BITE

bite is a CLI tool designed to transform TypeScript (.ts & .tsx) files into JavaScript using Babel while also generating TypeScript declaration files (.d.ts). It supports monorepos, watch mode, caching, and optimized TypeScript compilation.

Features

• Transforms .ts and .tsx files to .js and .jsx using Babel
• Generates TypeScript declaration files (.d.ts)
• Supports a custom Babel and TypeScript configuration
• Watch mode for automatic re-transpilation on file changes
• Cleans the output directory before transpiling (optional)
• Works seamlessly within a monorepo setup
• Lightweight and fast with debounced file watching
• Includes a "witty" mode for fun logging messages

Installation

npm install @smallcase/bite

Usage

Basic Command

bite-tsx-transform --src ./lib --dist ./dist

Options

Option	Alias	Type	Description	Required
--src		string	Path to the source directory (default: src/)	❌ No
--dist		string	Path to the output directory (default: dist/)	❌ No
--watch	-w	boolean	Enables watch mode	❌ No
--clean		boolean	Cleans the output directory before transpiling	❌ No
--tsConfig		string	Path to custom tsconfig.json	❌ No
--babelConfig		string	Path to custom babel.config.json	❌ No
--version		boolean	Show CLI version	❌ No
--witty		boolean	Enables witty logging messages	❌ No

Examples

Transform TypeScript Files

bite-tsx-transform  --src ./src --dist ./build

Transform and Watch for Changes

bite-tsx-transform  --src ./src --dist ./build --watch

Clean Output Directory Before Transpiling

bite-tsx-transform --src ./src --dist ./build --clean

Use Custom TypeScript Config

bite-tsx-transform  --src ./lib --dist ./build --tsConfig ./tsconfig.custom.json

Use Custom Babel Config

bite-tsx-transform --src ./lib --dist ./build --babelConfig ./babel.custom.json

Enable Witty Logging

bite-tsx-transform  --src ./lib --dist ./build --witty

Workspace-root ambient declarations

Bite walks up from the source directory looking for a workspace-root marker (lerna.json, pnpm-workspace.yaml, or a package.json with a workspaces field). If one is found, any *.d.ts files sitting at that root (e.g. module.d.ts declaring *.module.css, *.svg, *.png, etc.) are automatically included in every package's TypeScript program.

This means a single root-level module.d.ts covers every package in the workspace — you don't need to symlink it into each packages/*/src/. Package-local *.d.ts files (under each package's src/) are still picked up as before; the two sets are merged in the program (TS treats declare module blocks additively). Files are deduped by realpath, so a symlink-into-src/ of the same root file doesn't enter the program twice.

Excluded source files

Bite skips a few classes of source files entirely — they are neither transpiled to dist/ nor included in the TypeScript program:

• *.stories.{ts,tsx,js,jsx,mjs,cjs}
• *.test.{ts,tsx,js,jsx,mjs,cjs}
• *.spec.{ts,tsx,js,jsx,mjs,cjs}
• anything inside a __tests__/ directory
• anything inside a __snapshots__/ directory

These are dev-only files that consumers of the published package should never import. Excluding them keeps dist/ clean and prevents a recurring footgun: stories or tests that import the package's own public name (e.g. import { Foo } from '@smallcase/components' from inside the components package) drag the package's own dist/*.d.ts back into the TypeScript program through workspace symlinks, producing TS5055 emit failures or noisy diagnostics.

Watch Mode

When using --watch, the CLI monitors the source directory and processes changes incrementally — per file:

• On edit (change) of a .ts/.tsx, only that file is re-transpiled via Babel and written to dist/. A persistent ts.createWatchProgram instance re-emits the corresponding .d.ts (and .d.ts.map) for just the files it considers affected.
• On add of a .ts/.tsx, the file is transpiled and TypeScript's watch program is updated with the new root file.
• On delete (unlink) of a .ts/.tsx, the matching .jsx/.js, .d.ts, and .d.ts.map artifacts in dist/ are removed.
• Non-TS files (assets) are copied/removed in the same way.

Type errors are logged but do not crash the watcher or wipe dist/ — fix and save to continue. If the initial (non-watch) build fails, the CLI still cleans the output directory and exits non-zero, matching the previous behavior.

Logging & Error Handling

• Uses Logger for structured logging.
• Displays errors clearly in case of transformation failure.
• Cleans the output directory if transformation fails.
• Supports an optional witty logging mode (--witty) for fun messages.

License

MIT License.

NOTE - The old command tsx-transform has been deprecated and will be removed in next major version