Spreading object with optional property causes incorrect type inference when `exactOptionalPropertyTypes = false`

[ptandler]

🔎 Search Terms

spread optional property undefined

🕗 Version & Regression Information

5.9.3 and others

⏯ Playground Link

https://www.typescriptlang.org/play/?ts=5.9.3#code/MYewdgzgLgBAhjAvDA3jAHgLhgFgEwwC+AsAFCiSwBGAjEqhtgK5gAmApgGYCWY7rRMhWgxgdZGgB00uABoY0ybSIwA9KphQAngAd2MEJ1F1uEGL07sATlf7wzaLDBYcefVgG4VAWk0ALOCgAcjNQG3ZgWEBQciFwCBAAG3ZJBJAAcwAKMQBKMljKGCo8bEcAfmwwJgBbKmsVCUZnNi5eO0I1DSg-UxhWEHYzMBBYHSsQViZgfTgwGGsxqxgAdz92WfZ0OEiAeR0obnA4BIAFMb0rbQAVXQHETiOIdnyRYAIGxTkFaSKVdU0bgxGV7mMwWeZ2OAORqVGrWLztXxdQIhZZjMBpeSQ0R4SToGAAfVM+KarlaAkAMuTPRLJVKZV65UhAA

💻 Code

const a = { x: 42 }
const b1 = { x: undefined }
const c1 = { ...a, ...b1 } // type of c1 is inferred as { x: undefined; } - that's correct ✅
console.log(c1)

const b2: { x?: number } = { x: undefined } // this does not produce an error when exactOptionalPropertyTypes=false
const c2 = { ...a, ...b2 } // type of c2 is inferred as { x: number; } - that's wrong, as c2.x _is_ undefined ❌
console.log(c2)

🙁 Actual behavior

I know that there have been several issues filed before like #57086 / #51755 / #51253 / #57408 and they all were closed referring to exactOptionalPropertyTypes.

However, reading the docs, the description of exactOptionalPropertyTypes says:

exactOptionalPropertyTypes makes TypeScript truly enforce the definition provided as an optional property:

const settings = getUserSettings();
settings.colorThemeOverride = "dark";
settings.colorThemeOverride = "light";

// But not:
settings.colorThemeOverride = undefined;

Type 'undefined' is not assignable to type '"dark" | "light"' with 'exactOptionalPropertyTypes: true'. Consider adding 'undefined' to the type of the target.

So, the option changes the way, how ?: is defined from "can be not present or undefined" to "can be not present, but not set to undefined".

But even when exactOptionalPropertyTypes=false, I don't see a reason why TS should infer an invalid type in the example given above. It knows that x can be undefined (or not present) and it knows that exactOptionalPropertyTypes=false, so it should really infer in this case that the prop value can be undefined. For me, that would appear to be a consistent implementation of the language semantics.

Or do I miss something?

🙂 Expected behavior

I want to rely on TS inferring correct types, also in this case.

Additional information about the issue

Of course, this change would be a breaking change, so there could be another option to activate it.

We have a large project and there are many places (including JSON stored in customer DBs) that would need to be adjusted if we want to set exactOptionalPropertyTypes to true. So that's not a solution we can quickly implement.

[jcalz]

#57408 (comment)

Still looks like a duplicate.