What is tsconfig-builder?

The TSConfig Builder is a specialized Claude skill designed to automate the creation of optimized tsconfig.json files for TypeScript projects. It streamlines development workflows by generating production-ready configurations tailored for various environments—including Node.js, React, Next.js, and Monorepos—ensuring best practices for type safety, module resolution, and build performance.

When should I use tsconfig-builder?

tsconfig-builder is useful in the following scenarios: • New Project Initialization: Quickly generate a perfectly configured tsconfig.json for a new React, Next.js, or Node.js project without manual setup. • Backend Development: Create robust configurations for Node.js environments supporting either ES Modules (NodeNext) or CommonJS with strict type-checking. • Library Publishing: Generate specialized configurations for NPM packages that require declaration files, source maps, and dual-module compatibility. • Monorepo Management: Set up complex project references and base configurations to maintain consistency across multiple packages in a monorepo structure. • Performance Optimization: Implement modern compiler options like 'bundler' module resolution and incremental builds to improve development speed and IDE responsiveness.

name	tsconfig-builder
description	Generate properly configured tsconfig.json files for TypeScript projects with appropriate compiler options for various project types. Triggers on "create tsconfig", "generate tsconfig.json", "typescript config for", "configure TypeScript".

TSConfig Builder

Generate properly configured tsconfig.json files optimized for various TypeScript project types.

Output Requirements

File Output: tsconfig.json Format: Valid JSON with comments (JSONC) Compatibility: TypeScript 5.x

When Invoked

Immediately generate a complete tsconfig.json appropriate for the project type. Include comments explaining key options.

Project Type Templates

Node.js Backend (ES Modules)

{
  "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/tsconfig",
  "compilerOptions": {
    // Language and Environment
    "target": "ES2022",
    "lib": ["ES2022"],
    "module": "NodeNext",
    "moduleResolution": "NodeNext",

    // Output
    "outDir": "./dist",
    "rootDir": "./src",
    "declaration": true,
    "declarationMap": true,
    "sourceMap": true,

    // Strictness
    "strict": true,
    "noUncheckedIndexedAccess": true,
    "noImplicitOverride": true,
    "noPropertyAccessFromIndexSignature": true,
    "noFallthroughCasesInSwitch": true,
    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,

    // Interop
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true,
    "resolveJsonModule": true,
    "isolatedModules": true,

    // Paths (optional)
    "baseUrl": ".",
    "paths": {
      "@/*": ["./src/*"]
    },

    // Skip type checking of node_modules
    "skipLibCheck": true
  },
  "include": ["src/**/*"],
  "exclude": ["node_modules", "dist"]
}

Node.js Backend (CommonJS)

{
  "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/tsconfig",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2022",
    "lib": ["ES2022"],
    "module": "CommonJS",
    "moduleResolution": "Node",
    "outDir": "./dist",
    "rootDir": "./src",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
    "resolveJsonModule": true,
    "declaration": true,
    "sourceMap": true
  },
  "include": ["src/**/*"],
  "exclude": ["node_modules", "dist"]
}

React Application (Vite)

{
  "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/tsconfig",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2020",
    "useDefineForClassFields": true,
    "lib": ["ES2020", "DOM", "DOM.Iterable"],
    "module": "ESNext",
    "skipLibCheck": true,

    // Bundler mode
    "moduleResolution": "bundler",
    "allowImportingTsExtensions": true,
    "resolveJsonModule": true,
    "isolatedModules": true,
    "noEmit": true,
    "jsx": "react-jsx",

    // Strictness
    "strict": true,
    "noUnusedLocals": true,
    "noUnusedParameters": true,
    "noFallthroughCasesInSwitch": true,

    // Paths
    "baseUrl": ".",
    "paths": {
      "@/*": ["./src/*"],
      "@components/*": ["./src/components/*"],
      "@hooks/*": ["./src/hooks/*"],
      "@utils/*": ["./src/utils/*"]
    }
  },
  "include": ["src"],
  "references": [{ "path": "./tsconfig.node.json" }]
}

Next.js Application

{
  "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/tsconfig",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2017",
    "lib": ["DOM", "DOM.Iterable", "ESNext"],
    "allowJs": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "strict": true,
    "noEmit": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "module": "ESNext",
    "moduleResolution": "bundler",
    "resolveJsonModule": true,
    "isolatedModules": true,
    "jsx": "preserve",
    "incremental": true,
    "plugins": [
      {
        "name": "next"
      }
    ],
    "paths": {
      "@/*": ["./src/*"]
    }
  },
  "include": [
    "next-env.d.ts",
    "**/*.ts",
    "**/*.tsx",
    ".next/types/**/*.ts"
  ],
  "exclude": ["node_modules"]
}

NPM Library Package

{
  "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/tsconfig",
  "compilerOptions": {
    // Targets both CJS and ESM consumers
    "target": "ES2020",
    "lib": ["ES2020"],
    "module": "ESNext",
    "moduleResolution": "bundler",

    // Output
    "outDir": "./dist",
    "rootDir": "./src",
    "declaration": true,
    "declarationDir": "./dist",
    "declarationMap": true,
    "sourceMap": true,

    // Strictness (libraries should be strict)
    "strict": true,
    "noUncheckedIndexedAccess": true,
    "noImplicitReturns": true,
    "noFallthroughCasesInSwitch": true,
    "noUnusedLocals": true,
    "noUnusedParameters": true,

    // Interop
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true,
    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
    "isolatedModules": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true
  },
  "include": ["src"],
  "exclude": ["node_modules", "dist", "**/*.test.ts", "**/*.spec.ts"]
}

Monorepo Base Config

{
  "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/tsconfig",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2022",
    "lib": ["ES2022"],
    "module": "ESNext",
    "moduleResolution": "bundler",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
    "resolveJsonModule": true,
    "isolatedModules": true,
    "noEmit": true,
    "declaration": true,
    "declarationMap": true,
    "composite": true
  }
}

Monorepo Package Config

{
  "extends": "../../tsconfig.base.json",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "outDir": "./dist",
    "rootDir": "./src",
    "composite": true
  },
  "include": ["src"],
  "exclude": ["node_modules", "dist"],
  "references": [
    { "path": "../shared" }
  ]
}

Express API Server

{
  "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/tsconfig",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2022",
    "lib": ["ES2022"],
    "module": "NodeNext",
    "moduleResolution": "NodeNext",
    "outDir": "./dist",
    "rootDir": "./src",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
    "resolveJsonModule": true,
    "declaration": false,
    "sourceMap": true,
    "noImplicitAny": true,
    "strictNullChecks": true,
    "strictFunctionTypes": true,
    "noImplicitReturns": true,
    "noFallthroughCasesInSwitch": true,
    "baseUrl": ".",
    "paths": {
      "@/*": ["./src/*"],
      "@controllers/*": ["./src/controllers/*"],
      "@models/*": ["./src/models/*"],
      "@middleware/*": ["./src/middleware/*"],
      "@routes/*": ["./src/routes/*"],
      "@utils/*": ["./src/utils/*"]
    }
  },
  "include": ["src/**/*"],
  "exclude": ["node_modules", "dist"]
}

CLI Tool

{
  "$schema": "https://json.schemastore.org/tsconfig",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2022",
    "lib": ["ES2022"],
    "module": "NodeNext",
    "moduleResolution": "NodeNext",
    "outDir": "./dist",
    "rootDir": "./src",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
    "resolveJsonModule": true,
    "declaration": true,
    "sourceMap": true,
    // Important for CLI tools
    "noUnusedLocals": true,
    "noUnusedParameters": true
  },
  "include": ["src"],
  "exclude": ["node_modules", "dist"]
}

Key Compiler Options Reference

Module Systems

Option	Use Case
`NodeNext`	Node.js with ESM support
`CommonJS`	Traditional Node.js
`ESNext`	Bundler (Vite, webpack)
`bundler`	Modern bundler resolution

Strictness Options

{
  "strict": true,                          // Enable all strict checks
  "noUncheckedIndexedAccess": true,        // Add undefined to index signatures
  "noImplicitOverride": true,              // Require override keyword
  "noPropertyAccessFromIndexSignature": true, // Require bracket notation for index signatures
  "exactOptionalPropertyTypes": true,      // Distinguish undefined from optional
  "noFallthroughCasesInSwitch": true,      // Error on switch fallthrough
  "noImplicitReturns": true,               // Require return in all paths
  "noUnusedLocals": true,                  // Error on unused variables
  "noUnusedParameters": true               // Error on unused parameters
}

Path Aliases

{
  "baseUrl": ".",
  "paths": {
    "@/*": ["./src/*"],
    "@components/*": ["./src/components/*"],
    "~/*": ["./"]
  }
}

Validation Checklist

Before outputting, verify:

$schema property for IDE support
target and lib are consistent
module and moduleResolution are compatible
strict is enabled (unless specific reason)
include and exclude are set
outDir specified if emitting
Path aliases match project structure
Comments explain non-obvious options

Example Invocations

Prompt: "Create tsconfig for a React TypeScript project with Vite" Output: Complete tsconfig.json with JSX support, bundler resolution, strict mode.

Prompt: "Generate tsconfig for Node.js Express API" Output: Complete tsconfig.json with NodeNext module, path aliases, strict options.

Prompt: "TSConfig for publishable npm library" Output: Complete tsconfig.json with declaration output, ES module target, strict settings.

tsconfig-builder

When & Why to Use This Skill

Use Cases