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prefer-type-fest-writable

Require TypeFest Writable over manual mapped types that remove readonly with -readonly, and over imported aliases like Mutable.

Targeted pattern scope​

This rule targets manual readonly-removal mapped types and legacy mutability alias names.

What this rule reports​

  • {-readonly [K in keyof T]: T[K]}
  • Type references that resolve to imported Mutable aliases.

Why this rule exists​

Writable<T> is a standard TypeFest utility for expressing β€œmutable version of T” and avoids repeating a verbose mapped type pattern.

❌ Incorrect​

type Mutable<T> = {
 -readonly [K in keyof T]: T[K];
};

βœ… Correct​

type MutableUser = Writable<User>;

Behavior and migration notes​

  • Writable<T> is the canonical mutable-view utility in this plugin's type-fest conventions.
  • This rule targets both structural mapped types (-readonly) and alias references (Mutable).
  • Keep mapped-type definitions only when they intentionally differ from simple readonly removal.

Additional examples​

❌ Incorrect β€” Additional example​

type Mutable<T> = { -readonly [K in keyof T]: T[K] };

βœ… Correct β€” Additional example​

type Mutable<T> = Writable<T>;

βœ… Correct β€” Repository-wide usage​

type EditableOrder = Writable<ReadonlyOrder>;

ESLint flat config example​

import typefest from "eslint-plugin-typefest";

export default [
 {
  plugins: { typefest },
  rules: {
   "typefest/prefer-type-fest-writable": "error",
  },
 },
];

When not to use it​

Disable this rule if existing mapped-type aliases are required by public contracts.

Package documentation​

TypeFest package documentation:

Source file: source/writable.d.ts

/**
 * Create a type that strips `readonly` from the given type. Inverse of
 * `Readonly<T>`.
 *
 * The 2nd argument will be ignored if the input type is not an object.
 *
 * Note: This type can make readonly `Set` and `Map` writable. This behavior is
 * different from `Readonly<T>` (as of TypeScript 5.2.2). See:
 * https://github.com/microsoft/TypeScript/issues/29655
 *
 * This can be used to [store and mutate options within a
 * class](https://github.com/sindresorhus/pageres/blob/4a5d05fca19a5fbd2f53842cbf3eb7b1b63bddd2/source/index.ts#L72),
 * [edit `readonly` objects within
 * tests](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/50703834), [construct a `readonly`
 * object within a
 * function](https://github.com/Microsoft/TypeScript/issues/24509), or to define
 * a single model where the only thing that changes is whether or not some of
 * the keys are writable.
 *
 * @category Object
 *
 * @example
 *  ```
 *  import type {Writable} from 'type-fest';
 *
 *  type Foo = {
 *      readonly a: number;
 *      readonly b: readonly string[]; // To show that only the mutability status of the properties, not their values, are affected.
 *      readonly c: boolean;
 *  };
 *
 *  const writableFoo: Writable<Foo> = {a: 1, b: ['2'], c: true};
 *  writableFoo.a = 3;
 *  // @ts-expect-error
 *  writableFoo.b[0] = 'new value'; // Will still fail as the value of property "b" is still a readonly type.
 *  writableFoo.b = ['something']; // Will work as the "b" property itself is no longer readonly.
 *
 *  type SomeWritable = Writable<Foo, 'b' | 'c'>;
 *  // type SomeWritable = {
 *  //     readonly a: number;
 *  //     b: readonly string[]; // It's now writable. The type of the property remains unaffected.
 *  //     c: boolean; // It's now writable.
 *  // }
 *
 *  // Also supports array
 *  const readonlyArray: readonly number[] = [1, 2, 3];
 *  // @ts-expect-error
 *  readonlyArray.push(4); // Will fail as the array itself is readonly.
 *  const writableArray: Writable<typeof readonlyArray> = readonlyArray as Writable<typeof readonlyArray>;
 *  writableArray.push(4); // Will work as the array itself is now writable.
 *  ```;
 */

Rule catalog ID: R075

Further reading​

Adoption resources​