We’re halfway through the Early Access Program for WebStorm 2024.2! It’s been a while since we walked you through the latest improvements and features in this release, so it’s about time for an update. Read on to learn about the key changes that made it into the EAP builds in the past few weeks. For more information, check out our previous blog posts.

The Toolbox App is the easiest way to get the EAP builds and keep both your stable and EAP versions up to date. You can also manually download the EAP builds from our website.

DOWNLOAD WEBSTORM 2024.2 EAP

Please try the latest EAP build and share your feedback with us. You can do so using our issue tracker or by leaving a comment on this blog post.

Since EAP3, WebStorm IDE provides the ability to run TypeScript files directly within the IDE without any additional setup. This feature allows users to run and debug TypeScript files directly within the IDE without any additional setup, utilizing the integrated tsx bundler. You can now execute TypeScript files from different entry points, including the file context menu, the Run widget, and the “Current file” configuration for scratch files. The bundled loader eliminates the need for extra dependencies, though it does come with some limitations, such as requiring Node 18 or higher, no type-checking, and limited support for tsconfig.json. You can disable the bundled loader in the configuration settings if it’s not needed.

The WebStorm@next program has introduced a new TypeScript engine, to enhance type evaluation and overall performance. This engine uses the TypeScript language server, improving type inference and compatibility. Here is a case in point.

The new engine promises a smoother development experience and ongoing improvements for better support across various frameworks. The new engine has been enabled by default since EAP4. You can toggle it using Settings | Languages & Frameworks | TypeScript > Use types from server option:

To improve the visual perception of the commit graph in the Log tab of the Git tool window, we’ve refined the color encoding and layout of branch lines. Important branch lines now consistently remain on the left-hand side of the graph and retain their designated colors, making them easier to identify and follow. 

Previously, commits from important branches were sometimes not correctly laid out or colored because their heads were contained within less important branches. This update ensures that important branches are always clearly visible and consistently colored.

WebStorm can now natively render mathematical expressions in Markdown files. In WebStorm 2024.2, you can use $ to insert inline math expressions and $$ for code blocks containing math content.

We’ve redesigned the layout and behavior of the UI elements in the Customize Main Toolbar dialog, making it more intuitive and organized. Now, it’s easier to search for, add, and delete actions in the main toolbar.

We’ve resolved the following longstanding issues:

That’s it for today. For the full list of improvements available in the latest EAP builds, check out the release notes. Stay tuned for our next EAP digest!