Zero-config TypeScript execution and build tool for Node.js

Run TypeScript files instantly without configuration. GhostTS automatically installs missing type definitions, compiles your code, and handles all the setup - so you can focus on writing TypeScript.

✨ Why GhostTS?

| Feature | Description | |---------|-------------| | 🚀 Zero Configuration | No tsconfig.json, no setup, no hassle | | 🤖 Auto Type Installation | Missing @types/* packages? We install them for you | | ⚡ Fast | Powered by ESBuild for blazing-fast builds | | 🎨 Beautiful Errors | Clear, formatted error messages with code context | | 👀 Watch Mode | Auto-restart on file changes for seamless development | | 📦 Production Builds | Compile entire projects like tsc |

📥 Installation

Install Globaly

npm install -g ghostts

or Install in Project

npm install ghostts

🚀 Quick Start

Run a TypeScript file instantly

ghostts run server.ts

Enable watch mode for development

ghostts run server.ts --watch

Build a project for production

ghostts build src/main_file.ts --outdir dist

💡 Usage

Running Files

Execute any TypeScript file without configuration:

ghostts run app.ts

Example:

// server.ts
import express from "express";

const app = express();

app.get("/", (req, res) => {
  res.json({ message: "Hello TypeScript!" });
});

app.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log("Server running on http://localhost:3000");
});

Output:

$ ghostts run server.ts
📦 Analyzing package.json for missing types...
📦 Installing types for: @types/express
✅ Successfully installed 1 type packages
🔍 Type checking...
✅ Type check passed
Server running on http://localhost:3000

🎉 GhostTS automatically detected and installed @types/express - no manual intervention needed!

👀 Watch Mode

Automatically restart your application when files change:

ghostts run server.ts --watch

Perfect for development - save a file and see changes instantly!

📦 Building Projects

Compile your entire TypeScript project for production deployment:

ghostts build src/main_file.ts --outdir dist

Before:

my-project/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts
│   ├── controllers/
│   │   └── user.ts
│   └── utils/
│       └── helper.ts
└── package.json

After:

my-project/
├── src/ (unchanged)
├── dist/ (generated) ✨
│   ├── index.js
│   ├── controllers/
│   │   └── user.js
│   └── utils/
│       └── helper.js
└── package.json

Directory structure is preserved, source maps are generated, and your project is ready for deployment! 🚀

🤖 Automatic Type Installation

GhostTS automatically manages TypeScript type definitions for you!

How It Works

1. 📄 Package.json Scanning - Checks your dependencies for missing @types/* packages on first run
2. 🔍 Error-Driven Installation - When TypeScript errors mention missing types, installs them automatically
3. 🧠 Smart Detection - Only installs types for packages that need them (skips packages with built-in types)

Example Flow

// You write this code
import lodash from "lodash";
import axios from "axios";

// GhostTS detects missing types and runs:
// npm install -D @types/lodash @types/axios
// Then proceeds with compilation - all automatic! ✨

🔒 Security Note: GhostTS only installs type definition packages (@types/*), never runtime packages. You maintain full control over what code runs in your project.

🎯 Supported Features

JSON Imports

Import JSON files directly:

import config from "./config.json";

console.log(config.port);           // 3000
console.log(config.database.host);  // localhost

Modern TypeScript

Full support for modern TypeScript features:

• ✅ Async/await
• ✅ Optional chaining
• ✅ Nullish coalescing
• ✅ Decorators (experimental)
• ✅ And more!

Package Manager Detection

Works seamlessly with:

• 📦 npm (default)
• 🧶 yarn (detected via yarn.lock)
• 📌 pnpm (detected via pnpm-lock.yaml)

🎨 Error Handling

GhostTS provides clear, formatted error messages:

TypeScript Errors

error: Type 'string' is not assignable to type 'number'.

  server.ts:12:7

  11 |
  12 | const port: number = "3000";
             ^
  13 | app.listen(port);

Runtime Errors

Runtime Error: TypeError: Cannot read property 'name' of undefined
  at getUser (/path/to/app.js:15:20)
  at main (/path/to/app.js:25:5)

Missing Package Hints

💡 Package 'express' needs to be installed:
   npm install express

📁 The .ghostts Directory

GhostTS creates a .ghostts directory in your project for temporary compilation:

your-project/
├── .ghostts/
│   └── run.js          # Temporary bundled file
├── src/
└── package.json

Why does this exist?

When you run ghostts run server.ts, GhostTS needs to:

1. Compile your TypeScript to JavaScript
2. Bundle it with dependencies for fast execution
3. Store it somewhere for Node.js to run

The .ghostts/run.js file is this temporary, bundled output. It's automatically overwritten on each run.

Should I commit it?

No. Add it to your .gitignore:

.ghostts/
node_modules/
dist/

Can I delete it?

Yes! It's regenerated on every run. The directory is only used during development for the run command.

📖 CLI Reference

Commands

ghostts run <file>      # Execute a TypeScript file
ghostts build <srcDir>  # Build a TypeScript project
ghostts --version       # Show version number
ghostts --help          # Show help information

Options

Run Command:

ghostts run server.ts           # Execute once
ghostts run server.ts --watch   # Watch mode (auto-restart on changes)
ghostts run --help              # Show run command help

Build Command:

ghostts build src                    # Build with default output (./dist)
ghostts build src --outdir build     # Build with custom output directory
ghostts build --help                 # Show build command help

⚙️ Configuration

GhostTS uses sensible TypeScript defaults:

{
  "target": "ES2020",
  "module": "commonjs",
  "strict": true,
  "esModuleInterop": true,
  "allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true,
  "skipLibCheck": true,
  "resolveJsonModule": true
}

💡 No tsconfig.json required. Add one if you need custom settings for your IDE.

📊 Comparison with Other Tools

| Feature | GhostTS | ts-node | tsx | tsc | |---------|---------|---------|-----|-----| | Zero config | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | | Auto type install | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | | Watch mode | ✅ | ❌* | ✅ | ❌* | | Fast compilation | ✅ (ESBuild) | ❌ (TSC) | ✅ (ESBuild) | ❌ (TSC) | | Project builds | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ | | Error formatting | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |

*Requires additional tools like nodemon

📚 Examples

Express API

import express from "express";
import { json } from "body-parser";

const app = express();
app.use(json());

app.get("/api/users", async (req, res) => {
  // Your logic here
  res.json({ users: [] });
});

app.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log("API ready at http://localhost:3000");
});

ghostts run api.ts --watch

CLI Tool

import { Command } from "commander";
import { readFileSync } from "fs";

const program = new Command();

program
  .name("mytool")
  .version("1.0.0")
  .argument("<file>")
  .action((file: string) => {
    const content = readFileSync(file, "utf-8");
    console.log(`File size: ${content.length} bytes`);
  });

program.parse();

ghostts run cli.ts

Building for Production

// src/index.ts
import { createServer } from "./lib/server";
import config from "./config.json";

async function main() {
  const server = createServer(config);
  await server.start();
}

main().catch(console.error);

# Build the project
ghostts build src/main_file.ts --outdir dist

# Deploy and run with Node.js
node dist/index.js

🔧 Troubleshooting

Types not installing automatically

Check that you have a package.json in your project:

npm init -y

Build fails with import errors

Ensure all runtime packages are installed:

npm install express lodash axios

💡 GhostTS installs types, but you need to install the actual packages.

Watch mode not detecting changes

Make sure you're not in a directory that's being ignored. GhostTS skips:

• node_modules/
• dist/
• .git/
• .ghostts/

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues or pull requests on GitHub.

📄 License

MIT © Aniket

Built with ❤️ for TypeScript developers who value simplicity.

👻 GhostTS - Write TypeScript, skip the setup.

⭐ Star on GitHub • 🐛 Report Bug • 💡 Request Feature