writing-typescript

Writing TypeScript

Language-level TypeScript for this project: strict typing, parse-don't-validate at boundaries, Result types, Bun + Vite + Vitest. Frontend is Svelte 5 + SvelteKit 2, not React — defer to svelte-skills:* for everything Svelte-specific.

Scope routing

If you need to…	Read
Configure tsconfig.json, set up Bun/Vite, organize imports, file naming	references/code-style.md
Use unknown/generics/discriminated unions/type guards, narrow types, satisfies vs as	references/type-safety.md
Look up everyday patterns — Result types, Zod validation, async, custom errors, module organization	references/patterns.md
Audit code against Clean Code rules (functions, names, comments, general, tests)	references/clean-code.md
Write tests with Vitest (unit, async, mocking, coverage, boundary cases)	references/testing.md

House style — non-negotiable

• Strict mode everywhere. strict: true, noUncheckedIndexedAccess: true, exactOptionalPropertyTypes: true. No exceptions.
• unknown, never any. any opts out of the type system silently. unknown forces narrowing before use.
• Parse, don't validate, at boundaries. Untrusted data (HTTP response, env, message payload) gets a Zod parse — afterwards it's a typed value.
• Composition over inheritance. Small focused functions, types/interfaces for shape, no class hierarchies for business logic.
• satisfies for validation, as only as a last resort. as widens silently; satisfies preserves literal types AND verifies shape.
• bun for everything Node-level. Not npm, not pnpm, not yarn — bun install, bun run, bun test.
• No enums. Use literal union types (type Role = 'admin' | 'user'). Enums emit runtime code and don't narrow as cleanly.
• Result types over throw for expected failures. Throw for bugs; return Result<T, E> for expected failures (validation, not found, conflict).

Quick patterns

// Types — modern syntax, no `any`, prefer literal unions
type Role = 'admin' | 'user' | 'guest';
type User = { id: string; email: string; role: Role };

// Type guard — narrows unknown to a typed shape
function isUser(value: unknown): value is User {
	return typeof value === 'object' && value !== null && 'id' in value;
}

// Discriminated union — exhaustive switch with `never` check
type Result<T, E = Error> = { ok: true; value: T } | { ok: false; error: E };

function unwrap<T>(r: Result<T>): T {
	if (r.ok) return r.value;
	throw r.error;
}

// satisfies — verifies shape without widening
const ROLES = {
	admin: { canEdit: true, canDelete: true },
	user: { canEdit: true, canDelete: false },
	guest: { canEdit: false, canDelete: false },
} satisfies Record<Role, { canEdit: boolean; canDelete: boolean }>;
// ROLES.admin.canEdit is still typed as `true`, not `boolean`

Toolchain

bun install              # install deps from bun.lock
bun add <pkg>            # add a runtime dep
bun add -d <pkg>         # add a dev dep
bun run build            # build (vite)
bun run dev              # dev server (vite)
bun test                 # vitest
bun run lint             # eslint
bun run format           # prettier

Project layout

Location	Purpose	Notes
components/apps/frontend/	SvelteKit 2 application	+page.svelte routes, +page.ts loaders. See svelte-skills:sveltekit-structure.
packages/oxen_componets/	Shared Svelte 5 component library	Published via Bun workspaces. See svelte-skills:svelte-components.
packages/oxen_componets/vite.config.ts	Library build config	Bun + Vite.

Cross-skill boundaries

• svelte-skills:svelte-runes — $state, $derived, $effect, $props. Anything reactivity-related goes there.
• svelte-skills:sveltekit-structure — routes, layouts, error boundaries, SSR.
• svelte-skills:sveltekit-data-flow — load functions, form actions, +page.server.ts vs +page.ts.
• svelte-skills:sveltekit-remote-functions — .remote.ts files with command() / query() / form().
• svelte-skills:svelte-components — component composition, Bits UI / Ark UI / Melt UI patterns.
• svelte-skills:svelte-styling — scoped styles, :global, CSS custom properties.
• svelte-skills:svelte-template-directives — {@attach}, {@render}, {@const}.
• svelte-skills:layerchart-svelte5 — LayerChart snippets and tooltips.
• This skill is for TypeScript itself — types, language idioms, project tooling. If your question is about Svelte syntax, runes, or SvelteKit, read the sibling skill first.

Boy Scout rule

Every TypeScript change leaves the touched code a little cleaner. Not perfect — better.

• Rename a cryptic variable → clean-code.md § Names
• Delete commented-out code → clean-code.md § Comments (C5)
• Replace a magic number with a named constant → clean-code.md § General (G25)
• Extract a function that's doing two things → clean-code.md § Functions (F3, G30)

Keep changes proportional to the task. Don't refactor unrelated modules; do clean up what you're already editing.

Top gotchas

• as silently widens; satisfies preserves literals. const x = { foo: 1 } as { foo: number } loses 1 (becomes number). Use satisfies when you want both validation AND narrow types.
• Array<T>.includes(x) requires x: T. Narrowing-from-union doesn't work. Wrap in a type-predicate helper: function isRole(v: string): v is Role { return ROLES.includes(v as Role); }.
• tsconfig.json extends doesn't merge compilerOptions.paths. Child paths replace parent paths entirely. Re-declare everything in the child.
• import type with verbatimModuleSyntax + named exports breaks if you mix value and type imports. Use inline: import { type Foo, bar } from "mod".
• strictNullChecks: false is contagious. Without it, T silently means T | null | undefined for every type. Partial migrations leave types that lie about nullability — keep it true always.
• as const ≠ as Foo ≠ satisfies Foo. as const freezes + narrows to literals. as Foo asserts (lying allowed). satisfies Foo validates without widening. Use as const for lookup tables, satisfies for typed configs, never as without a comment explaining why.
• Mutable default parameters share state in arrow functions too. const f = (xs: number[] = []) => xs.push(1) reuses the same array. Use xs?: number[] and create inside.
• Bun-only APIs leak into shared code. Bun.file(), Bun.serve() aren't available in browser bundles. Frontend code must stay Bun-API-free.