node-typescript-resolver

A companion loader for Node.js's built-in TypeScript support that adds TypeScript-aware import resolution.

Note: This package does not transform TypeScript code. It works alongside Node.js 22's built-in TypeScript support (type stripping) or --experimental-transform-types flag to provide proper module resolution for TypeScript imports.

This package provides a fast and efficient TypeScript module resolver for Node.js that supports:

• ✨ TypeScript file resolution (.ts, .tsx, .mts, .cts)
• 🚀 Extensionless imports (import './module' resolves to './module.ts')
• 📁 Directory imports (import './dir' resolves to './dir/index.ts')
• 🎯 tsconfig.json path aliases (e.g., '@lib/*', '@utils')
• 🔄 import.meta.resolve support (synchronous resolution for TypeScript files)
• 📦 CommonJS require() support (require TypeScript files with extensionless imports)
• 🧵 Worker threads support (extensionless imports inside worker threads)
• 🎨 Type-only imports (import { type Foo } from 'type-only-packages')
• ⚡ Efficient caching for fast repeated resolutions
• 🔧 Built on oxc-resolver for blazing-fast resolution

Installation

npm install node-typescript-resolver

Prerequisites: Type-Only Import Syntax

Node.js's built-in TypeScript support does not perform import elision—it doesn't analyze which imports are used only as types. This applies to both type stripping mode and --experimental-transform-types mode. Imports like import { SomeType } from './module' will remain in the emitted JavaScript—causing runtime errors in ESM modules if SomeType is only a type (CommonJS will silently get undefined).

We believe --experimental-transform-types should handle import elision, and this may improve in future Node.js versions (the flag is still experimental). Check Node.js TypeScript documentation for updates. Until then, the solution is to use explicit type-only import syntax (import type { ... } or import { type ... }), enforced through ESLint and TypeScript configuration.

1. Install typescript-eslint (if not already installed)

npm install -D typescript-eslint

2. Fix existing violations

Run this command to automatically fix all type-only imports in your codebase:

npx eslint --no-config-lookup --ext .ts,.tsx,.mts,.cts \
  --parser @typescript-eslint/parser \
  --plugin @typescript-eslint/eslint-plugin \
  --rule '@typescript-eslint/consistent-type-imports: [error, {prefer: type-imports, fixStyle: separate-type-imports}]' \
  --fix .

3. Add ESLint rule for future violations

Add this rule to your ESLint configuration to catch violations automatically:

// eslint.config.mjs
{
  rules: {
    "@typescript-eslint/consistent-type-imports": [
      "error",
      {
        prefer: "type-imports",
        fixStyle: "separate-type-imports",
      },
    ],
  },
}

See @typescript-eslint/consistent-type-imports documentation for more options.

4. Enable verbatimModuleSyntax in tsconfig.json

Add this compiler option to make TypeScript enforce explicit type-only syntax:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "verbatimModuleSyntax": true
  }
}

This ensures any import without a type modifier is preserved in the output, making the behavior predictable and compatible with Node.js type stripping.

See verbatimModuleSyntax documentation for details.

Usage

Use the loader alongside Node.js's built-in TypeScript support to enable TypeScript-aware module resolution:

# Node.js 22.15.0+ with built-in TypeScript support (type stripping)
node --import node-typescript-resolver your-app.ts

# Or with --experimental-transform-types for type transformations
node --experimental-transform-types --import node-typescript-resolver your-app.ts

# For CommonJS TypeScript entry points, use --require instead
node --require node-typescript-resolver entry.cts

This allows you to write TypeScript imports like:

// Import without extension - resolves to helper.ts or helper.js
import { helper } from "./helper";

// Import directory - resolves to ./components/index.ts
import { Button } from "./components";

// Import with TypeScript path alias (from tsconfig.json)
import { utils } from "@lib/utils";

// Type-only imports from type-only packages
import { type Writable } from "type-fest";

// Standard imports still work
import { something } from "./module.ts";

TypeScript Path Aliases

The resolver automatically detects and uses tsconfig.json for path alias resolution:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "baseUrl": ".",
    "paths": {
      "@lib/*": ["src/lib/*"],
      "@utils": ["src/utils/index.ts"],
      "@components/*": ["src/components/*"]
    }
  }
}

With this configuration, you can use imports like:

import { Button } from "@components/Button";
import { helper } from "@lib/helpers";
import { format } from "@utils";

import.meta.resolve Support

The loader provides both asynchronous and synchronous resolve hooks, enabling full support for import.meta.resolve() with TypeScript files:

// Resolve extensionless TypeScript imports
const helperPath = import.meta.resolve("./helper"); // Resolves to ./helper.ts

// Resolve with explicit .ts extension
const modulePath = import.meta.resolve("./module.ts");

// Resolve path aliases from tsconfig.json
const utilsPath = import.meta.resolve("@lib/utils");

// Use the resolved path
const module = await import(helperPath);

This is powered by the synchronous resolve hook (resolveSync), which Node.js uses internally when calling import.meta.resolve(). The sync hook was enabled by module.registerHooks() API added in Node.js 22.15.0. Both the async and sync hooks provide the same resolution capabilities:

• TypeScript file extensions (.ts, .tsx, .mts, .cts)
• Extensionless imports
• Directory imports to index files
• tsconfig.json path aliases

CommonJS require() Support

The synchronous resolve hook also enables CommonJS require() to work seamlessly with TypeScript files:

// main.cjs
// Require extensionless TypeScript module
const helper = require("./helper"); // Resolves to ./helper.ts

// Require with explicit .ts extension
const module = require("./module.ts");

// Require path aliases from tsconfig.json
const utils = require("@lib/utils");

This means you can:

• Mix CommonJS and ESM modules in the same project
• Gradually migrate from CommonJS to ESM
• Use TypeScript files in legacy CommonJS codebases
• Leverage path aliases in both module systems

Note: While Node.js's built-in TypeScript support works with CommonJS files (.cjs), the TypeScript files themselves should use ESM syntax (export/import). The loader enables CommonJS code to require() those TypeScript ESM modules.

Worker Threads Support

Worker threads work with TypeScript files. The Worker constructor requires the .ts extension for the worker file itself, but imports inside the worker support extensionless resolution:

// Worker file must have .ts extension
const worker = new Worker(new URL("./worker.ts", import.meta.url), {
  execArgv: process.execArgv, // Pass loader to worker
});

// Inside worker.ts - extensionless imports work
import { helper } from "./helper"; // Resolves to ./helper.ts

Type-Only Imports

The loader supports type-only imports from packages that only export TypeScript types (like type-fest):

import { type Writable } from "type-fest";
import { type JsonValue } from "type-fest";

Node.js Limitation Workaround: Node.js currently doesn't support loading .d.ts files from node_modules when using built-in TypeScript support. The loader works around this by:

1. Detecting when a package resolves to a .d.ts file in node_modules
2. Using the "types" export condition to find the correct type definitions
3. Returning an empty module for runtime (since type-only imports don't need runtime code)

This allows you to use TypeScript's import { type } syntax with type-only packages without any runtime errors.

How It Works

Non-Intrusive Resolution

This loader is designed to be non-intrusive and provides both async and sync resolve hooks:

1. Always tries default Node.js resolution first

   • Lets Node.js handle all normal module resolution
   • Only activates when Node.js fails with ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND, ERR_PACKAGE_PATH_NOT_EXPORTED, or other resolution errors
   • Works for both dynamic imports and import.meta.resolve()

2. Fallback resolution - When default resolution fails, the loader tries:

   • TypeScript path aliases (if configured via tsconfig.json)
   • TypeScript file extensions (.ts, .tsx, .mts, .cts)
   • Extensionless imports with multiple extension candidates
   • oxc-resolver for fast filesystem lookups

3. Dual resolution modes

   • Async hook (resolve) - Used for dynamic imports and regular import statements
   • Sync hook (resolveSync) - Used by import.meta.resolve() and CommonJS require() for synchronous resolution
   • Both hooks share the same resolution logic and capabilities

4. Efficient caching

   • All resolutions are cached automatically by oxc-resolver
   • Built-in caching minimizes filesystem access for repeated imports
   • Cache can be cleared when needed via clearCache()

This approach ensures:

• ✅ No performance impact on standard Node.js module resolution
• ✅ No interference with existing working imports
• ✅ Full support for both async and sync resolution APIs
• ✅ Only enhances resolution when needed

Performance

This package is designed for high performance:

• Built on top of the fast oxc-resolver
• Built-in caching from oxc-resolver to avoid repeated filesystem lookups
• Minimal overhead in the resolution path

Production Ready

This package is built for reliability and production use:

• Stable Node.js APIs - Uses Node.js's official customization hooks API (stable since Node.js 22.7.0) with sync hooks via module.registerHooks() (added in Node.js 22.15.0)
• Battle-tested resolver - Powered by oxc-resolver, a Rust-based resolver used in production by the Oxc project
• Comprehensive test coverage - Extensively tested with 35 integration tests covering real-world scenarios:
  • ESM and CommonJS interoperability
  • Path aliases and extensionless imports
  • Type-only imports from packages like type-fest
  • import.meta.resolve() and createRequire() support
  • Directory imports and edge cases

Requirements

• Node.js >= 22.15.0 (with built-in TypeScript support and module.registerHooks() for sync resolution)
• Works with Node.js's built-in type stripping or --experimental-transform-types flag (this package only handles import resolution, not code transformation)

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the package
npm run build

# Run tests
npm test

# Run tests with TypeScript directly (Node.js 22.15.0+)
npm run test:ts

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT

Author

Konstantin Vyatkin tino@vtkn.io