Getting started

#Install from npm

ts-r is in alpha. Releases are published on the npm dist-tag next, with native binaries for macOS (arm64, x64), Linux (arm64, x64; glibc and musl) and Windows (arm64, x64). Install the ts-r launcher with every tool, or one tool on its own:

npm install --save-dev ts-r@next               # every tool and the ts-r launcher
npm install --save-dev @ts-r.dev/check@next    # just ts-r-check (or run, dev, build, lint, lsp)

npm installs only the binary for your platform. @ts-r.dev/check and @ts-r.dev/lsp carry TypeScript's lib files, so ts-r-check works as installed. Then check what the launcher sees:

npx ts-r doctor

It prints where each tool was found, the cache directory and its size, and the nearest tsconfig.json and package.json.

Each release also has archives of every binary, with SHA256SUMS, on the GitHub releases page.

#Build from source

Building from source takes one cargo build.

#Prerequisites

• Rust. The repo pins its toolchain in rust-toolchain.toml (Rust 1.93.1). With rustup installed, cargo picks it up automatically.
• Node.js 22.15 or later, for ts-r-run (it runs your code on the Node you have), for ts-r-lint when your ESLint config is a JavaScript file (Node evaluates it once and the result is cached), and for ts-r-lsp when it runs your project's own TypeScript.
• git.

#Build

git clone https://github.com/Webb-Ventures/typescript-rust
cd typescript-rust
cargo build --release

On a machine that's busy with other work, cargo build --release -j 4 keeps the build to four jobs.

The binaries land in target/release/:

Put them on your PATH:

export PATH="$PWD/target/release:$PATH"

Then check what the launcher sees with ts-r doctor.

#Lib files for ts-r-check

ts-r-check needs TypeScript's lib files (lib.es5.d.ts and friends). They aren't in the repo. Fetch the pinned version once:

cargo xtask upstream sync --minimal

Or point TS_R_LIB_DIR at a directory that has them. ts-r-check looks in TS_R_LIB_DIR, then next to its own binary, then in the synced copy under target/upstream/. Details are in the ts-r-check notes.

#A first command for each tool

Each tool reads the config you already have. These use only flags the tools accept today (with a tool's own package installed, run it through npx, for example npx ts-r-run src/main.ts):

ts-r-run src/main.ts                     # instead of tsx src/main.ts
ts-r-run --watch src/server.ts           # restart when a file of the module graph changes
ts-r-dev .                               # dev server on http://127.0.0.1:5173/
ts-r-build src/index.ts --bundle --outfile=dist/index.js --sourcemap
ts-r-check -p tsconfig.json              # type check, tsc's output format
ts-r-lint src                            # lint with your eslint.config.*, .oxlintrc.json or biome.json
ts-r-lsp status                          # the editor daemon for this workspace, as JSON

Through the launcher (the ts-r package) the same commands are ts-r run, ts-r dev, ts-r build, ts-r check, ts-r lint and ts-r lsp; it passes the arguments on unchanged. ts-r ci runs check, lint and build in parallel.

Each tool has its own page with what works today, its flags, and how it fits next to the tool it replaces:

• ts-r-dev: dev server, instead of vite dev
• ts-r-build: bundler, instead of esbuild or vite build
• ts-r-check: type checker, instead of tsc --noEmit
• ts-r-lint: linter, instead of ESLint or oxlint
• ts-r-run: runner, instead of tsx or ts-node
• ts-r-lsp: language server, instead of tsserver and the ESLint server

#The editor extension

The VS Code and Cursor extension lives in editors/vscode/. It isn't packaged as a .vsix yet and hasn't been tested inside a running VS Code, so there is no one-click install. What it does and how it is tested are in its notes. Editors that speak LSP can run ts-r-lsp --stdio directly.

#Use one tool at a time

No ts-r tool needs another ts-r tool. Pick the one that hurts most today and run it next to the rest of your setup:

• Keep tsc in CI and try ts-r-run for scripts.
• Keep ESLint in the editor and try ts-r-lint in a pre-commit hook.
• Keep vite build and try ts-r-dev for local development.

Going back means deleting one line. Before you rely on a tool, check what works today and the measured numbers.