Lesson 27 / 30

Best Practices

Strategies for reliable, maintainable transpilation setups.

Keep transpile configuration minimal

Only transpile what's necessary. Modern browsers don't need most transformations. Minimal config = faster builds, smaller output.

Use type checking separately (TypeScript or Flow)

Don't rely on Babel/SWC for type safety. They skip type checking. Use tsc --noEmit in CI. Transpilers handle syntax only.

Documentation and team alignment

Document your transpiler choice and configuration. Ensure team members understand what transpilation happens and why. Clear setup reduces surprises and bugs.

Test transpilation as part of CI

Run your tests on transpiled output, not source. Catch transpilation bugs before release.

Version locking and reproducibility

Lock @babel/core and plugin versions in package.json. Different versions can produce different outputs. Use exact versions (not ~) for transpilers.