---
title: "Migrating ts-loader to TypeScript 7.1 with AI"
url: https://daily.dev/posts/migrating-ts-loader-to-typescript-7-1-with-ai-nylu3j8a3
source_url: https://johnnyreilly.com/migrating-ts-loader-to-typescript-7-1-with-ai
type: article
source: "John Reilly"
published: 2026-07-31T15:18:54.498Z
updated: 2026-07-31T18:18:20.911Z
tags: ["github", "typescript", "claude", "webpack"]
reading_time: 8
upvotes: 39
comments: 6
language: en
---

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# Migrating ts-loader to TypeScript 7.1 with AI

**[John Reilly](https://daily.dev/sources/johnnyreilly)** · 8 min read · 39 upvotes · 6 comments

## Summary

The author documents migrating ts-loader (54M downloads/month) to support TypeScript 7.1, which is the first Go-based TypeScript version to ship with an API. Using GitHub Copilot and Claude as primary drivers, the migration involved dropping the old TypeScript API, updating tests across Linux/Mac/Windows (using Claude via GitHub Actions for Windows), replacing chalk with picocolors, and switching from typescript-eslint to oxlint-tsgolint due to TypeScript 7.1 incompatibility. Key limitations remain: transpileOnly, custom transformers, and project references aren't yet supported as the APIs don't exist yet. The port targets ts-loader v10, bumping minimum Node to 22 and dropping Happypack support. Shipping is contingent on TypeScript 7.1's official API release.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://johnnyreilly.com/migrating-ts-loader-to-typescript-7-1-with-ai>

## Community discussion

Top comments from developers on daily.dev.

**@agustinbarrientos** · 0 upvotes

> The simple comparison tests gave Claude the guardrails it needed for the harder failures.

**@renehoehle** · 0 upvotes

> Nice article. AI is very good in changing and converting actual code.

**@pdfopsdev** · 0 upvotes

> the transpileOnly gap is gonna bite more people than the chalk/picocolors swap tbh. we lean on transpileOnly to keep cold builds fast in CI, losing it until the Go API surface catches up is a real regression not a papercut.

**@petecapecod** · 0 upvotes

> nice good article, I got excited for a minute because I thought TS 7.1 had dropped lol *it's here!* Interesting to see your workaround

**@rizzdev** · 0 upvotes

> The quiet option the piece never prices is just not migrating yet. Pin classic ts-loader on the JS compiler until the Go API surface is actually done, leave webpack 4/5 alone, and let a 54M dl/mo package stay boring while someone else eats the rewrite hours even with Copilot and Claude driving most of it

## Similar posts on daily.dev

- [ts-loader goes webpack 4... again\!](https://daily.dev/posts/ts-loader-goes-webpack-4-again--ixscxxh9g) · John Reilly · 1 upvotes · 0 comments

---

Tags: [#github](https://daily.dev/tags/github), [#typescript](https://daily.dev/tags/typescript), [#claude](https://daily.dev/tags/claude), [#webpack](https://daily.dev/tags/webpack)

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