ts-node(1)

execute JavaScript and TypeScript code

Section 1 ts-node bookworm source

Summary

ts-node runs TypeScript (and JavaScript) code directly with Node.js, compiling on the fly so you do not have to run a separate tsc build step first. Use it to execute a .ts file, evaluate a snippet inline, or open an interactive TypeScript REPL during development. It reads your tsconfig.json by default for compiler settings.

Tip: For faster startup that skips type-checking, add -T (--transpile-only); your code still runs even if it has type errors, so keep tsc in your CI for real type safety.

Description

TS-NODE

NAME

ts-node - execute JavaScript and TypeScript code

SYNOPSIS

ts-node [options] [-e script] [arguments]

DESCRIPTION

Runs the given script, either in a file or inlined with the -e switch, using Node.js or TypeScript.
-e, --eval [code]

Evaluate code

-p, --print

Print result of ‘--eval‘

-r, --require [path]

Require a node module before execution

-i, --interactive

Opens the REPL even if stdin does not appear to be a terminal

-h, --help

Print CLI usage

-v, --version

Print module version information

-s, --script-mode

Use cwd from <script.ts> instead of current directory

-T, --transpile-only

Use TypeScript’s faster ‘transpileModule‘

-H, --compiler-host

Use TypeScript’s compiler host API

-I, --ignore [pattern]

Override the path patterns to skip compilation

-P, --project [path]

Path to TypeScript JSON project file

-C, --compiler [name]

Specify a custom TypeScript compiler

-D, --ignore-diagnostics [code] Ignore TypeScript warnings by diagnostic code

-O, --compiler-options [opts]

JSON object to merge with compiler options

--dir

Specify working directory for config resolution

--scope

Scope compiler to files within ‘cwd‘ only

--files

Load ‘files‘, ‘include‘ and ‘exclude‘ from ‘tsconfig.json‘ on startup

--pretty

Use pretty diagnostic formatter (usually enabled by default)

--skip-project

Skip reading ‘tsconfig.json‘

--skip-ignore

Skip ‘--ignore‘ checks

--prefer-ts-exts

Prefer importing TypeScript files over JavaScript files

--log-error

Logs TypeScript errors to stderr instead of throwing exceptions

Examples

ts-node script.ts

Compile and run a TypeScript file directly, no separate build step needed.

ts-node -e 'console.log(1 + 2)'

Evaluate a snippet of code inline with -e (--eval) instead of from a file.

ts-node -T script.ts

Run with --transpile-only for faster startup that skips type checking.

ts-node -P ./tsconfig.build.json script.ts

Use a specific TypeScript project file with -P (--project) for compiler options.