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What is utility-types?

piotrwitek/utility-types — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-06-26

5,759TypeScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · easy

In one sentence

A TypeScript package that adds dozens of extra type helpers, for deeply nested objects, unions, functions, promises, and Flow migration, beyond what TypeScript ships with, at zero runtime cost.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((utility-types))
    What it does
      Extra TypeScript helpers
      Zero runtime cost
      No third-party dependencies
    Object helpers
      DeepPartial and DeepReadonly
      SetDifference and intersection
      Pick and omit by value type
    Other helpers
      Union manipulation
      Function and Promise types
      Flow migration aliases
    Usage
      Single npm install
      Compile-time only
      Extensively documented
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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Make every nested field of a complex TypeScript object optional using DeepPartial, not just the top level

USE CASE 2

Migrate a Flow-typed JavaScript codebase to TypeScript using the included Flow-compatible type aliases

USE CASE 3

Compute which fields two TypeScript interfaces share or differ using SetDifference and SetIntersection

USE CASE 4

Strongly type a function that accepts multiple argument shapes using the included function helpers

What is it built with?

TypeScriptnpm

How does it compare?

piotrwitek/utility-typessantiq/bulletproof-nodejscan1357/oh-my-pi
Stars5,7595,7565,755
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyeasymoderateeasy
Complexity2/53/54/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min
Released under an open-source license, free to use in any project including commercial ones.

So what is it?

Utility-types is a TypeScript package that provides a large collection of extra type helpers for use in TypeScript projects. TypeScript already ships with a set of built-in helpers, such as Partial (which makes all fields of a type optional) and Readonly (which prevents modifications). This library extends that set with many more, covering common scenarios the built-in types do not address. The types are organized into a few categories. Some work on object shapes, letting you pick or omit fields based on their value types, create deeply nested versions of Partial or Readonly, or find the difference and intersection between two object types. Others work on union types, which are a way of expressing that a value could be one of several types. There are also helpers for working with functions, promises, and class instances. A separate section of the library mirrors types from Flow, a different type-checking tool for JavaScript. This makes it easier for teams migrating a Flow-typed codebase to TypeScript, since they can swap the type names without rewriting the logic. The library has no runtime cost. The types only exist at the TypeScript level and are erased when the code is compiled to JavaScript, so adding this package does not add any code to your final application bundle. It has no third-party dependencies, which keeps it small and avoids supply-chain concerns. Installation is a single npm or Yarn command. The README is extensive and documents every type in the collection with usage examples, which makes it easy to browse and find what you need. The package has been downloaded heavily and is tested for type correctness using a dedicated type-testing library called dts-jest. It is released under an open-source license.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Using the utility-types package, show me how to type a parameter as DeepReadonly so that no nested property can be mutated at compile time.
Prompt 2
I have two TypeScript interfaces: UserA and UserB. Using utility-types, how do I create a type that contains only properties present in both?
Prompt 3
I am migrating a Flow-typed codebase to TypeScript. Show me which utility-types imports replace common Flow helpers like $Shape and $Diff.
Prompt 4
Show me how to use PromiseType from utility-types to extract the resolved value type of an async function return type.

Frequently asked questions

What is utility-types?

A TypeScript package that adds dozens of extra type helpers, for deeply nested objects, unions, functions, promises, and Flow migration, beyond what TypeScript ships with, at zero runtime cost.

What language is utility-types written in?

Mainly TypeScript. The stack also includes TypeScript, npm.

What license does utility-types use?

Released under an open-source license, free to use in any project including commercial ones.

How hard is utility-types to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is utility-types for?

Mainly developer.

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