Definitely Typed Deployment and Usage Guide

Prerequisites

• Node.js (version 16 or later recommended)
• pnpm (package manager for monorepo management)
• TypeScript (for development and testing)
• Git (for version control and repository management)

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/DefinitelyTyped/DefinitelyTyped.git
   cd DefinitelyTyped
   

2. Clean and install dependencies:

   # On Windows:
   node ./scripts/clean-node-modules.js
   # On other platforms:
   git clean -fdx
   
   pnpm install --filter .
   

Configuration

• No specific environment variables are required for local development
• TypeScript configuration is handled by the monorepo structure
• API keys are not needed for local development

Build & Run

For Contributors (Testing Changes)

1. Test editing an existing package:

   • Navigate to the package in node_modules/@types/foo/index.d.ts
   • Make changes and validate them
   • Use the package in your project to test

2. Testing with local type definitions:

   // Create typename.d.ts in your project
   declare module "libname" {
       export function helloWorldMessage(): string;
   }
   

For Repository Maintenance

1. Type checking and linting:

   pnpm run build
   pnpm run lint
   

2. Running tests:

   pnpm test
   

Deployment

Publishing to npm

Definitely Typed packages are automatically published to npm through the DefinitelyTyped-tools publisher.

For Contributors:

• Submit a pull request with your type definitions
• Once merged, packages are automatically published based on the schedule
• Check the publishing status for updates

Repository Status

• Build status: Check the CI badge for current build health
• Package status: All packages should be type-checking/linting cleanly
• Support window: Packages are tested on TypeScript versions less than 2 years old

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. "Package not found" when installing types:

   • Ensure you're using the correct naming convention: @types/package-name
   • For scoped modules, use double underscores: @types/babel__preset-env

2. Types not being automatically included:

   • Add a types reference if not using modules:

     /// <reference types="node" />
     

3. Outdated types for older TypeScript versions:

   • Use tagged versions from npm:

     npm dist-tags @types/react
     

   • Example: TypeScript 2.5 can use react@16.0 types

4. Repository layout issues after recent changes:

   • Run git clean -fdx to clean up node_modules
   • Reinstall with pnpm install --filter .

5. Build failures:

   • Check the infrastructure status updates
   • Verify all packages are type-checking cleanly

Support

• Discord: Join the TypeScript Community Discord server and use the Definitely Typed channel
• Documentation: Refer to the TypeScript handbook for declaration file concepts

Legacy Support

For TypeScript 1.*:

• Manually download from the master branch
• Place in your project directory
• Add manual triple-slash references as needed