TypeScript infer Keyword
TypeScript infer Keyword with examples
In this article, I'll show you how we can use the infer keyword to extract types from generics. Let's use Promise as an example.
type UnpackPromise<P> = ✨magic✨
UnpackPromise<Promise<string>> // <- string
UnpackPromise<Promise<number>> // <- number
UnpackPromise<Promise<boolean>> // <- booleantype UnpackPromise<P> = ✨magic✨
UnpackPromise<Promise<string>> // <- string
UnpackPromise<Promise<number>> // <- number
UnpackPromise<Promise<boolean>> // <- booleanIf P is a subset of a Promise of T, we want to return T. Otherwise, we return never, which represents something that should never happen.
type UnpackPromise<P> = P extends Promise<T> ? T : never;type UnpackPromise<P> = P extends Promise<T> ? T : never;But that doesn't work, because T doesn't exist yet.
Let's compare that to a function, and you'll see what I mean.
const UnpackPromise = (P) =>
P === Promise<T>
? T
: neverconst UnpackPromise = (P) =>
P === Promise<T>
? T
: neverP is an argument, but where is T coming from?
In a regular function, you would solve this by creating a variable called T. Something like this:
const UnpackPromise = (P) =>
P === Promise<var T>
? T
: neverconst UnpackPromise = (P) =>
P === Promise<var T>
? T
: neverAnd that's where the infer keyword comes into play. It works kinda like a type variable declaration.
type UnpackPromise<P> = P extends Promise<infer T> ? T : never;type UnpackPromise<P> = P extends Promise<infer T> ? T : never;If P is a subset of Promise, we tell TypeScript to infer the inner type of that Promise and save it in a type called T. Then, we return T.
type UnpackPromise<P> =
P extends Promise<infer T>
? T
: never
UnpackPromise<Promise<string>> // <- string
UnpackPromise<Promise<number>> // <- number
UnpackPromise<Promise<boolean>> // <- boolean
UnpackPromise<Promise<Array<Date>>> // <- Array<Date>
UnpackPromise<Promise<boolean | string>> // <- boolean | stringtype UnpackPromise<P> =
P extends Promise<infer T>
? T
: never
UnpackPromise<Promise<string>> // <- string
UnpackPromise<Promise<number>> // <- number
UnpackPromise<Promise<boolean>> // <- boolean
UnpackPromise<Promise<Array<Date>>> // <- Array<Date>
UnpackPromise<Promise<boolean | string>> // <- boolean | string
References are below.
There's a lot more to the infer keyword, but that's what I could fit in a one-minute video. If you want to dive deeper into TypeScript, I have a series about TypeScript narrowing. You can read the full series, for free, on my blog.
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