Feature: allow creation of new typescript 4.5 type import

There appears to be no importKind option that we can provide to ImportSpecifierBuilder (j.importSpecifier()) in order to create the new style of type import from Typescript 4.5 (https://devblogs.microsoft.com/typescript/announcing-typescript-4-5/#type-on-import-names).

I’m trying to write a codemod that changes from the old style of type imports:

import type {MyType} from './types';

to the newer style:

import {type MyType} from './types';

And this doesn’t seem possible so far. Or, am I missing it (this is my first codemod).

[ElonVolo]

I’d suggest looking at ast-types first, as that’s where most of the builder-ish stuff is. Recast is more responsible for how things are printed out, rememberish states of modified nodes, etc.

[IanVS]

Thanks, I’ll give that a try! I was trying to accomplish this using j.importSpecifier() to create a new import specifier and then replace the existing one, but I guess your approach here is to just modify the existing one. That makes sense, thanks for the tip.

That said, it still seems like maybe j.importSpecifier() should be able to create a type import, right? So, I’ll leave this feature request open for now.