Compilation Optimization

In this tutorial, we'll learn how to optimize TypeScript compilation for better performance and faster build times. We'll cover various compiler options and the incremental build feature in TypeScript.

Compiler Options

TypeScript provides several compiler options that can help you optimize the compilation process. These options can be set in your tsconfig.json file. Some useful compiler options for optimization are:

--noEmitOnError

This option prevents TypeScript from emitting output files if any errors are encountered during the compilation process. This can save time when fixing errors.

JSON

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "noEmitOnError": true
  }
}

--skipLibCheck

This option skips type checking for declaration files (.d.ts). Skipping type checking for external libraries can significantly reduce compilation time.

JSON

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "skipLibCheck": true
  }
}

--incremental

This option enables the incremental build feature in TypeScript, which caches compilation information between builds. This can lead to faster subsequent builds.

JSON

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "incremental": true
  }
}

Incremental Build

TypeScript's incremental build feature allows the compiler to recompile only the changed files and their dependencies, rather than recompiling the entire project. This can significantly reduce build times, especially in large projects.

To enable incremental build, set the incremental option in your tsconfig.json file:

JSON

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "incremental": true
  }
}

When the incremental build is enabled, TypeScript will create a .tsbuildinfo file in the output directory (or in the specified tsBuildInfoFile). This file contains the build information, such as the dependency graph and file signatures.

Make sure to add the .tsbuildinfo file to your .gitignore to prevent it from being tracked by version control.

Project References

For large projects split into multiple smaller projects, TypeScript supports project references to speed up the build process. By using project references, you can tell TypeScript how your projects depend on each other, allowing it to build only the necessary parts.

To use project references, create a tsconfig.json file in each project, and set the composite option to true:

JSON

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "composite": true
  }
}

In the main tsconfig.json file, reference the smaller projects using the references property:

JSON

{
  "references": [{ "path": "./project1" }, { "path": "./project2" }]
}

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we've learned how to optimize TypeScript compilation for better performance and faster build times. By tweaking compiler options and using features like incremental builds and project references, you can significantly improve the efficiency of the compilation process in your TypeScript projects.