Typescript

TypeScript (Style Guide)

Overview

Produce TypeScript that is easy to read, easy to change, and safe at runtime—by treating the codebase as a system: explicit boundaries, explicit dependencies, explicit errors, and explicit lifetimes.

Most of the principles here translate to other languages; the TypeScript-specific parts are mainly about how to enforce them with TS tooling and types.

Default objectives:

• Consistency: prefer automated formatting and linting (Prettier + ESLint) to eliminate style drift.
• Readability: reduce cognitive load with clear naming, shallow control flow, and explicit types.
• Maintainability: keep modules cohesive and dependencies/lifetimes explicit so change stays local.

A note on scope: these guidelines are optimized for systemic TypeScript (long‑lived apps/services/libraries where ownership, I/O boundaries, and runtime behavior matter). For short‑lived scripts, you can relax some constraints (e.g. more throw, fewer abstractions) as long as the blast radius stays small.

Definitions:

• Scriptic: short‑lived scripts/one‑offs; optimize for speed and simplicity; throw is usually fine.
• Systemic: long‑lived apps/services/libraries; optimize for explicit boundaries, typed failures, and explicit lifetimes.

Chooser

• Use typescript when: creating new TS modules, modeling domain types, applying the Throwless Pact (Result/Either), validating external inputs (Zod/io-ts), organizing imports, or preventing cyclic dependencies.
• Do NOT use typescript when: choosing which design pattern to apply (use design); designing shared platform libraries (use platform).
• Relax for scriptic code: short-lived scripts don't need full boundary discipline or explicit lifetimes.

Inputs / Outputs

Inputs: TypeScript source files to create, review, or refactor. Outputs: Modified/created TypeScript source files following style guide principles. Applied inline during implementation; no downstream skill consumes output directly.

Workflow

1. Decide “scriptic vs systemic” and set policies (error strategy, boundary validation, ownership/lifetimes).
2. Separate pure logic from side effects (I/O, time, randomness, global state).
3. Identify boundaries (HTTP/DB/fs/env) and treat their inputs as unknown.
4. Model the domain with types (discriminated unions) and keep data as plain objects (serializable).
5. Apply the Throwless Pact: make known failures explicit in types; reserve throw for unknown/unrecoverable; catch and convert at boundaries.
6. Keep dependencies explicit via parameters/factories; centralize wiring in a composition root.
7. Keep the module graph acyclic; enforce a dependency direction; prefer import type for type-only imports.
8. Make lifetimes explicit (create/start/stop/dispose); don’t rely on GC or hidden ownership.
9. For long‑running work (pollers, consumers, schedulers), model explicit “agents” with typed inputs/state and explicit shutdown.
10. Test at seams (pure functions, decoders/validators, adapters).
11. At I/O boundaries, make timeouts/retries/idempotency explicit (resilience) and keep telemetry consistent (observability); if 2+ services need the same boundary primitive, extract it (see platform).

Minimum viable execution

When context or time is constrained, these are the load-bearing steps:

1. Read existing code — understand the current error strategy, boundary patterns, and module structure before changing anything.
2. Apply boundary discipline (steps 3, 5) — treat external inputs as unknown, validate at edges, make known failures explicit in types.
3. Keep module graph acyclic (step 7) — enforce dependency direction; prefer import type for type-only.
4. Typecheck (step 10) — verify no type errors introduced.

Steps that can be cut under pressure: explicit lifetime modeling (step 8), agent patterns for long-running work (step 9), full composition root wiring (step 6).

Guidelines

For the full set of guidelines, see references/guidelines.md. Key highlights:

• Systemic constraints: types are erased at runtime, throw is untyped, serialization is not bijective, no deterministic destructors, cyclic deps break systems.
• Throwless Pact: known failures as typed Result / tagged unions; reserve throw for unknown/unrecoverable; catch at boundaries.
• Boundaries: treat external inputs as unknown; validate/parse once at the edge; keep "wire" shapes separate from domain types.
• Lifetimes: make resource ownership explicit (create/start/stop/dispose); prefer AbortSignal for cancellation.
• Modules: prevent cyclic imports; use a composition root; one feature per file; avoid barrel exports across layers.

Clarifying Questions

• Is this scriptic (short-lived script) or systemic (long-lived app/service/library)?
• What runtime: Node.js, browser, or both?
• Is there an existing error strategy (throw vs Result/Either)?
• Are there existing lint/format configs (ESLint, Prettier) to follow?
• Does this module sit at an I/O boundary (HTTP, DB, filesystem)?

Guardrails

• Don't apply systemic rigor to scriptic code: short-lived scripts don't need Result types, composition roots, or explicit lifetimes.
• Don't scatter validation across layers: decode unknown once at boundaries, then trust typed values internally.
• Don't use barrel exports (index.ts) across layer boundaries: they hide cyclic dependencies and bloat bundles.
• Don't leave resource ownership implicit: if you create a connection/handle, define who calls close/dispose.
• Don't use any as a shortcut: prefer unknown + narrowing at boundaries, or generics for reusable code.

Common failure modes

• Over-types — adds unnecessary generics, utility types, or type gymnastics where simple concrete types would be clearer and more maintainable.
• Adds type annotations or refactors to code that wasn't changed — the skill should apply to the code being worked on, not adjacent unchanged code.
• Wraps every error in Result/Either even for internal code — the Throwless Pact applies at boundaries; internal pure functions can use simpler patterns.
• Applies systemic rigor to scriptic code — short-lived scripts don't need composition roots, explicit lifetimes, or Result types.

References

• Glossary for common terms: GLOSSARY.md
• Specs/contracts as sources of truth: spec
• Boundary time budgets and idempotency: resilience
• Telemetry consistency: observability
• Shared “golden path” primitives: platform

Review checklist

Use this list when reviewing/refactoring TypeScript:

• Names are precise; no mystery abbreviations or misleading types.
• Formatting/imports follow the formatter (Prettier/ESLint); import order is stable.
• Functions are small, single-purpose, and mostly pure; few parameters; no boolean flags.
• Control flow is readable: shallow indentation, no nested ternaries, and no “clever” one-liners.
• Discriminated unions are handled exhaustively; missing variants fail fast at compile time.
• No accidental any; unknown is narrowed/decoded before use.
• External input is validated/decoded at boundaries; no unsafe as casts from JSON/env/network input.
• JSON/env/DB “wire” shapes are kept separate from domain types; round-trips don’t silently lose meaning.
• Expected failures are signified (tagged unions / Result); no sentinel returns; internal code is effectively “throwless”.
• Boundary code catches unknown throws and converts them to known error variants.
• Errors aren’t logged repeatedly across layers; logging happens at boundaries with enough context.
• Side effects are isolated; module dependencies are explicit and acyclic.
• No top-level side effects; composition root owns startup/shutdown.
• Resource ownership/cleanup is explicit; no “leaky” lifetimes; cancellation is threaded via AbortSignal.
• Long-running loops are explicit agents with shutdown/await paths.
• Tests cover pure logic and boundary adapters (decoders, repositories, clients).

Output Template

When asked to apply this guide, respond with:

• Start with the highest-leverage changes (usually around boundaries, error signifiers, and lifetimes/ownership).
• Concrete refactors (diffs or patch-sized snippets).
• Any trade-offs and clarifying questions (scriptic vs systemic scope, domain boundaries, lifetime/agent ownership, error policy).

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