We are going to use tsc to compile the TypeScript code Go back to the command line and run npm install typescript -save-devĪfter TypeScript is installed, open the “package.json” file and add two new entries as per the image below. Next, we will install TypeScript as a development dependency.

This will lead you through some questions that will be used to generate a new “package.json” file for your project. Start by creating a new folder for your project. Open a command line terminal on that folder and run npm init

Needs to display some information to the user on a not-very-complex UIĪs you can see, the list of requirements was relatively simple.

Needs to retrieve data from 2 lists in SharePoint via REST API.

Can make use of libraries hosted from a CDN, but only some (in this specific case, Visio JavaScript API was required).

Needs to be deployed to a SharePoint document library.

Needs to work with a SharePoint classic content/script editor web part.

After this, the developer inside me started crying, thinking about the possibility of having to create a web part in JavaScript.Ĭlearly, that would never happen, so I had to find a super simple way to use TypeScript with SharePoint! It had to be something simple as it could not impact progress and time-frames already agreed upon with the client. The first thing that came to my mind was: “No way! I will decide what tools to use!” Then I was told that the client did not have a SharePoint app catalog and creating one was not an option at all due to internal policies. That is a super common requirement…but this time I was not allowed to use SPFx. Requirementsīefore we dive into the details, let me start by sharing the high-level requirements that led to this.Ģ Weeks ago, I was asked to create a web part for a client. So before you use this configuration, ensure that it covers your requirements (note: you won’t be able to use TypeScript ‘imports’!). It doesn’t even include webpack (or similar tools), which would give a ton of other benefits. And by extremely simple, I really mean it. Let me be super clear about this: you should always use SharePoint Framework whenever possible! This blog post is about an extremely simple alternative when SPFx is simply not an option.

Spend just a few minutes and you can use Typescript with SharePoint Script editor web parts instead! SharePoint Framework is suddenly not an option and you feel sad because you need to go back to writing plain JavaScript? You don’t have to and you really shouldn’t.

Online typescript editor