tsnt

1.0.0 verified Fri May 01 auth: no javascript

tsnt is a zero-config CLI tool for transpiling TypeScript to JavaScript without performing type checking. Version 1.0.0 provides fast transpilation by skipping type checks entirely, making it suitable for development workflows where type checking is done separately. Unlike tsc or ts-node, tsnt focuses solely on transpilation speed and simplicity. It is distributed as an npm package with a single command-line interface.

Common errors

error SyntaxError: Cannot use import statement outside a module ↓

cause Running TypeScript file directly with Node.js without transpilation.

fix

Use npx tsnt file.ts to transpile first, then run node file.js

error Error: No input files found. ↓

cause Provided glob pattern did not match any .ts files.

fix

Check the glob pattern: tsnt 'src/**/*.ts' (quote it in shell)

Warnings

gotcha tsnt skips type checking entirely. Type errors in source code will not cause transpilation to fail. ↓

fix Use tsc --noEmit or an IDE plugin for type checking separately.

breaking Version 1.0.0 drops support for CommonJS require() in Node.js. Only ESM imports are allowed. ↓

fix Use import syntax or upgrade to Node.js 14+ with 'type': 'module'.

gotcha tsnt transpiles using the latest TypeScript features by default, not the target version in tsconfig.json. ↓

fix Use --target ES2020 to specify the output JS version.

deprecated The function `tsnt` default export will be renamed to `transpileTs` in v2.0.0. ↓

fix Use named import `{ transpile }` moving forward.

Install

npm install tsnt

yarn add tsnt

pnpm add tsnt

Imports

default

wrong

const tsnt = require('tsnt')

correct

import tsnt from 'tsnt'

Package is ESM-only since v1.0.0

transpile

wrong

const { transpile } = require('tsnt')

correct

import { transpile } from 'tsnt'

Named export for lowercase function

TranspileOptions

wrong

import { TranspileOptions } from 'tsnt'

correct

import type { TranspileOptions } from 'tsnt'

Use type import for interfaces in TypeScript

Quickstart

Shows basic CLI usage: transpile a single file and a glob pattern with output directory.

npx tsnt myfile.ts
# Transpile a single file
tsnt src/**/*.ts --outDir dist