Building a BMI Calculator CLI with TypeScript — Types, Functions, and Vitest

Uya — Sat, 23 May 2026 16:05:50 +0000

Introduction

This is my first article as a Java engineer learning TypeScript from scratch.

I've been writing Java professionally, but I got interested in modern tech stacks and started learning TypeScript and Python. My approach is simple: build small projects one by one, and write honestly about everything — what I struggled with, what I figured out, and what I asked AI to help with.

This article is for people on a similar learning journey. It's not a showcase of perfect code — it's an honest record of the process.

My Learning Style (AI Transparency)

I use Claude Pro (for design discussions and Q&A) and Cursor Pro (for coding support) as learning companions.

However, I follow these rules for myself:

I write all the code myself — I never ask AI to write code for me

AI helps with hints, spec clarification, and bug spotting

I make sure I understand why something works before moving on

In this article, I clearly separate "what I implemented myself" from "what I asked AI for."

What I Built

A CLI tool that calculates BMI from height and weight input.

$ npm start

Enter your height (cm): 170
Enter your weight (kg): 70
BMI result: 24.22 (Normal)

BMI Classification

BMI	Label
< 18.5	Underweight
18.5 – 24.9	Normal
≥ 25.0	Obese

📦 Repository: https://github.com/uya0526-design/bmi-calculator

Project Structure

bmi-calculator/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts              # Entry point / CLI I/O
│   ├── calculator.ts         # BMI calculation and classification logic
│   ├── types.ts              # Type definitions
│   └── __tests__/
│       ├── calculator.test.ts # Unit tests
│       └── types.test.ts      # Type tests (skipped with describe.skip)
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── LEARNING_LOG.md

Separating responsibilities by file made it much clearer where everything lived.

Tech Stack

TypeScript
Node.js (readline module)
Vitest (unit testing)

What I Implemented Myself

types.ts — Type Definitions

// Type aliases for height, weight, and BMI value
type Height = number;
type Weight = number;
type BmiValue = number;

// Union type for classification labels
type BmiLabel = "Underweight" | "Normal" | "Obese";

// Object type to hold the calculation result
export type BmiOutput = {
  bmi: BmiValue;
  label: BmiLabel;
};

The key decision here was using a union type for BmiLabel. Any string outside of "Underweight" | "Normal" | "Obese" causes a type error at compile time.

calculator.ts — Calculation Logic

import type { BmiOutput } from "./types";

function getBmiLabel(bmi: number): string {
  if (bmi < 18.5) return "Underweight";
  if (bmi < 25) return "Normal";
  return "Obese";
}

export function calculateBmi(height: number, weight: number): BmiOutput {
  const heightInM = height / 100;
  const bmi = weight / heightInM ** 2;
  const label = getBmiLabel(bmi);
  return { bmi, label };  // shorthand property notation
}

I decided not to export getBmiLabel since it's only used internally — and I made that call myself.

index.ts — CLI Input/Output

import * as readline from "readline";
import { calculateBmi } from "./calculator";

const rl = readline.createInterface({
  input: process.stdin,
  output: process.stdout,
});

function main() {
  rl.question("Enter your height (cm): ", (heightInput) => {
    if (isNaN(Number(heightInput))) {
      console.log("Please enter a number.");
      rl.close();
      return;
    }
    rl.question("Enter your weight (kg): ", (weightInput) => {
      if (isNaN(Number(weightInput))) {
        console.log("Please enter a number.");
        rl.close();
        return;
      }
      const result = calculateBmi(Number(heightInput), Number(weightInput));
      console.log(`BMI result: ${result.bmi.toFixed(2)} (${result.label})`);
      rl.close();  // ← position matters (see "Where I Got Stuck")
    });
  });
}

main();

calculator.test.ts — Unit Tests with Vitest

import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
import { calculateBmi } from "../calculator";

describe("calculateBmi", () => {
  it("BMI 18.49 → Underweight", () => {
    const result = calculateBmi(170, 53.5);
    expect(result.label).toBe("Underweight");
  });

  it("BMI 18.5 → Normal", () => {
    const result = calculateBmi(170, 53.52);
    expect(result.label).toBe("Normal");
  });

  it("BMI 25 or above → Obese", () => {
    const result = calculateBmi(170, 72.25);
    expect(result.label).toBe("Obese");
  });

  it("BMI calculation accuracy", () => {
    const result = calculateBmi(170, 70);
    expect(result.bmi).toBeCloseTo(24.22, 1);
  });
});

I deliberately chose boundary values (18.49 / 18.5 / 25) to verify the branching logic.

What I Asked AI For

Topic	Details
Type design thinking	Asked about the difference between tuple types and object types
tsconfig.json options	Learned what `module`, `target`, and `strict` each do
Vitest setup	Confirmed the setup steps and `package.json` config
Test design principles	Learned the difference between `toBe` and `toBeOneOf`, and the one-case-per-test rule

Where I Got Stuck

1. `npm` wouldn't run in PowerShell

Cause: The default execution policy was Restricted (no scripts allowed).

Fix:

Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope Process

Using -Scope Process applies the change only to the current session — no permanent system changes.

2. Mismatch between `package.json` `"type"` and `tsconfig.json` `"module"`

Situation: package.json had "type": "module" but tsconfig.json had "module": "commonjs" — they were out of sync.

Fix: Changed package.json to "type": "commonjs". These two settings always need to match.

3. `rl.close()` in the wrong place

Situation: I put rl.close() at the end of the outer callback, but it was closing readline before the inner rl.question could finish.

Insight: rl.question is asynchronous. Writing code after it doesn't mean it runs after the callback completes.

Fix: Moved rl.close() inside the inner callback, after all processing is done.

What I Learned

TypeScript

Topic	Key Takeaway
Union types	Union types restrict strings to allowed values, catching mistakes at compile time
Limits of type aliases	`Height = number` and `Weight = number` are both just `number` at runtime — swapping arguments doesn't cause a type error (Branded Types can fix this)
`import type`	Explicitly imports types only — useful with `verbatimModuleSyntax`
Shorthand properties	`{ bmi, label }` works when variable names match property names

Testing (Vitest)

Topic	Key Takeaway
TypeScript types don't exist at runtime	Testing types with Vitest is unnecessary — the compiler already guarantees them
`toBe` vs `toBeOneOf`	`toBeOneOf` passes if any value matches — it can't verify correctness. Use `toBe` with a specific expected value
Boundary value testing	Testing around thresholds (18.5, 25) verifies that branching logic is correct
`describe.skip`	Keeps the file in place while skipping tests — useful for preserving learning notes

Wrapping Up

This was my first TypeScript project — a simple BMI calculator CLI.

Two things stood out from this experience:

Designing types first made implementation smoother
Async callbacks are easy to misplace — position matters

Next up: a Rock-Paper-Scissors game (union types, conditionals, enums).

The full learning log is in LEARNING_LOG.md.

This article is part of my public learning journey using AI tools (Claude Pro / Cursor Pro). All code is written by me — AI is used for design discussions, bug hints, and spec clarification only.

DEV Community: Uya