Setting up an ExpressJS Project with Typescript from Scratch

If you are a coder looking to start a new project using ExpressJS and Typescript, this article will guide you through the process of setting up your project from scratch.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have Node.js and npm installed on your machine. You will also need a code editor such as Visual Studio Code or Sublime Text.

Step 1: Create a new directory for your project

Open your terminal and create a new directory for your project:

mkdir my-express-project

Step 2: Navigate into the project directory

Use the cd command to navigate into the newly created directory:

cd my-express-project

Step 3: Initialize a new Node.js project

Run the following command to initialize a new Node.js project:

npm init -y

Step 4: Install ExpressJS and Typescript

Run the following command to install ExpressJS and Typescript as dependencies for your project:

npm install express typescript @types/express

Step 5: Create a tsconfig.json file

Create a new file in your project directory called tsconfig.json and add the following configuration:

{
      "compilerOptions": {
        "target": "es5",
        "module": "commonjs",
        "outDir": "dist",
        "strict": true,
        "esModuleInterop": true,
        "skipLibCheck": true
      }
    }

Step 6: Create an index.ts file

Create a new file in your project directory called index.ts and add the following code to set up a basic Express server:

import express from 'express';

    const app = express();

    app.get('/', (req, res) => {
      res.send('Hello, world!');
    });

    app.listen(3000, () => {
      console.log('Server is running on port 3000');
    });

Step 7: Add start scripts to package.json

Open your package.json file and add the following start scripts to enable running your Typescript code with Node.js:

"scripts": {
      "start": "tsc && node dist/index.js",
      "dev": "tsc -w"
    }

Step 8: Start your ExpressJS server

Run the following command to start your ExpressJS server in development mode:

npm run dev

That’s it! You have now successfully set up an ExpressJS project with Typescript from scratch. You can now start building your project and adding features to your Express server using Typescript.

Thank you for reading this article, and happy coding!