Debug Typescript with VSCode

Typescript Debugging using Visual Studio Code and ts-node

It's possible to debuge any TS file without compiling using ts-node from VSCode

First, init a new npm project with typescript (normally you should already have one):

npm init -y
npm install typescript
npx tsc --init # this isn't needed, but really you should have a tsconfig

Now - time to start: install ts-node:

npm install ts-node

Next, create a .ts file to debug, e.g:

log.ts

const log = (name: string) => {
  console.log('hello ' + name)
}

log('bob')

Then create a .vscode/launch.json file:

.vscode/launch.json

{
  // Use IntelliSense to learn about possible attributes.
  // Hover to view descriptions of existing attributes.
  // For more information, visit: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=830387
  "version": "0.2.0",
  "configurations": [
    {
      "name": "Current TS File",
      "type": "node",
      "request": "launch",
      "args": [
        "${relativeFile}"
      ],
      "runtimeArgs": [
        "--nolazy",
        "-r",
        "ts-node/register"
      ],
      "sourceMaps": true,
      "cwd": "${workspaceRoot}",
      "protocol": "inspector",
    }
  ]
}

And that's about it, you should be able to use the debug config on whatever TS file you're looking at without any added effort