Development prerequisites

Writing an iTwin.js application requires the following software:

• Node.js (latest 22.x LTS version)
  • This provides the backend JavaScript runtime.
  • The installation also includes the npm command line tool.
• See Supported Platforms for information on Node, OS and browser support.

Suggested tools

The following tools are very helpful and highly suggested for working with iTwin.js:

• Git
  • This is the source code control system for the iTwin.js repositories.
• Google Chrome
  • This is the preferred tool for developing and debugging frontend JavaScript.
• Visual Studio Code
  • This is the recommended editor and debugger for iTwin.js applications.
  • VS Code also supplies a graphical user interface for working with Git.
  • The following VS Code extensions can also be quite helpful:
    • ESLint (use the @itwin/eslint-plugin to enforce Bentley coding standards)
    • GitLens (great tools for using Git inside VS Code)
    • MarkdownLint (for editing documentation)

Recommended reading

• TypeScript
  • iTwin.js applications are written in TypeScript and then compiled to plain JavaScript.
• Node Package Manager (npm)
  • npm is used to install and manage dependencies of an iTwin.js application.
  • The npm command line and npm scripts are used to build and test iTwin.js applications.