Inferred Return Types

What

Inferred return types occur when TypeScript automatically detects what a function returns based on the logic inside its body, without requiring an explicit return type annotation.

How

Simply define your function with typed parameters but omit the return type. TypeScript will “read” the return statement to determine the type:

// Inferred as number
function add(a: number, b: number) {
  return a + b;
}

Why

Inference makes your code cleaner and more resilient to change. If you update a function’s return logic, TypeScript will automatically update the inferred type throughout your codebase, alerting you to any newly created type mismatches.

Summary

Use inferred return types for simple functions to keep your signatures concise and easy to maintain.