ts-r
  • Error
  • Reported by the type checker

TS2703

The operand of a 'delete' operator must be a property reference.

delete is applied to something that isn't a property, such as a variable. Only properties can be deleted; set a variable to undefined instead.

What it means

The delete operator removes a property from an object. Its operand must be a property access such as obj.key or obj[key].

Example

index.ts
let value = 1;
delete (value + 1);
export {};
ts-r-check -p tsconfig.json --pretty false ts-r output
index.ts(2,8): error TS2703: The operand of a 'delete' operator must be a property reference.

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

  • Delete a property: delete obj.key.
  • To clear a variable, assign undefined to it (and include undefined in its type).