TypeScript Get Started

Two ways to run TypeScript

You can compile in the browser on StudyGrid, or install a compiler on your computer. The language is the same. The editor is faster for lessons. A local compiler is what you use for real projects.

Use the StudyGrid editor

1. Open a chapter and copy an example, or go straight to Try TypeScript.
2. Press Compile & run (or Ctrl + Enter).
3. Read the build log. If tsc is unhappy, the program does not run.
4. Read program output underneath. That is what console.log printed.

If the program uses readLine(), type values in the stdin box on the left, then compile again. That box is not a popup and not a C++ cin prompt.

Install a compiler (optional)

Local TypeScript needs Node.js so you can run npx tsc. You do not have to install tsc globally.npx downloads and runs the compiler when you call it.

Check the compiler with npx tsc --version. You want a 5.x line. StudyGrid uses a current tsc in the browser, so lesson code does not depend on a special local version.

Compile a file locally

Save this as main.ts. It is a complete program. There is no main function.

const message: string = "Compiled locally";
console.log(message);

Then in a terminal in that folder run npx tsc --strict main.ts. That writes main.js. Run the JavaScript with node main.js. On StudyGrid, Compile & run does both steps for you.

Change message to another string and compile again. If tsc prints a type error, fix that first. Later messages are often fallout from the first mistake.

What you need in every file

• A .ts name, not .txt and not .cpp.
• No required include. console.log is built in, unlike C++ cout.
• No main. The file runs from the top, like a script.
• A semicolon at the end of each statement.

const year: number = 2026;
const ready: boolean = true;
console.log("Year:", year);
console.log("Ready:", ready);

Download from a lesson

Every example has Download .ts. Save the file, compile it with tsc, and compare the result with the browser editor. Next: the syntax rules the compiler enforces.