Can TypeScript files be run directly in the Node.js environment without prior compilation?

By default, Node.js cannot run TypeScript files directly, as it only understands JavaScript. TypeScript needs to be pre-compiled into JavaScript.

However, there are tools that allow running TypeScript files without explicit pre-compilation:

• ts-node — a utility that compiles and runs TypeScript code on the fly. It integrates with Node.js and allows running .ts files directly.

Example of running with ts-node:

ts-node script.ts

• ESM Loader with TypeScript support — you can configure Node.js with a loader that compiles TypeScript upon import.

Thus, without additional tools, running TypeScript directly is not possible, but with ts-node or similar solutions, it is.