TypeScript Is Just JavaScript With Extra Bureaucracy

TypeScript is everywhere — in your builds, in your configs, in your hiring filters. It’s sold as a “better JavaScript.” In practice? It’s a bloated, over-engineered layer of complexity that solves problems you probably didn’t have, while creating a bunch of new ones.

Let’s talk about it.

You’re Still Writing JavaScript #

Let’s be clear: TypeScript is not a different language. It’s JavaScript with annotations. And the moment you ship your app?

All the types are erased.

TypeScript gives you a false sense of safety. It doesn’t prevent runtime errors. It doesn’t optimize performance. It doesn’t magically make your code “correct.” It just makes your editor more verbose and your build pipeline slower.

You’re still writing unit tests. You’re still checking inputs at runtime. And you’re still deploying bugs. So what exactly are we doing here?

The Tooling Tax #

Every TypeScript project carries the tooling tax:

• Huge tsconfig.json files that nobody understands
• Triple-compilers: Babel, tsc, and bundlers like ESBuild or Webpack
• Mysterious type errors that only go away if you delete node_modules
• Nonsense like string | undefined not assignable to string

You wanted types, and now you’re knee-deep in type gymnastics, fighting the compiler to accept perfectly valid JavaScript. This is not productivity. This is red-tape engineering.

TypeScript Isn’t Making You a Better Developer #

People often say TypeScript “teaches you to write better code.” In reality:

• It teaches you to write types, not logic.
• It teaches you to suppress errors with as any or !.
• It encourages a false sense of security where devs don’t write runtime checks because “the types guarantee it.”

TypeScript doesn’t teach you clean architecture. It doesn’t teach naming, clarity, testing, or how to avoid real-world bugs. It teaches you how to satisfy a compiler.

That’s not engineering. That’s appeasement.

Library Authors, You’re Not Off the Hook #

TypeScript has turned half the JavaScript ecosystem into unpaid type maintainers. Instead of writing good docs or stable APIs, library authors are now expected to ship:

• Complex .d.ts files
• Multiple type exports
• Workarounds for edge-case inference bugs

One breaking change in a library’s types and you’re locked out of an update. Is this safety? Or just another form of tight coupling?

The Runtime Still Wins #

Types can’t catch:

• An API returning bad data
• A third-party SDK throwing undefined
• A race condition in your async flow
• A missing config file at runtime

But guess what does catch those?

• Tests
• Runtime validation
• Good error handling
• Human-readable, maintainable code

These aren’t optional just because you have types. And if you’re already doing these things — why add a type layer on top of them?

Clean JavaScript Is Better Than Typed Garbage #

Here’s the hard truth: most teams don’t need TypeScript. What they need is:

• Simpler code
• Fewer abstractions
• Better linters (ESLint, JSDoc)
• Thoughtful architecture
• Actual runtime guarantees (Zod, Valibot, etc.)

Want types? Use JSDoc — it’s fast, zero-config, and native in modern editors.

Want safety? Validate your inputs and write tests.

Want DX? Stop turning JavaScript into Java.

The Exit Is Right There #

If you’re tired of:

• 30-second build times
• Type errors that don’t make sense
• Debugging “type-level logic” instead of app logic
• Needing Stack Overflow to fix your infer nightmares

…walk away. Strip TypeScript out. Switch to native JS + JSDoc + ESLint + Zod. You’ll ship faster, onboard easier, and actually understand your own code again.

TL;DR #

TypeScript doesn’t protect you from bad code — it just lets you write it in a more verbose way.

Write better JavaScript instead.