This repo contains a sample TypeScript project with a Visual Studio Code launch.json that allows you run TypeScript code and mocha tests without a seperate build step.

git clone https://github.com/MinionsDave/ts-debug-example
npm install

This repo contains the following VS Code Debug tasks (accessible via the debug button on the left)

• Debug Current TS Tests File - Allows you to debug the currently open mocha unit tests file (try it with src/user.spec.ts)

• Debug by ts-node - Allows you to run and debug the program

These tasks should allow you to hit breakpoints in your code, without needing to compile first.

Further details in a blog post here: https://segmentfault.com/a/1190000010605261