Tuple to Nested Object

Problem Link

Problem

Given a tuple type T and a value type U, build a deeply-nested object type where each level corresponds to one element of the tuple, and the innermost value is U.

type a = TupleToNestedObject<['a'], string>
// { a: string }

type b = TupleToNestedObject<['a', 'b'], number>
// { a: { b: number } }

type c = TupleToNestedObject<[], boolean>
// boolean

The tuple elements must all extend string (they become property keys).

Solution

Approach 1: Recursive Head/Tail Destructuring

The classic approach: peel off the first element of the tuple as the key, then recurse on the rest.

type TupleToNestedObject<T extends string[], U> =
  T extends [infer First extends string, ...infer Rest extends string[]]
    ? { [K in First]: TupleToNestedObject<Rest, U> }
    : U

How it works:

1. If T is non-empty, destructure it into First (head) and Rest (tail).
2. Create an object type with First as the only key, and recursively call TupleToNestedObject<Rest, U> as its value.
3. If T is empty ([]), return U directly — this is the base case.

Step-by-step for TupleToNestedObject<['a', 'b', 'c'], string>:

Step 1: First = 'a', Rest = ['b', 'c']  → { a: TupleToNestedObject<['b', 'c'], string> }
Step 2: First = 'b', Rest = ['c']        → { a: { b: TupleToNestedObject<['c'], string> } }
Step 3: First = 'c', Rest = []           → { a: { b: { c: TupleToNestedObject<[], string> } } }
Step 4: T = [] (base case)               → { a: { b: { c: string } } }

Approach 2: Using infer with Explicit Key Constraint

An alternative that makes the string constraint more explicit in the infer step:

type TupleToNestedObject<T extends string[], U> =
  T extends []
    ? U
    : T extends [infer K extends string, ...infer Rest extends string[]]
      ? { [P in K]: TupleToNestedObject<Rest, U> }
      : never

This checks the empty case first (cleaner control flow) and uses infer K extends string (TypeScript 4.8+) to constrain the inferred type inline.

Approach 3: Manual Property Key via Record

You can also use Record to express the single-key object:

type TupleToNestedObject<T extends string[], U> =
  T extends [infer First extends string, ...infer Rest extends string[]]
    ? Record<First, TupleToNestedObject<Rest, U>>
    : U

Record<K, V> is equivalent to { [P in K]: V } when K is a string literal — purely a stylistic choice.

Edge Cases

// Empty tuple → returns U directly
type R1 = TupleToNestedObject<[], number>
// number

// Single element
type R2 = TupleToNestedObject<['key'], boolean>
// { key: boolean }

// Deep nesting
type R3 = TupleToNestedObject<['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'], null>
// { a: { b: { c: { d: null } } } }

Key Takeaways

• Tuple head/tail destructuring with [infer First, ...infer Rest] is the foundation of recursive tuple processing in TypeScript.
• The base case (T extends []) returns the value type U, effectively “terminating” the nesting.
• infer K extends string (TypeScript 4.8+) cleanly combines inference and constraint.
• This pattern generalizes: any “fold” over a tuple can be expressed as a recursive conditional type.