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How to set up a Node.js Typescript project well

2022-11-19

This post covers how to set up a project with Node.js and Typescript using eslint and vscode devcontainers using Docker.

This project makes use of eslint with airbnb styling and typescript support.

All linting errors can be automatically fixed (usually) by running npm run fix before you commit your changes.

Getting it running locally for development

Devcontainer + vscode

If you have Visual Studio Code and Docker installed then you can open this project using the Remote - Containers extension (ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers). Click the button at the bottom left of vscode, then 'Reopen in container'. You can now run the application using the vscode debugger.

Standard local install

Running npm run dev will build the development version in the dist folder and enable hot reloading. It will also open the application in a new browser tab automatically.

Running npm run build will create the production assets in the dist folder.

Devcontainer

In the .devcontainer folder you'll need three files.

base.Dockerfile

# [Choice] Node.js version (use -bullseye variants on local arm64/Apple Silicon): 18, 16, 14, 18-bullseye, 16-bullseye, 14-bullseye, 18-buster, 16-buster, 14-buster
ARG VARIANT=16-bullseye
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/vscode/devcontainers/javascript-node:0-${VARIANT}

# Install tslint, typescript. eslint is installed by javascript image
ARG NODE_MODULES="tslint-to-eslint-config typescript"
COPY library-scripts/meta.env /usr/local/etc/vscode-dev-containers
RUN su node -c "umask 0002 && npm install -g ${NODE_MODULES}" \
    && npm cache clean --force > /dev/null 2>&1

# [Optional] Uncomment this section to install additional OS packages.
# RUN apt-get update && export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive \
#     && apt-get -y install --no-install-recommends <your-package-list-here>

# [Optional] Uncomment if you want to install an additional version of node using nvm
# ARG EXTRA_NODE_VERSION=10
# RUN su node -c "source /usr/local/share/nvm/nvm.sh && nvm install ${EXTRA_NODE_VERSION}"

devcontainer.json

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// For format details, see https://aka.ms/devcontainer.json. For config options, see the README at:
// https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-dev-containers/tree/v0.238.0/containers/typescript-node
{
    "name": "Node.js & TypeScript",
    "build": {
        "dockerfile": "Dockerfile",
        // Update 'VARIANT' to pick a Node version: 18, 16, 14.
        // Append -bullseye or -buster to pin to an OS version.
        // Use -bullseye variants on local on arm64/Apple Silicon.
        "args": { 
            "VARIANT": "16-bullseye"
        }
    },

    // Configure tool-specific properties.
    "customizations": {
        // Configure properties specific to VS Code.
        "vscode": {
            // Add the IDs of extensions you want installed when the container is created.
            "extensions": [
                "dbaeumer.vscode-eslint"
            ]
        }
    },

    // Use 'forwardPorts' to make a list of ports inside the container available locally.
    "forwardPorts": [3000],

    // Use 'postCreateCommand' to run commands after the container is created.
    "postCreateCommand": "npm install",

    // Comment out to connect as root instead. More info: https://aka.ms/vscode-remote/containers/non-root.
    "remoteUser": "node"
}

Dockerfile

One important thing to note in this file is the installation of inotify-tools to the underlying Debian OS, as this is required for nodemon to be able to poll and do cold reloading.

# [Choice] Node.js version (use -bullseye variants on local arm64/Apple Silicon): 18, 16, 14, 18-bullseye, 16-bullseye, 14-bullseye, 18-buster, 16-buster, 14-buster
ARG VARIANT=16-bullseye
FROM mcr.microsoft.com/vscode/devcontainers/typescript-node:0-${VARIANT}

# [Optional] Uncomment this section to install additional OS packages.
RUN apt-get update && export DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive \
    && apt-get -y install --no-install-recommends inotify-tools

# [Optional] Uncomment if you want to install an additional version of node using nvm
# ARG EXTRA_NODE_VERSION=10
# RUN su node -c "source /usr/local/share/nvm/nvm.sh && nvm install ${EXTRA_NODE_VERSION}"

# [Optional] Uncomment if you want to install more global node packages
# RUN su node -c "npm install -g <your-package-list -here>"

Visual Studio Code Debugging

Within the .vscode folder you'll need to create this launch.json file:

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{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Launch via NPM",
            "request": "launch",
            "runtimeArgs": [
                "run",
                "dev"
            ],
            "runtimeExecutable": "npm",
            "skipFiles": [
                "<node_internals>/**"
            ],
            "type": "pwa-node",
            "stopOnEntry": true,
        }
    ]
}

Eslint

Create the following files:

.eslintignore

Assuming you're using git, this will be the same as your .gitignore file.

dist
node_modules

.eslintrc

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{
    "root": true,
    "parser": "@typescript-eslint/parser",
    "parserOptions": {
        "ecmaVersion": "latest",
        "sourceType": "module"
    },
    "env": {
        "browser": true,
        "node": true
    },
    "plugins": [
        "@typescript-eslint"
    ],
    "extends": [
        "airbnb-base",
        "eslint:recommended",
        "plugin:@typescript-eslint/eslint-recommended",
        "plugin:@typescript-eslint/recommended",
        "plugin:import/errors",
        "plugin:import/warnings",
        "plugin:import/typescript"
    ],
    "rules": {
        "import/extensions": [
            "error",
            "ignorePackages",
            {
              "js": "never",
              "jsx": "never",
              "ts": "never",
              "tsx": "never"
            }
        ]
    }
}

TS support, plus cold reloading

The structure for this application is to have a src folder that contains all .ts files. The files will be compiled to a dist folder for deploying to a server.

Create the following files:

nodemon.json

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{
    "watch": ["src"],
    "ext": ".ts,.js",
    "ignore": [],
    "exec": "ts-node .src/index.ts"
}

tsconfig.json

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{
    "compilerOptions": {
      "target": "es2016",
      "lib": ["es6"],
      "module": "commonjs",
      "rootDir": "src",
      "resolveJsonModule": true,
      "allowJs": false,
      "outDir": "dist",
      "esModuleInterop": true,
      "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
      "strict": true,
      "noImplicitAny": true,
      "strictNullChecks": true,
      "strictFunctionTypes": true,
      "strictPropertyInitialization": true,
      "noImplicitThis": true,
      "noUnusedLocals": true,
      "noUnusedParameters": true,
      "noImplicitReturns": true,
      "noFallthroughCasesInSwitch": true,
      "noImplicitOverride": true,
      "skipLibCheck": true
    }
}

package.json

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{
  "name": "your app name",
  "type": "commonjs",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "",
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "nodemon --legacy-watch",
    "lint": "eslint . --ext .ts",
    "fix": "eslint . --ext .ts --fix",
    "build": "rimraf ./dist && tsc",
    "start": "npm run build && node dist/index.js"
  },
  "repository": {
    "type": "git",
    "url": ""
  },
  "keywords": [],
  "author": "",
  "license": "ISC",
  "devDependencies": {
    "@types/node": "^18.11.9",
    "@typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin": "^5.43.0",
    "@typescript-eslint/parser": "^5.43.0",
    "eslint": "^8.28.0",
    "eslint-config-airbnb-base": "^15.0.0",
    "eslint-plugin-import": "^2.26.0",
    "nodemon": "^2.0.20",
    "rimraf": "^3.0.2",
    "ts-node": "10.9.1",
    "typescript": "^4.9.3"
  }
}