Root Fields

Starting up are the root options in the TSConfig - these options relate to how your TypeScript or JavaScript project is set up.

# Files - files

Specifies an allowlist of files to include in the program. An error occurs if any of the files can’t be found.

{
  "compilerOptions": {},
  "files": [
    "core.ts",
    "sys.ts",
    "types.ts",
    "scanner.ts",
    "parser.ts",
    "utilities.ts",
    "binder.ts",
    "checker.ts",
    "tsc.ts"
  ]
}

This is useful when you only have a small number of files and don’t need to use a glob to reference many files. If you need that then use include.

• Default:

  false

• Related:

  include, exclude

# Extends - extends

The value of extends is a string which contains a path to another configuration file to inherit from. The path may use Node.js style resolution.

The configuration from the base file are loaded first, then overridden by those in the inheriting config file. All relative paths found in the configuration file will be resolved relative to the configuration file they originated in.

It’s worth noting that files, include and exclude from the inheriting config file overwrite those from the base config file, and that circularity between configuration files is not allowed.

Currently, the only top-level property that is excluded from inheritance is references.

Example

configs/base.json:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "noImplicitAny": true,
    "strictNullChecks": true
  }
}

tsconfig.json:

{
  "extends": "./configs/base",
  "files": ["main.ts", "supplemental.ts"]
}

tsconfig.nostrictnull.json:

{
  "extends": "./tsconfig",
  "compilerOptions": {
    "strictNullChecks": false
  }
}

Properties with relative paths found in the configuration file, which aren’t excluded from inheritance, will be resolved relative to the configuration file they originated in.

• Default:

  false

• Released:

  2.1

# Include - include

Specifies an array of filenames or patterns to include in the program. These filenames are resolved relative to the directory containing the tsconfig.json file.

{
  "include": ["src/**/*", "tests/**/*"]
}

Which would include:

.
├── scripts                ⨯
│   ├── lint.ts            ⨯
│   ├── update_deps.ts     ⨯
│   └── utils.ts           ⨯
├── src                    ✓
│   ├── client             ✓
│   │    ├── index.ts      ✓
│   │    └── utils.ts      ✓
│   ├── server             ✓
│   │    └── index.ts      ✓
├── tests                  ✓
│   ├── app.test.ts        ✓
│   ├── utils.ts           ✓
│   └── tests.d.ts         ✓
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── yarn.lock

include and exclude support wildcard characters to make glob patterns:

• * matches zero or more characters (excluding directory separators)
• ? matches any one character (excluding directory separators)
• **/ matches any directory nested to any level

If a glob pattern doesn’t include a file extension, then only files with supported extensions are included (e.g. .ts, .tsx, and .d.ts by default, with .js and .jsx if allowJs is set to true).

• Default:

  [] if files is specified, otherwise ["**/*"]

• Related:

  files, exclude

• Released:

  2.0

# Exclude - exclude

Specifies an array of filenames or patterns that should be skipped when resolving include.

Important: exclude only changes which files are included as a result of the include setting. A file specified by exclude can still become part of your codebase due to an import statement in your code, a types inclusion, a /// <reference directive, or being specified in the files list.

It is not a mechanism that prevents a file from being included in the codebase - it simply changes what the include setting finds.

• Default:

  ["node_modules", "bower_components", "jspm_packages"], plus the value of outDir if one is specified.

• Related:

  include, files

# References - references

Project references are a way to structure your TypeScript programs into smaller pieces. Using Project References can greatly improve build and editor interaction times, enforce logical separation between components, and organize your code in new and improved ways.

You can read more about how references works in the Project References section of the handbook

• Default:

  false