What do the keyof and typeof operators do in type contexts?

Question

IT Interview Practice · Accepted Answer

These two operators let you derive types from existing types and values — the foundation of type-level programming.

## keyof — the union of an object type's keys

```ts
interface User { id: number; name: string; }
type UserKey = keyof User; // "id" | "name"
```

## typeof — the type of a value

```ts
const config = { host: "localhost", port: 3000 };
type Config = typeof config; // { host: string; port: number }
```

`typeof` (in a type position) captures the inferred type of a runtime value, so you don't have to write the type out separately.

## Combined: the classic type-safe property getter

```ts
function getProp<T, K extends keyof T>(obj: T, key: K): T[K] {
  return obj[key];
}
const user = { id: 1, name: "Ann" };
getProp(user, "name"); // returns string
getProp(user, "age");  // ❌ Error: "age" is not a key of user
```

Here `K extends keyof T` restricts `key` to real keys, and `T[K]` (an *indexed access type*) gives back the exact value type for that key. Typos become compile errors.

## Deriving a union from a const object

```ts
const Roles = { Admin: "admin", User: "user" } as const;
type Role = typeof Roles[keyof typeof Roles]; // "admin" | "user"
```

## Why it matters

`keyof` and `typeof` connect the value world and the type world.

They power type-safe property access, deriving types from config/constants (single source of truth), and are building blocks for mapped and conditional types.

They're how you avoid hand-maintaining parallel type definitions.

keyof — the union of an object type's keys

typeof — the type of a value

Combined: the classic type-safe property getter

Deriving a union from a const object

Why it matters

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