Hi, most of the README, is or was generated with AI, lots of the code too, or definitely with help.

Just that you know.

I became a bit of a pug lover ... :) the dog ;) , and needed a Typescript validation. Pug was new to me. Node as well, I have been a long time in Javascript ... I am getting older. But so, Typescript was new as well, and I fell a bit in love with Typescript, Pug, and Node/npm.

So basically, this is a Node npm package, that parses pug templates ... to see if what you're using is validly typed (scripted).

Which means if you change your code ... the program will check if everything in your pugs is still consistent. Lots of updates are possible; this is a working version that was handy for me ... so I stopped there a bit. Also not working on the project anymore where I was using it. Once I'm back there I will ... continue to improve.

I also created a simple VS-extension so you can (at least) click through on the import links above in the page to go to the classes/interfaces you defined. Might make that public as well later ...

Kr, Sam 2025-07-31

🧩 pug-ts-check

pug-ts-check is a static TypeScript checker for Pug templates. It performs offline analysis of your .pug views to ensure that the locals and mixin arguments match their expected TypeScript types.

---

🚀 Purpose

When rendering Pug templates in a Node.js/Express app, mismatches between what's passed and what the view expects often lead to runtime errors.

pug-ts-check solves this by:

• 🧠 Analyzing your .pug files statically
• 🛠️ Validating expected locals and mixin arguments
• 🧾 Generating a shared viewlocals.d.ts file
• 🧘 Improving development experience (autocomplete, hover, etc.)
• ❌ Preventing bugs before runtime

🧼 This is a static development tool only. It does not run at runtime and does not modify your compiled templates.

---

📦 Installation

npm install pug-ts-check --save-dev

npm install pug-ts-check --save-dev

⚠️ Important: Pug Patches for TypeScript Annotations

These patches are NOT required for pug-ts-check to work - the tool can analyze your templates without them. However, the patches ARE required for your Pug templates to compile correctly when you add TypeScript annotations like //@import and typed mixin parameters.

Why You Need the Patches

pug-ts-check reads your .pug files and validates the TypeScript annotations, but when you actually render your templates (in development or production), standard Pug will fail to compile templates with:

• //@ comments before extends statements
• Typed mixin parameters like mixin card(title: string, count?: number)

Without patches: ❌ Your templates won't compile
With patches: ✅ Your templates compile normally + get type checking

Quick Setup with patch-package (Recommended)

1. Install dependencies:

   npm install pug-ts-check --save-dev
   npm install patch-package --save-dev
   npm install pug@^3.0.2 pug-code-gen@^3.0.3 pug-linker@^4.0.0

2. Copy patch files:

   cp node_modules/pug-ts-check/patches/*.patch ./patches/

3. Apply patches:

   npx patch-package

4. Auto-apply on install:

   // Add to your package.json scripts:
   "postinstall": "patch-package"

What the patches do:

Patch 1: Comment Support (pug-linker)

• Problem: Pug doesn't allow comments before or at the same level as extends nodes
• Solution: Allow //@ comments in extended templates (before extends)
• Result: Your //@import and //@expect comments work in extended templates

Note: These comments currently get included in the final HTML render - this might be changed in future.

Patch 2: Typed Mixin Support (pug-code-gen)

• Problem: Pug can't handle TypeScript syntax in mixin parameters
• Solution: Strip TypeScript annotations from mixins during compilation
• Example: mixin card(title: string, count?: number) → mixin card(title, count)
• Result: You can write typed mixins that both compile AND get type-checked

The Bottom Line

Both patches ensure that when you add TypeScript annotations, the Pug compiler doesn't freak out and can still generate HTML. The pug-ts-check tool works with or without patches, but your templates need the patches to actually render.

📖 Detailed instructions: See patches/README.md

Future: Automated Solution

We are working on providing pre-patched Pug packages or a patch automation tool to eliminate this manual step.

Current Status: ⚠️ Manual patches required
Planned: ✅ Automated patch application or pre-patched packages

---

⚙️ Configuration: pug.tsconfig.json

{
  "tmpDir": "./src/.tmp",
  "projectPath": "../../srv/apps/string-portrait/code/",
  "pugPaths": ["./src/views"],
  "logLevel": "info",
  "viewsRoot": "./src/views",
  "typesPath": "./src/types"
}

or e.g.

{
  "tmpDir": "./src/.tmp",
  "projectPath": "./",
  "pugPaths": ["./views"],
  "logLevel": "info",
  "viewsRoot": "./views",
  "typesPath": "./types"
}

Key Fields

Field	Description
tmpDir	Temporary directory used for generated .ts files
projectPath	Path to your app's tsconfig.json (needed for type resolution)
pugPaths	One or more directories where .pug files live
logLevel	Logging verbosity (info, warn, error, debug)
viewsRoot	Base directory for resolving included views (typically views folder)
typesPath	Where viewlocals.d.ts will be generated

---

💡 Declaring Imports and Expected Locals

Use //@ comments to describe what the view expects:

//@ import type { User, Cart } from '../types/models.js'
//@ expect { user: User, cart: Cart }

extends layout

block content
  +orderOverview(cart, user)
  p Welcome #{user.name} to your order history!

---

➕ Mixins with Typed Parameters

You can add type-safe mixin definitions as well:

//@ import type { Cart } from '../types/models.js'
//@ import type { User } from '../types/models.js'
//@ expect {}

mixin orderOverview(cart: Cart, user: User)
  ul
    each item in cart.items
      li= item.product.name + ' - ' + item.quantity + ' pcs'
  if cart.items.length > 0
    p Total items: #{cart.items.length}
  else
    p Your cart is empty.

The checker verifies all usages of +orderOverview(...) and enforces correct argument types.

---

🧪 Running the CLI

npx pug-ts-check

Options

npx pug-ts-check [path] [options]

Flag	Description
[path]	File or folder to analyze (optional)
--watch	Re-run when .pug files change
--verbose	Show detailed output
--silent	Suppress logs
--tmpDir <dir>	Override temp directory
--projectPath	Path to tsconfig.json
--pugTsConfig	Use alternative config file (default: pug.tsconfig.json)

---

🧾 Output

After running, you'll get a file like:

// src/types/viewlocals.d.ts

declare namespace ViewLocals {
  interface Index { title: string }
  interface CartHistory { user: User; cart: Cart }
  ...
}

Use this for type safety in your controllers.

---

🧩 Express Integration with typedRender

To enforce view-local types at runtime, you can extend Express's res object with a typedRender helper.

1. Add a Type Augmentation

Create a file like express.d.ts in your project:

import "express";

declare module "express-serve-static-core" {
  interface Response {
    typedRender<K extends keyof ViewLocals>(
      view: K,
      locals: ViewLocals[K]
    ): void;
  }
}

2. Add the Runtime Implementation

In your app setup code (e.g. app.ts):

app.use((req, res, next) => {
  res.typedRender = function(view, locals) {
    return res.render(view, locals);
  };
  next();
});

3. Use in Controllers

You now get full type safety when rendering views:

res.typedRender("pages/home", {
  user: currentUser,
  cart: currentCart
});

📂 Typical Project Structure

project-root/
├── src/
│   ├── views/                # Pug templates
│   ├── types/
│   │   └── viewlocals.d.ts   # Generated typings
│   └── .tmp/                 # Temp output (safe to ignore)
├── pug.tsconfig.json         # Static checker config
├── tsconfig.json             # TypeScript config

---

✅ Features

• ✅ Static TypeScript checking for Pug views
• ✅ Typed locals and mixin parameters
• ✅ Autogenerated viewlocals.d.ts
• ✅ Watch mode for live feedback
• ✅ Simple CLI integration
• ✅ IDE-friendly annotations (//@ import, //@ expect)

---

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

---

🧠 Credits

Created with ❤️ to bring modern type safety to template rendering.
Contributions, suggestions, and integrations welcome!