what version of javascript does typescript compile to?

Question

I am a typescript noob and javascript dummy so please be as explicit as possible without being too nerdy.

My basic understanding is Typescript gets precompiled into Javascript by a mystical being. The Javascript is then rendered by the browser. However, if that javascript is too advanced for the browser, you can use babel to stupify the javascript code into yet another Javascript version, like ES5 (which I heard Internet Explorer can now handle as of a couple weeks ago).

So question: What Javascript version does Typescript compile into? (ES6, ES5, etc?) How can I modify this as needed?

It defaults to ES3, but you can use the --target flag to specify a newer version, and some features will take advantage of that. — user1114
– user1114, Commented Jan 7, 2016 at 1:44
@thedanotto Presumably because it's the most widely-supported version, being the oldest. They default to maximum practical compatibility (possibly at the expense of performance) and let people who know they don't need it opt-in to better less-compatible options. — user1114
– user1114, Commented Jan 7, 2016 at 3:55

Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-05-23 12:04:00Z

12

You can specify the target ECMAScript version with the --target option.

Here is how you do it in Visual Studio.

... change TypeScriptTarget in the .csproj file ...

<TypeScriptTarget>ES5</TypeScriptTarget>

Here is how you do it from the command line. (notice that ES3 is the default)

+----------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+
| Option   | Shorthand |               Description                   |
+----------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+
| --target |    -t     | Specify ECMAScript target version: 'ES3'    |
|          |           | (default), 'ES5', or 'ES6'                  |
+----------+-----------+---------------------------------------------+

edited May 23, 2017 at 12:04

CommunityBot

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answered Jan 7, 2016 at 2:32

Frank Bryce

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1 Comment

Sinjai Over a year ago

Where I could find information about what I gain from targeting a newer version of ES? I'm assume changing the target version doesn't change things on the TypeScript side at all, so it must be purely for performance reasons.

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