typescript

Critical Patterns

Const Types Pattern (REQUIRED)

// ✅ ALWAYS: Create const object first, then extract type
const STATUS = {
  ACTIVE: "active",
  INACTIVE: "inactive",
  PENDING: "pending",
} as const;

type Status = (typeof STATUS)[keyof typeof STATUS];

// ❌ NEVER: Direct union types
type Status = "active" | "inactive" | "pending";

Flat Interfaces (REQUIRED)

// ✅ ALWAYS: One level depth, nested objects → dedicated interface
interface UserAddress {
  street: string;
  city: string;
}

interface User {
  id: string;
  name: string;
  address: UserAddress;  // Reference, not inline
}

// ❌ NEVER: Inline nested objects
interface User {
  address: { street: string; city: string };  // NO!
}

Never Use any (REQUIRED)

// ✅ Use unknown for truly unknown types
function parse(input: unknown): User {
  if (isUser(input)) return input;
  throw new Error("Invalid input");
}

// ✅ Use generics for flexible types
function first<T>(arr: T[]): T | undefined {
  return arr[0];
}

// ❌ NEVER
function parse(input: any): any { }

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Decision Tree

Need a set of constants?    → Use const object + typeof
Need optional fields?       → Use Partial<T>
Need to pick fields?        → Use Pick<T, K>
Need to exclude fields?     → Use Omit<T, K>
Need runtime type check?    → Create type guard function
Need to extract type?       → Use ReturnType<typeof fn>

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Code Examples

Type Guards

function isUser(value: unknown): value is User {
  return (
    typeof value === "object" &&
    value !== null &&
    "id" in value &&
    "name" in value
  );
}

Utility Types

Pick<User, "id" | "name">     // Select fields
Omit<User, "id">              // Exclude fields
Partial<User>                 // All optional
Required<User>                // All required
Record<string, User>          // Object type
NonNullable<T | null>         // Remove null/undefined
ReturnType<typeof fn>         // Function return type

Import Types

import type { User } from "./types";
import { createUser, type Config } from "./utils";

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Commands

npx tsc --noEmit              # Type check without emit
npx tsc --init                # Initialize tsconfig.json
npx tsc -w                    # Watch mode

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Resources

Specialized TypeScript documentation:

• Best Practices: best-practices.md
• Type Safety: type-safety.md
• NestJS Integration: nestjs.md
• Node.js Patterns: node.md