# Generate standalone types with Smithy

DevFeed: [Generate standalone types with Smithy](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/generate-standalone-types-with-smithy-50113.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/developer/generate-standalone-types-with-smithy/>)

Author: Jordon Phillips

Published: 2026-09-08T16:03:12Z

Content type: tutorial

Language: en

Sources: [AWS Developer Tools Blog](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/aws-developer-tools-blog.md>)

Topics: [Code generation](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/code-generation.md>), [Programming](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/programming.md>), [interface](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/interface.md>), [service](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/service.md>)

Tags: [announcements](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/announcements.md>), [aws-sdk](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/aws-sdk.md>), [code-generation](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/code-generation.md>), [developer-tools](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/developer-tools.md>), [generate](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/generate.md>), [serialization](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/serialization.md>), [services](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/services.md>), [smithy](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/smithy.md>), [typescript](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/typescript.md>)

## AI overview

This tutorial explains how Smithy shape closures can generate standalone types for event payloads, allowing services and subscribers to share generated definitions and serialization instead of maintaining separate copies. It notes support in smithy-java and smithy-typescript.

## Source excerpt

Without generated standalone types, a service that publishes events ends up with the payload defined manually in several places. The service has its own definition, and every consumer has their own definition. This is tedious, error-prone busywork for consumers. And as the service evolves, changes to events can expose bugs. A missing field or changed [...]