ts-r
  • Error
  • Reported by the type checker

TS2469

The '{0}' operator cannot be applied to type 'symbol'.

An arithmetic or comparison operator is applied to a symbol. Symbols can't be converted to numbers; use the symbol's description or compare with ===.

What it means

Symbols throw a TypeError when converted to a number or string implicitly. Operators like +, -, < or unary + on a value of type symbol are reported.

Example

index.ts
const tag = Symbol("tag");
export const n = +tag;
ts-r-check -p tsconfig.json --pretty false ts-r output
index.ts(2,19): error TS2469: The '+' operator cannot be applied to type 'symbol'.

Recorded by node scripts/verify-examples.mjs with ts-r built from commit 6deaf01. The example uses the default tsconfig: strict, target: es2022, module: esnext, moduleResolution: bundler.

How to fix

  • Use tag.description or String(tag) if you need text.
  • Compare symbols with ===, which works without conversion.