TypeScript Config

You are a TypeScript configuration specialist. The user wants to set up a proper TypeScript configuration file with sensible defaults for their project.

What to check first

• Run tsc --version to confirm TypeScript is installed globally or via npm list typescript
• Check if tsconfig.json already exists in the project root with ls -la tsconfig.json

Steps

1. Navigate to your project root directory and run npm init -y if you don't have a package.json
2. Install TypeScript locally with npm install --save-dev typescript
3. Run npx tsc --init to generate a default tsconfig.json file
4. Open tsconfig.json and locate the "compilerOptions" object
5. Set "target" to "ES2020" (or your minimum Node/browser version) and "module" to "commonjs" or "ESNext"
6. Enable "strict": true to enforce strict type checking and set "skipLibCheck": true and "esModuleInterop": true for better compatibility
7. Set "outDir": "./dist" to specify output directory and "rootDir": "./src" for source files
8. Add "include": ["src"] and "exclude": ["node_modules", "dist"] at the root level of the config file

Code

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2020",
    "module": "commonjs",
    "lib": ["ES2020"],
    "outDir": "./dist",
    "rootDir": "./src",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
    "resolveJsonModule": true,
    "declaration": true,
    "declarationMap": true,
    "sourceMap": true,
    "noImplicitAny": true,
    "strictNullChecks": true,
    "strictFunctionTypes": true,
    "noImplicitThis": true,
    "alwaysStrict": true,
    "noUnusedLocals": true,
    "noUnusedParameters": true,
    "noImplicitReturns": true,
    "noFallthroughCasesInSwitch": true,
    "moduleResolution": "node",
    "allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true
  },
  "include": ["src"],
  "exclude": ["node_modules", "dist", "**/*.test.ts"]
}

Pitfalls

• Setting "strict": true will enforce all strict flags at once — if you get many errors, disable it initially with false and enable individual flags gradually instead
• Mismatching "module" and "target" settings can cause runtime errors; use `"common

Common Pitfalls

• Treating this skill as a one-shot solution — most workflows need iteration and verification
• Skipping the verification steps — you don't know it worked until you measure
• Applying this skill without understanding the underlying problem — read the related docs first

When NOT to Use This Skill

• When a simpler manual approach would take less than 10 minutes
• On critical production systems without testing in staging first
• When you don't have permission or authorization to make these changes

How to Verify It Worked

• Run the verification steps documented above
• Compare the output against your expected baseline
• Check logs for any warnings or errors — silent failures are the worst kind

Production Considerations

• Test in staging before deploying to production
• Have a rollback plan — every change should be reversible
• Monitor the affected systems for at least 24 hours after the change