When Your Dev Stack Is a Burden: A TypeScript Checklist to Trim Tool Sprawl

When your dev stack is a burden: a TypeScript checklist to trim tool sprawl

Hook: You hired tools to speed teams up — now builds take longer, CI bills climbed, and new hires ask “which tool do I use?” This article gives a practical, TypeScript-specific checklist to find overlapping linters, compilers, bundlers, test runners, and CI steps, so you can reduce complexity without breaking the ship in flight.

Executive summary — what to do first (inverted pyramid)

If you scan nothing else, do this order:

1. Inventory — list every tool that touches TypeScript (linters, transpilers, bundlers, test runners, and CI tasks).
2. Detect overlaps — find duplicate responsibilities (formatting in 2 tools, two compilers, separate type-checking vs transpilation).
3. Prioritize safe consolidations — choose low-risk wins: unify formatting with ESLint+Prettier integration; run a single type-check in CI; pick one test runner.
4. Plan changes — create an incremental migration with feature flags, smoke tests, and a rollback plan.
5. Measure — add timing and cost telemetry to confirm wins.

Why tool sprawl hurts TypeScript teams in 2026

Two trends accelerated through late 2025 and into 2026 that make this problem acute:

• High-velocity compiler innovation: esbuild, SWC, and framework-first dev servers like Vite mean teams can multi-tool the transform step; but running both a fast dev transform and a separate production bundler without consolidation duplicates effort.
• Shift to efficiency and supply-chain security: teams now add security scanners, SBOM generation, and signed packages (Sigstore) to CI. These add value but also make pipelines heavy if duplicated per repo without caching.

The result is the same as marketing stacks: more integrations, more seams to manage, more cognitive load for devs and maintainers. The TypeScript surface area is especially sensitive because tooling overlaps at compile, type-check, lint, and test stages.

How to run a TypeScript tool audit (quick start)

Run this audit to get a baseline in one day.

1. Generate an inventory. Search package.json, CI YAMLs, and root scripts for any of the common tools: eslint, typescript, babel, swc, esbuild, vite, webpack, rollup, jest, vitest, c8/nyc, playwright/cypress, tsc, fork-ts-checker-webpack-plugin, vite-plugin-checker, ts-node, ts-jest, turbo/nx, pnpm, yarn.
2. Map responsibilities. For each tool, write down exactly which responsibilities it claims (formatting, linting, transpile, typecheck, test, bundle, dev server, test runner). If the responsibility is implicit in a plugin, document that too.
3. Collect metrics. Add build times for dev start, test run, and CI job durations. Note cache hit rates in CI and approximate monthly compute cost.
4. Spot duplicate functionality. Look for tools that both do the same logical work: two linters, two formatters, both Babel and SWC compiling, tsc plus a type checker plugin for Webpack, two test runners in the same repo, etc.

Quick commands to help inventory

# list dev dependencies quickly (npm / pnpm / yarn)
jq -r '.devDependencies + .dependencies | keys[]' package.json | sort

# search repo for tool usage in CI and scripts
rg "eslint|jest|vitest|tsc|babel|swc|esbuild|webpack|vite|rollup|cypress|playwright|fork-ts-checker" -S

# find unused deps (careful; always review results)
npx depcheck || pnpm dlx depcheck

# npm / pnpm audit and dependabot
pnpm audit --json > audits.json

TypeScript-specific red flags (what indicates sprawl)

• Two or more transformers/compilers in your pipeline (Babel + tsc + swc): often only one is needed for transforms; the others may only be type-checking or legacy behavior.
• Formatting enforced in multiple places (Prettier + ESLint rule sets both formatting). This causes noisy CI failures.
• Type-checking duplicated: running type checks in dev via a plugin and again in CI with tsc without caching or incremental builds.
• Two test runners (Jest + Vitest or Jest + Mocha) used simultaneously across modules.
• Monorepo without shared tsconfig strategy — each package maintains divergent tsconfig.json that duplicate compilerOptions and cause inconsistent behavior.

A practical consolidation checklist (by category)

Each item includes what to look for, consolidation options, and safe migration steps.

1) Linters & formatting

• Look for: ESLint + Prettier both enforcing formatting; older TSLint remnants; multiple ESLint configs across packages.
• Consolidate to: ESLint as the single linter + eslint-config-prettier to disable conflicting formatting rules; use Prettier only for formatting (via plugin) if you prefer a dedicated formatter. Use @typescript-eslint for TypeScript rules.
• Migration steps (safe):
  1. Add eslint-config-prettier and @typescript-eslint, then run autofix once:

     npx eslint "src/**/*.{ts,tsx}" --fix

  2. Remove formatting rules from ESLint or turn off Prettier in editors while transitioning; run a single formatting pass and commit it in a dedicated PR to minimize diffs.
  3. In CI, run ESLint once and break builds on lint errors or only warnings depending on risk appetite.

2) Compilers & transforms (tsc, Babel, SWC, esbuild)

• Look for: Babel or SWC used with TypeScript + tsc also executed; multiple plugins that overlap (ex: Babel handling JSX plus ts-loader).
• Consolidate to:
  • If you need only fast transforms and not run-time type-checking in Babel/SWC: use esbuild or SWC for dev transforms; keep tsc --noEmit for authoritative type checking in CI.
  • If you need fine-grained emit behavior, decorators, or project references: keep tsc as the source of truth for build artifacts (use it for production builds or package emits).
• Migration steps (safe):
  1. Document where type errors are currently caught (editor, plugin, CI).
  2. Introduce tsc --noEmit in CI as the canonical type check if missing.
  3. Switch dev server to esbuild/ SWC for speed, but keep tsc type check in a background process or CI job — don't remove tsc until tests prove coverage parity.

3) Bundlers and dev servers (Vite, Webpack, Rollup)

• Look for: Multiple bundlers in different packages, or separate dev server transforms plus a different production bundler (e.g., Vite dev + Webpack prod) causing different behavior between dev and prod.
• Consolidate to: Prefer a single bundler/dev-server pair that matches production behavior (Vite + Rollup for libraries, or a single Webpack pipeline if you need complex plugin ecosystems). In many apps, Vite now covers dev and production well and reduces the need for separate full Webpack configs.
• Migration steps (safe):
  1. Run an A/B: keep the old bundler on a branch and run the new bundler in parallel builds for a subset of PRs. Compare bundle outputs and runtime smoke tests.
  2. Use deterministic builds and compare hashes for large files, automate visual regressions for UI changes, and keep canary releases for production traffic shifting.

4) Type checking strategy

• Look for: Type checking happening in multiple places without caching; no incremental build settings; or using Babel to transpile TypeScript without a separate type check.
• Consolidate to:
  • CI: run tsc --noEmit as the authoritative type-check step.
  • Local dev: use editor-based type checking (Language Server) and optionally a background tsc --watch --incremental task. Avoid running full tsc bundle in local dev if the dev server already transforms files.
• Migration steps (safe):
  1. Add tsc --noEmit to CI as a gated job with cacheable artifacts (tsbuildinfo).
  2. Enable incremental and composite for monorepos and add tsBuildInfoFile to get faster repeated checks.

5) Test runners & coverage

• Look for: Multiple test runners, duplicated coverage steps, long integration test suites run in every PR unnecessarily.
• Consolidate to: Pick a primary test runner (Jest or Vitest are common choices in 2026). Vitest offers faster native ESM performance and is optimized for Vite users; Jest remains strong for legacy ecosystems. Unify unit tests under one runner and move heavy e2e to a separate pipeline (Playwright/Cypress) triggered selectively.
• Migration steps (safe):
  1. Port a subset of tests to the new runner and run both runners in CI for a transition period. Keep the old runner but make it non-blocking until parity is proven.
  2. Split tests in CI: run fast unit tests on every PR; run slow e2e nightly or on release branches.

6) CI/CD — eliminating duplicate jobs

• Look for: Identical steps repeated across multiple workflows, type checks duplicated across jobs, or builds that re-install dependencies from scratch each job.
• Consolidate to:
  • Make a single authoritative job for type checking and linting that other jobs depend on.
  • Cache package managers (pnpm, npm), build caches, and tsc incremental build outputs across jobs. Use persistent artifact storage where your CI supports it.
• Migration steps (safe):
  1. Introduce cache keys including node version and lockfile hash. Measure cache hit rate before and after changes.
  2. Replace duplicate lint jobs with a single lint job that publishes a pass artifact for downstream jobs to consume.

tsconfig best-practices for consolidation

One major source of sprawl is per-package divergent tsconfig files. Standardize with a root tsconfig base and package-level overrides.

Recommended structure

// tsconfig.base.json
{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2022",
    "module": "ESNext",
    "moduleResolution": "bundler",
    "strict": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "incremental": true,
    "tsBuildInfoFile": "./node_modules/.cache/tsbuildinfo"
  }
}

// packages/foo/tsconfig.json
{
  "extends": "../../tsconfig.base.json",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "composite": true,
    "outDir": "dist"
  },
  "include": ["src"]
}

Notes:

• skipLibCheck reduces noise from third-party types during consolidation; turn it off only if you have dependency type issues.
• incremental/composite speeds CI and local rebuilds when using project references — essential for medium+ sized repos.
• Use moduleResolution: "bundler" in modern toolchains when using ESM-first bundlers; otherwise prefer "node" for Node-targeted libs.

Dependency audit and dead code removal

Removing unused dependencies reduces the surface area for vulnerabilities and reduces cognitive load for maintainers.

• Run static tools: depcheck to find likely unused packages, madge to visualize circular dependencies, and ts-prune to find unused exports.
• Use package manager audits and Dependabot / Snyk for dependency alerts. In 2026, supply chain tooling (SBOM, SLSA levels, Sigstore) is common; add SBOM generation to a nightly job to track transitive changes.
• Always review suggested removals manually — devDependencies used by build tooling may be referenced by scripts rather than imports.

Safe consolidation playbook — step-by-step

1. Day 0: Inventory & metrics — run the audit commands, capture baseline build/test times, and list duplicate responsibilities.
2. Week 1: Low-risk wins — unify formatting (ESLint + Prettier), remove TSLint, centralize tsconfig base, and add tsc --noEmit to CI if missing.
3. Week 2–4: Medium-risk changes — move to a single test runner, introduce esbuild/SWC for dev transforms, and add caching to CI. Run both old and new tools in parallel in CI while verifying parity.
4. Week 4–8: High-risk changes & cleanup — consolidate bundlers or remove Babel if SWC/esbuild covers your needs. Remove duplicated tools after a full test/monitoring cycle. Add SBOM and security scanning to nightly jobs.
5. Post-rollout: Measure & iterate — compare build times, CI costs, developer onboarding times, and number of infra incidents. Document changes and update onboarding docs.

Example: Migrating from Babel + tsc to SWC dev + tsc in CI

Why this is a common consolidation: Babel was used for transforms but doesn’t type-check natively. SWC or esbuild can replace Babel for speed. Keep tsc as authoritative type-checks in CI.

# 1. Add swc for dev
npm install -D @swc/core @swc/cli

# 2. Use swc for dev server config (example: vite)
// vite.config.ts: set esbuild to false and configure swc plugin

# 3. Add tsc --noEmit to CI
# .github/workflows/ci.yml
- name: Type Check
  run: pnpm -w exec tsc --noEmit

Measuring success — KPIs to track

• CI queue and runtime minutes (pre/post) — aim to reduce redundant jobs.
• Time to first dev build and test run locally.
• Number of tools listed in package.json and number of devDependencies removed.
• Onboarding time for a new hire to make a green build and run tests.
• Monthly CI cost — track billing changes after consolidation.

Tip: Keep a changelog of tooling decisions. When you have fewer tools, it’s easier to reason about trade-offs later.

Common objections and how to answer them

“But we need both tools — they cover edge cases.”

Document which edge cases are required. If they are real, migrate those behaviors into plugins or small adapters so you can remove the heavier tool. If the edge case is historical, deprecate with a timeline.

“Consolidation will break production.”

Use parallel pipelines, canary releases, and smoke tests. Keep the previous pipeline available but mark it non-blocking until parity is proven.

“Performance regressions might appear.”

Measure before and after, use benchmarks, and use caching effectively. Most consolidations yield net gains because they remove duplicated work and promote cached artifacts.

2026 trends to consider when consolidating

• First-class ESM and bundler-driven resolution are standard — pick bundlers that embrace these paradigms for long-term compatibility.
• Tooling is converging around fast Rust-based transformers (SWC, esbuild) and lightweight dev servers (Vite). These are safe defaults for new projects in 2026.
• Security & supply chain tooling is mandatory for many orgs. Add SBOM, use Dependabot or Snyk, and sign builds (Sigstore) where required.

Actionable takeaways

• Run an inventory today and add build/test timing telemetry to baseline your stack.
• Unify formatting and linting first (ESLint + Prettier). It’s low risk and high reward.
• Keep tsc --noEmit as the authoritative type check in CI; use faster transformers in dev if desired.
• Consolidate to a single test runner and split slow e2e tests to a separate pipeline.
• Standardize tsconfig with a base file and enable incremental builds for monorepos.
• Measure CI minutes and dev feedback loops — let data drive further consolidation choices.

Closing — don’t remove tools, remove friction

Tool sprawl isn’t inherently bad; choices are how teams mature. But when the cost of those choices starts to outweigh the benefit, it’s time for engineering triage. Use this TypeScript checklist to find overlapping responsibilities, consolidate safely, and measure the value you reclaim.

Call to action: Run the inventory steps this week and commit a single PR that centralizes formatting rules or adds tsc --noEmit to CI. If you want a checklist file ready for your repo, download the companion JSON/CLI in our GitHub repo or subscribe for a tooling audit guide — cut CI minutes and help your team focus on shipping.

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