Epic: Migrate codebase from CoffeeScript to TypeScript

[jessefreeman]

Objective:
Eliminate CoffeeScript from the microstudio8 codebase and adopt modern TypeScript for improved type safety, maintainability, and developer experience.

Benefits:

• Remove legacy CoffeeScript compilation layer
• Strong typing catches errors earlier
• Modern syntax (ES2018+) improves readability
• Better IDE tooling (IntelliSense, refactoring)
• Clear interfaces & contracts ease onboarding
• Source maps & direct TS debugging

Scope Summary:

• Backend: DB, session, server bootstrap, API, application subsystems (build, content, forum, relay, filestorage)
• Frontend: Editor, project management, language parsers
• Tooling: Introduce tsconfig, replace coffee build steps, integrate tests
• Documentation & cleanup post migration

Task Checklist (subtasks):

• Phase 1: Assess CoffeeScript codebase & identify critical paths #1 Phase 1: Audit & preparation
• Phase 2: Migrate core infrastructure (DB, session, server, API) to TypeScript #2 Phase 2: Core infrastructure migration
• Phase 3: Migrate application layer modules (build, content, forum, relay, filestorage) #3 Phase 3: Application layer migration
• Phase 4: Migrate frontend CoffeeScript (editor, project, languages) to TypeScript #4 Phase 4: Frontend migration
• Phase 5: Testing & documentation refinement post-migration #5 Phase 5: Testing & documentation refinement

Execution Guidelines:

• Copy existing compiled .js to .ts then refactor incrementally
• Introduce interfaces progressively; prefer correctness over premature optimization
• Replace var with const/let, remove CoffeeScript binding IIFEs
• Keep PRs scoped per subsystem to reduce review risk
• Maintain passing startup smoke test after each phase

Acceptance Criteria for Epic Completion:

• No .coffee files remain in repository
• All server and client code compiles via TypeScript (tsc) without errors (strict mode)
• Updated README & migration docs committed
• Test suite covers critical paths (startup, DB ops, session, core API endpoints)
• Documented before/after metrics (file counts, LOC, type coverage snapshot)

Risks & Mitigations:

• Large refactor instability → phased approach with smoke tests per phase
• Type gaps: start with loose types, tighten in later commits
• Build complexity: adopt minimal tooling first, optimize later

Tracking:
This issue remains open until all checklist items are completed and closed.