- Write tests with Jest and auto-generate docs with TypeDoc
- Speed up apps using Bun and Deno runtimes
- Format code with Prettier and access databases with Prisma
- Have fun making games with Phaser
- Add runtime checks using Tiny Invariant
- Bundle apps super fast with esbuild
I hope you found some useful tools to level up your TypeScript game! Let me know if you have any other favorite libraries I should check out. Happy coding!
