diff --git a/.changeset/tiny-ladybugs-hang.md b/.changeset/tiny-ladybugs-hang.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e41d2dcad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/tiny-ladybugs-hang.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@hey-api/openapi-ts": patch
+---
+
+fix: throw error when typescript is missing
diff --git a/packages/openapi-ts/src/index.ts b/packages/openapi-ts/src/index.ts
index b25c2016d..b52bd6b30 100644
--- a/packages/openapi-ts/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/openapi-ts/src/index.ts
@@ -181,6 +181,10 @@ export async function createClient(userConfig: UserConfig): Promise<Client> {
         {}
     );
 
+    if (!dependencies.typescript) {
+        throw new Error('🚫 dependency missing - TypeScript must be installed');
+    }
+
     const config = await initConfig(userConfig, dependencies);
 
     const openApi =