Typegen

A powerful type generation tool that acts as a bridge between different programming languages.

Overview

Typegen allows you to define your types once using a simple schema definition language (TGS) and generate them for multiple target languages. Write your schemas in .tgs files and let Typegen handle the rest.

Currently Supported Languages

• TypeScript
• C#

Supported Platforms

• Windows
• macOS
• Linux

Note on macOS and Linux platforms: I do not personally own macOS or Linux systems. Therefore, while make targets are provided for these platforms, I rely on the community for testing and validation. Please report any issues you encounter.

Key Features

• Schema Definitions: Define complex data structures with inheritance support
• Enum Support: Create type-safe enumerations that translate across languages
• Import System: Share types across multiple schema files with a clean import syntax
• Path Variables: Organize your generated code with flexible directory structures
• Generic Types: Support for arrays, lists, maps, and other generic collections
• CLI Integration: Simple commands for project initialization and code generation
• IDE Support: VS Code extension with syntax highlighting and validation

Installation

⚠️ Important Update Notice
If you have a version lower than 1.1.4, please update to the latest version to ensure compatibility and access to the newest features

CLI Tool

npm install -g @cakeru/typegen

VS Code Extension For .tgs File Support

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions
3. Search for "Typegen"
4. Click Install

The extension provides:

• Syntax highlighting
• IntelliSense
• Error detection
• Auto-completion
• Schema/Enum validation
• Formatter

You can also compile the extension yourself from the source code in the Typegen editor plugins repository.

Getting Started

Create a New Project

typegen create-project my-shared-types

This will:

1. Create a new directory my-shared-types
2. Initialize a typegen.config.json file
3. Create a .typegen directory (added to .gitignore)

Or initialize in an existing project (not recommended):

typegen init

Configuration

The typegen.config.json file defines where your types will be generated:

{
  "$schema": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cakeruu/typegen/main/json-schema/typegen-config-schema.json",
  "build_out": [
    {
      "lang": "c#",
      "output_path": "./backend/Types"
    },
    {
      "lang": "typescript",
      "output_path": "./frontend/src/types"
    }
  ]
}

The config file has built-in autocompletion through JSON schema.

Create Schema Files

Create .tgs files in your project to define your types. Typegen supports schemas, enums, and imports:

Basic Schema Example

rootPath = /Users;
responsesDir = /Responses;
requestsDir = /Requests;

create schema User<responsesDir>(
    Id: Uid;
    Name: string;
    Email: string?;
);

create schema UserRequest<requestsDir>(
    Name: string;
    Email: string;
);

Enums Example

enumsDir = /Enums;

create enum UserStatus<enumsDir>(
    Active,
    Inactive,
    Pending,
    Suspended
);

create schema User(
    Id: Uid;
    Name: string;
    Status: UserStatus;  // Using the enum as a type
);

Imports Example

// users.tgs
import { OrderStatus } from "./orders.tgs";
import { BaseEntity } from "./common.tgs";

create schema User & BaseEntity(
    Name: string;
    Email: string;
    LastOrderStatus: OrderStatus?;  // Using imported enum
);

Advanced Features

// Import from other files
import { BaseEntity, Address } from "./common.tgs";
import { OrderStatus, PaymentMethod } from "./enums.tgs";

// Directory variables with concatenation
rootPath = /Commerce;
responseDir = rootPath + /Responses;
enumsDir = rootPath + /Enums;

// Local enums
create enum CustomerType<enumsDir>(
    Individual,
    Business,
    Enterprise
);

// Schema with inheritance and complex types
create schema Customer<responseDir> & BaseEntity(
    Name: string;
    Email: string;
    Type: CustomerType;
    Addresses: List<Address>;  // Imported schema
    OrderHistory: Map<string, OrderStatus>;  // Imported enum
    Preferences: Map<string, Array<PaymentMethod>>;  // Nested generics
);

See GRAMMAR.md for detailed TGS language documentation.

Generate Code

typegen build

This will generate the corresponding types in all configured languages and output directories.

CLI Commands

Project Structure

my-shared-types/
├── typegen.config.json
├── .typegen/                 # Build cache (gitignored)
├── common.tgs               # Shared base types
├── users.tgs                # User-related schemas
├── orders.tgs               # Order-related schemas and enums
└── enums.tgs                # Global enumerations

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please check out our Contributing Guide for guidelines.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE.md file for details.