universal-ts-utils 🧬

Isomorphic general-purpose TS utils

Overview

The universal-ts-utils package provides a set of isomorphic, general-purpose TypeScript utilities for various common tasks.

Usage

This package is designed to be used in both client (frontend) and server (backend) environments. For optimization purposes, it intentionally does not have an index file to facilitate efficient tree-shaking by frontend bundlers. Frontend bundlers strip out unused parts of dependencies to minimize bundle size, but an index file would include everything, negating this benefit.

To enhance the backend experience, we provide a node.ts file that aggregates and re-exports all functions, emulating a typical index file. Frontend imports remain modular, while backend imports can leverage the convenience of the node.ts entry point.

Import Examples

Frontend:

import { chunk } from '@lokalise/universal-ts-utils/array/chunk';

Backend:

import { chunk } from '@lokalise/universal-ts-utils/node';

Methods

Array Utilities

This section describes utility functions to work with arrays efficiently and elegantly.

callChunked

A utility method to process an array in chunks asynchronously.

const items = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
const processChunk = (chunk: number[]): Promise<void> => {
    console.log('Processing chunk', chunk)
    return Promise.resolve()
};

callChunked(3, items, processChunk)
    .then(() => {
        console.log('All chunks processed')
    })
    .catch((e) => {
        console.error('Error processing chunks:', e)
    })

chunk

Divides the original array into smaller arrays, each of the specified chunkSize.

const numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
const result = chunk(numbers, 2) // Returns: [[1, 2], [3, 4], [5]]

NonEmptyArray

Represents an array that is guaranteed to have at least one element. This type ensures that operations requiring at least one element (e.g., accessing the first element) are safe at both runtime and compile time, removing the need for additional checks.

const array: NonEmptyArray<number> = [1, 2, 3];

// Accessing the first element is guaranteed to be safe.
console.log(array[0]); // OK

defineNonEmptyArray

Infers the type of the given array as NonEmptyArray. Use this function when you want TypeScript to infer the non-empty nature of the array instead of manually defining it as NonEmptyArray.

const arr = defineNonEmptyArray([{ some: 'value' }]);
// arr is typed as NonEmptyArray<{ some: string }>

isNonEmptyArray

Checks if the given array is non-empty. This function acts as a type guard to confirm that the array contains at least one element, and it refines the type to a tuple, indicating that the first element exists. This is useful to ensure operations are not performed on empty arrays, providing type-level assurances.

const array: number[] = [1, 2, 3]
if (isNonEmptyArray(array)) {
    console.log(array[0]) // OK
    const _: [number, ...number[]] = array // TS type works
}

mapNonEmptyArray

Maps over a NonEmptyArray, applying the given mapper function to each element, and returns a new NonEmptyArray with the mapped values. This function ensures that the result retains the NonEmptyArray type, unlike the standard Array.prototype.map, which infers the result as a regular array, losing the guarantee of being non-empty.

const array: NonEmptyArray<number> = [1, 2, 3];
const stringCasted = mapNonEmptyArray(array, (x) => x.toString());

console.log(stringCasted); // ['2', '4', '6']
// TypeScript ensures the result is a NonEmptyArray
const _: NonEmptyArray<string> = stringCasted;

removeFalsy

Removes all falsy values from an array and returns a new array containing only truthy values.

const array = [1, 0, 'hello', '', false, true, null, undefined]
const result = removeFalsy(array) // Returns: [1, 'hello', true]

removeNullish

Removes all nullish values from an array and returns a new array containing only non-nullish elements.

const array = [1, null, 'hello', undefined, true, false, '']
const result = removeNullish(array) // Returns: [1, 'hello', true, false, '']

sort

Sorts an array of strings or numbers in either ascending or descending order. This function returns a sorted copy of the original array and does not modify the input, making it safe to use without side effects.

const a = sort([3, 1, 2]) // Returns: [1, 2, 3]
const b = sort([3, 1, 2], 'desc') // Returns: [3, 2, 1]

sortByField

Sorts an array of objects based on a specified field and order. This function returns a sorted copy of the original array and does not affect the original, ensuring no side effects.

const data = [
    { name: 'Zara', age: 22 },
    { name: 'Alex', age: 30 },
    { name: 'John', age: 25 }
]
const sortedByName = sortByField(data, 'name')
// Returns: [
//   { name: 'Alex', age: 30 },
//   { name: 'John', age: 25 },
//   { name: 'Zara', age: 22 }
// ]

unique

Returns a new array containing only unique elements from the given array while preserving the order of first occurrence. This function uses a Set to store unique elements and then converts it back to an array.

const numbers = [1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5]
const result = unique(numbers) // Returns: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

uniqueByProperty

Removes duplicates from an array of objects by a property and returns new array.

const array = [
    { id: 'a', value: 1 },
    { id: 'b', value: 2 },
    { id: 'a', value: 3 },
]
const result = uniqueByProperty(array) // Returns: [{ id: 'a', value: 1 }, { id: 'b', value: 2 }]

Object Utilities

This section describes utility functions to work with objects efficiently and elegantly.

areDeepEqual

Determines if two values are deeply equal. This function handles primitive types, arrays, and objects. For arrays and objects, it performs a recursive equality check.

areDeepEqual(1, 1) // true
areDeepEqual([1, 2], [1, 2]) // true
areDeepEqual({ name: 'John' }, { name: 'John' }) // true
areDeepEqual(null, null) // true
areDeepEqual(undefined, null) // false
areDeepEqual([1, [2, 3]], [1, [2, 3]]) // true
areDeepEqual([{ id: 1 }], [{ id: 1 }]) // true

convertDateFieldsToIsoString

Recursively converts all Date fields in an object or array of objects to ISO string format. This function retains the structure of the input, ensuring non-Date fields remain unchanged, while Date fields are replaced with their ISO string representations.

const obj = { id: 1, created: new Date(), meta: { updated: new Date() } }
const result = convertDateFieldsToIsoString(obj)
// Returns: { 
//   id: 1,
//   created: '2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z', 
//   meta: { updated: '2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z' }
// }

copyWithoutEmpty

Creates a shallow copy of an object, excluding properties with "empty" values. An "empty" value includes null, undefined, and empty strings ('').

const source = {
    name: 'Alice',
    age: null,
    occupation: '',
    location: 'Wonderland',
    status: undefined
}
const result = copyWithoutEmpty(source); // Returns: { name: 'Alice', location: 'Wonderland' }

copyWithoutNullish

Creates a shallow copy of an object, excluding properties with nullish values.

const source = {
    name: 'Alice',
    age: null,
    occupation: 'Explorer',
    location: undefined,
    status: 'Active'
}
const result = copyWithoutNullish(source) // Returns: { name: 'Alice', occupation: 'Explorer', status: 'Active' }

deepClone

Returns a deep cloned copy of an object.

This function utilizes the structuredClone method, which is capable of deep cloning complex objects, including nested structures. However, it has limitations and does not support cloning functions, Error objects, WeakMap, WeakSet, DOM nodes, and certain other browser-specific objects like Window.

When using this methid be aware of structuredClone limitations, be aware of its limitations. It cannot clone functions, Error objects, certain web platform objects, and symbols, among others. For such cases, consider using custom cloning logic.

const original = { name: 'Alice', details: { age: 30 } }
const cloned = deepClone(original)
// cloned will be a deep copy of original, and modifying cloned will not affect original

groupBy

Groups an array of objects based on the value of a specified key. This function iterates over the input array and organizes the objects into groups, where each group is associated with a unique key value obtained from the specified selector.

const users = [
    { name: 'Alice', age: 30 },
    { name: 'Bob', age: 25 },
    { name: 'Charlie', age: 30 }
]
const groupedByAge = groupBy(users, 'age')
// Returns:{
//   25: [{ name: 'Bob', age: 25 }],
//   30: [{ name: 'Alice', age: 30 }, { name: 'Charlie', age: 30 }]
// }

groupByPath

Groups an array of objects based on a specified key path. This function supports nested keys, allowing the use of dot notation to group objects by deeply nested properties.

const users = [
    { name: "A", address: { city: "New York" }, age: 30 },
    { name: "B", address: { city: "Los Angeles" }, age: 25 },
    { name: "C", address: { city: "New York" }, age: 35 },
]
const usersGroupedByCity = groupByPath(users, 'address.city')
// Returns:{
//   "New York": [
//      { name: "Alice", address: { city: "New York", zipCode: 10001 }, age: 30 },
//      { name: "Charlie", address: { city: "New York", zipCode: 10001 }, age: 35 }
//   ],
//   "Los Angeles": [
//      { name: "Bob", address: { city: "Los Angeles", zipCode: 90001 }, age: 25 }
//   ]
//}

groupByUnique

Groups an array of objects based on the unique value of a specified key. This function iterates over the input array and organizes the objects into groups, where each group is associated with a unique key value obtained from the specified selector.

If a duplicate key value is encountered, an error is thrown, ensuring the uniqueness of each key in the output.

const users = [
    { id: 'a1', name: 'Alice' },
    { id: 'b2', name: 'Bob' }
]
const groupedById = groupByUnique(users, 'id');
// Returns:{
//   'a1': { id: 'a1', name: 'Alice' },
//   'b2': { id: 'b2', name: 'Bob' }
// }

isEmpty

Checks if an object or an array of objects is empty.

• For an object, it is considered empty if it has no own enumerable properties with non-undefined values.
• For an array, it is considered empty if all objects within it are empty by the same criteria.

const emptyObject = {}
const isEmptyObj = isEmpty(emptyObject) // true

pick

Picks specified properties from an object and returns a new object with those properties. This function allows you to create a subset of an object by specifying which properties should be picked. You can also control whether properties with undefined or null values should be included in the result through the options parameter.

const source = { a: 1, b: '2' }
const result = pick(source, ['a']) // Returns: { a: 1 }

transformToKebabCase

Transforms the keys of an object or array of objects from camelCase or snake_case to kebab-case. This transformation is applied recursively, ensuring any nested objects are also processed. Non-object inputs are returned unchanged.

const obj = { myId: 1, creationId: 1, metaObj: { updateId: 1 } }
const result = transformToKebabCase(obj)
console.log(result) // Returns: { 'my-id': 1, 'creation-date': 1, meta-obj: { 'update-date': 1 } }

Iterable Utilities

This section describes utility functions to work with iterables efficiently and elegantly.

collectFromIterable

Collects all items from an iterable or async iterable into an array. This function handles both synchronous and asynchronous iterables with conditional return types for optimal developer experience.

For synchronous iterables, it returns the array directly. For asynchronous iterables, it returns a Promise that resolves to an array containing all items.

// With synchronous iterable - returns array directly
const syncIterable = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
const result1 = collectFromIterable(syncIterable) // Returns: [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

// With async iterable - returns Promise
async function* asyncGenerator() {
  yield 1
  yield 2
  yield 3
}
const result2 = await collectFromIterable(asyncGenerator()) // Returns: Promise<[1, 2, 3]>

// Works with Sets, Maps, and other iterables
const set = new Set([1, 2, 3])
const setResult = collectFromIterable(set) // Returns: [1, 2, 3]

const map = new Map([['a', 1], ['b', 2]])
const mapKeys = collectFromIterable(map.keys()) // Returns: ['a', 'b']
const mapValues = collectFromIterable(map.values()) // Returns: [1, 2]

String Utilities

This section describes utility functions to work with strings efficiently and elegantly.

trimText

Trims whitespace and   characters from the beginning and end of a given string. Extracts and provides the removed part as prefix and suffix properties.

const text = '  Hello, World!  '
const result = trimText(text) // Returns: { value: 'Hello, World!', prefix: '  ', suffix: '  ' }

Type Utilities

This section describes utility functions to work with types efficiently and elegantly.

assertIsNever

Asserts that the provided value is of type never and will cause a TypeScript error if it is not. This is useful for exhaustive type checking in switch statements or conditional types, ensuring that all possible cases have been handled.

const value: "case1" | "case2" | "case3" = getSomeValue();

switch (value) {
    case 'case1':
    case 'case2':
        return 'Handled case2';

    default:
        return assertIsNever(value);
    //                       ^^^^^ - TS error that we don't handle 'case3'
}

FreeformRecord

Utility type to representing a record with keys of a specified type and values of any type.

const stringKeyRecord: FreeformRecord = { name: "Alice", age: 30 }
const numberKeyRecord: FreeformRecord<number> = { 1: "one", 2: "two" }

hasMessage

Type guard to determine if a given value is an object with a string property message.

const a = hasMessage({ message: 'Hello, world!' }) // true
const b = hasMessage({ error: 'Hello, world!' }) // true

isError

Type guard to determine if a given value is an Error object.

const a = isError('I am an error') // False
const b = isError(new Error()) // True

isObject

Type guard to determine if a given value is a non-null object in TypeScript.

const a = isObject(obj) // True
const b = isObject('hello') // False

isStandardizedError

Type guard to determine if a given value is a StandardizedError object. This function checks whether the provided input conforms to the StandardizedError structure, which is commonly used in libraries (e.g., Fastify). Specifically, it verifies that the input is an object containing code and message properties, both of type string.

const a = isStandardizedError({ code: 'code', message: 'test' }) // True
const b = isStandardizedError({ hello: 'world' }) // False

MakeRequired

Utility type to makes specified keys required in a type, while keeping the rest of the keys as they are.

type Config = {
    host?: string
    port?: number
    secure?: boolean
}
type StrictConfig = MakeRequired<Config, 'host'>

const config1: StrictConfig = { host: "localhost" }
const config2: StrictConfig = { host: "localhost", secure: true }

MayOmit

Utility type to makes specified keys in a type optional, while keeping the rest of the keys as they are.

type Config = {
    host: string
    port: number
    secure: boolean
}
type PartialConfig = MayOmit<Config, 'port' | 'secure'>

const config1: PartialConfig = { host: "localhost" }
const config2: PartialConfig = { host: "localhost", port: 8080 }

ObjectValues

Utility type to extract all possible value types from a given object, allowing for type-safe usage when accessing the values.

export const MyTypeEnum = { OPTION_A: 'optionA', OPTION_B: 'optionB' } as const
export type MyType = ObjectValues<typeof MyTypeEnum>

const myValue: MyType = 'optionA' // valid
const invalidValue: MyType = 'invalid' // TypeScript error

Promise Utilities

This section describes utility functions to work with promises efficiently and elegantly.

promiseWithTimeout

Wraps a promise with a timeout, returning a result object that indicates whether the promise finished and whether it succeeded or failed. Unlike Promise.race, this properly cleans up the timeout timer to prevent memory leaks.

Supports optional AbortController for bidirectional cancellation:

• If the timeout fires first, the controller is automatically aborted
• If the controller is aborted externally, the timeout is immediately cancelled

// Basic usage
const slowPromise = new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(() => resolve('done'), 2000))
const result = await promiseWithTimeout(slowPromise, 1000)
console.log(result) // { finished: false } (promise takes 2s, timeout is 1s)

const fastPromise = Promise.resolve('done')
const result2 = await promiseWithTimeout(fastPromise, 1000)
console.log(result2) // { finished: true, result: 'done' }

const failedPromise = Promise.reject(new Error('failed'))
const result3 = await promiseWithTimeout(failedPromise, 1000)
console.log(result3) // { finished: true, result: Error('failed') }

// With AbortController to prevent memory leaks from hanging operations
const controller = new AbortController()
const result4 = await promiseWithTimeout(
  fetch(url, { signal: controller.signal }),
  5000,
  { abortController: controller }
)
// If timeout fires, fetch is automatically aborted
// If you call controller.abort(), the timeout is cancelled

Other Utilities

This section describes other utility functions included in this package.

waitAndRetry

Asynchronously retries a predicate function until it returns a truthy value or the maximum number of retries is reached.

const conditionMet = () => Math.random() > 0.9
waitAndRetry(conditionMet, 50, 10)
    .then((result) => {
        console.log('Condition met:', result)
    })
    .catch((error) => {
        console.error('An error occurred:', error)
    })