Microsoft rolls out TypeScript Native Previews

Microsoft has announced the availability of TypeScript Native Previews, featuring early previews of a native TypeScript compiler and tool set based on the Go language. The port has achieved “a 10x speed-up on most projects,” the company said.

Announced May 22, the TypeScript Native Previews eventually will become TypeScript 7. In the meantime, they will be published nightly so that developers can try the latest developments. Developers using Visual Studio Code and the TypeScript (Native Preview) extension should get updates automatically by default.

The TypeScript Native Previews are missing a lot of functionality that stable versions of TypeScript now have, such as command-line functionality like --build and --declaration emit. And editor functionality including auto-imports, find-all-references, and rename still are pending.

Microsoft refers to this TypeScript as Project Corsa. Since initially announcing the native version of TypeScript in March, Microsoft has made improvements such as fuller type checking, type-checking support for JSX, and type-checking support for JavaScript files. API design remains in the early stages. Plans for later this year call for having a more complete version of the compiler with major features such as --build and language service features for editors.

Developers can access the native TypeScript compiler over NPM via the command npm install -D @typescript/native-preview.

The package includes an executable called tsgo, which runs similarly to tsc, the existing executable made available by the typescript package. The intent is to eventually rename tsgo to tsc and move it to the typescript package. Additionally, for editing, developers can install the TypeScript (Native Preview) extension in VS Code via the VS Code Extension Marketplace. Still in early stages of development, the extension defers to the built-in TypeScript extension in VS Code, Microsoft said. For that reason, the extension will need to be enabled even after installation. This can be done by opening VS Code’s command palette and running the command TypeScript Native Preview: Enable (Experimental).