I built a cli tool that gets you started with TypeScript development with zero config. Initially created to solve my own problem but thought it might be useful for others as well.
I am very sad whenever I try to have fun with Typescript outside of my work monorepo because I need to re-figure-out how to “just run my code” without waiting a million years for build. But part of the problem is that there’s so many different ts-node competitors. Ts-node itself is slow and/or hates me because I’m not using ES modules. There’s a bunch of esbuild based ones out there, but none seem to cache as quickly as the janky script we use at work. Curious how swc stacks up against esbuild in practice.
I like that your approach bundles path aliasing, since tacking that on is often confusing. I’ll give a star and try it when I get a chance.
Yes, ts-node became slow and frustrating that it inspired me to create Just. I haven't yet used Just with ES Modules though, would love to hear your feedback if you get a chance to use it :)
Setting up a generic typescript project is 100x more involved than the original minimal developer experience of Node.js (optional npm init, otherwise node program.js and off you go). If you are trying to bring node development back to its nimble origins, I'm with you.
The thing I like most is the CLI tool name: it really matches the mood of the project. I.e. "just dev, just build, just run"
