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Using Typescript with the scripting API

info

The easiest way to get started with writing scripts in Typescript is to use the GitHub map starter kit repository. It comes with Typescript enabled. If you are not using the "map starter kit", this page explains how to add Typescript to your own scripts.

The short story​

In this page, we will assume you already know Typescript and know how to set it up with Webpack.

To work with the scripting API in Typescript, you will need the typings of the WA object. These typings can be downloaded from the @workadventure/iframe-api-typings package.

$ npm install --save-dev @workadventure/iframe-api-typings

Furthermore, you need to make the global WA object available. To do this, edit the entry point of your project (usually, it is a file called index.ts in the root directory).

Add this line at the top of the file:

index.ts

/// <reference path="../node_modules/@workadventure/iframe-api-typings/iframe_api.d.ts" />

From there, you should be able to use Typescript in your project.

The long story​

Below is a step by step guide explaining how to set up Typescript + Vite along your WorkAdventure map.

In your map directory, start by adding a package.json file. This file will contain dependencies on Vite, Typescript and the Workadventure typings:

package.json

{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "vite",
    "start": "vite",
    "build": "tsc && vite build",
    "prod": "vite preview"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@types/node": "^18.15.11",
    "@workadventure/iframe-api-typings": "^1.15.10",
    "typescript": "^4.9.5",
    "vite": "^4.3.9",
    "wa-map-optimizer-vite": "^1.1.15"
  },
}

You can now install the dependencies:

$ npm install

We now need to add a Vite configuration file (for development mode). This Vite file will:

  • Start a local webserver that will be in charge of serving the map
  • Compile Typescript into Javascript and serve it automatically
  • Optimize your built map

vite.config.js

import { defineConfig } from "vite";
import { getMaps, getMapsOptimizers, getMapsScripts } from "wa-map-optimizer-vite";

const maps = getMaps();

export default defineConfig({
    base: "./",
    build: {
        rollupOptions: {
            input: {
                index: "./index.html",
                ...getMapsScripts(maps),
            },
        },
    },
    plugins: [...getMapsOptimizers(maps)],
    server: {
        host: "localhost",
        headers: {
            "Access-Control-Allow-Origin": "*",
            "Access-Control-Allow-Methods": "GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH, OPTIONS",
            "Access-Control-Allow-Headers": "X-Requested-With, content-type, Authorization",
            "Cache-Control": "no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate",
        },
        open: "/",
    },
});

We need to configure Typescript, using a tsconfig.json file.

tsconfig.json

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "outDir": "./dist/",
    "target": "ESNext",
    "useDefineForClassFields": true,
    "module": "ESNext",
    "lib": [
      "ESNext",
      "DOM"
    ],
    "allowJs": true,
    "moduleResolution": "Node",
    "strict": true,
    "noImplicitAny": true,
    "strictNullChecks": true,
    "strictFunctionTypes": true,
    "strictBindCallApply": true,
    "strictPropertyInitialization": true,
    "noImplicitThis": true,
    "alwaysStrict": true,
    "noFallthroughCasesInSwitch": true,
    "sourceMap": true,
    "resolveJsonModule": true,
    "isolatedModules": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "noEmit": true,
    "noUnusedLocals": true,
    "noUnusedParameters": true,
    "noImplicitReturns": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true
  },
  "include": [
    "src"
  ]
}

Create your entry point (the index.html).

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">

<head>
    <meta charset="utf-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0">
    <meta name="robots" content="noindex">
    <title>WorkAdventure Starter</title>
</head>

<body></body>

</html>

Create your entry script (the Typescript file at the root of your project).

src/index.ts

/// <reference path="../node_modules/@workadventure/iframe-api-typings/iframe_api.d.ts" />

console.log('Hello world!');

The first comment line is important in order to get WA typings.

Now, you can start Vite in dev mode!

$ npm run dev

This will automatically compile Typescript, and serve it (along the map) on your local web server (so at http://localhost:8080/script.js). Please note that the script.js file is never written to the disk. So do not worry if you don't see it appearing, you need to "build" it to actually write it to the disk.

Final step, you must reference the script inside your map, by adding a script property at the root of your map:

The script property

Building the final script​

We now have a correct development setup. But we still need to be able to build the production script from Typescript files.

You can simply run:

$ npm run build

and the script.js file will be generated in the dist/ folder. Beware, you will need to move it at the root of map for it to be read by the map.