Use Absolute Path Imports with Typescript and Node.js

With absolute path imports, we can do import { functionA } from 'src/modules/moduleA'. Notice that the path starts with src instead of ../../.. dots when we use relative paths. Set Up Let's create a new Node.js project: mkdir node-ts cd node-ts npm init -y And install dependencies we will need: npm install --dev typescript tsx tsc-alias To use Typescript, we must create a tsconfig.json configuration file. Let's create a default configuration with: npx tsc --init And a separate directory for all our source files: mkdir src Now we can set the baseUrl Typescript parameter to use absolute path imports: { "compilerOptions": { ... "baseUrl": "./" } } Also, let's set parameters that we will need to compile our Typescript files: { "compilerOptions": { ... "rootDir": "./src", "outDir": "./dist" }, ... "include": ["src/**/*.ts"] } Now, it's time to add some useful commands to the package.json: { ... "scripts": { "dev": "tsx watch src/main.ts", "build": "tsc -p tsconfig.json && tsc-alias", "start": "node ./dist/main.js" }, ... } The dev script will run Typescript in watch mode, so every time we update our source code, it will restart automatically. The build script will compile all files from the src folder and output the result into the dist folder. Notice the tsc-alias command, which will replace all absolute paths with relative ones (to make Node.js happy). The start command will run our app in production. Test Let's write some code and test our config. Create the src/utils/log.ts file: export const sayHello = (name: string) => { console.log(`Hello, ${name}!`) } Now that we have the sayHello function defined, let's call it from src/main.ts: import { sayHello } from 'src/utils/log.ts' sayHello('world') Run the npm run dev command to see the famous Hello, world! phrase.

Mar 31, 2025 - 17:46

Use Absolute Path Imports with Typescript and Node.js

With absolute path imports, we can do import { functionA } from 'src/modules/moduleA'. Notice that the path starts with src instead of ../../.. dots when we use relative paths.

Set Up

Let's create a new Node.js project:

mkdir node-ts
cd node-ts
npm init -y

And install dependencies we will need:

npm install --dev typescript tsx tsc-alias

To use Typescript, we must create a tsconfig.json configuration file. Let's create a default configuration with:

npx tsc --init

And a separate directory for all our source files:

mkdir src

Now we can set the baseUrl Typescript parameter to use absolute path imports:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
  ...
  "baseUrl": "./"
  }
}

Also, let's set parameters that we will need to compile our Typescript files:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    ...
    "rootDir": "./src",
    "outDir": "./dist"
  },
  ...
  "include": ["src/**/*.ts"]
}

Now, it's time to add some useful commands to the package.json:

{
  ...
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "tsx watch src/main.ts",
    "build": "tsc -p tsconfig.json && tsc-alias",
    "start": "node ./dist/main.js"
  },
  ...
}

The dev script will run Typescript in watch mode, so every time we update our source code, it will restart automatically.

The build script will compile all files from the src folder and output the result into the dist folder. Notice the tsc-alias command, which will replace all absolute paths with relative ones (to make Node.js happy).

The start command will run our app in production.

Test

Let's write some code and test our config. Create the src/utils/log.ts file:

export const sayHello = (name: string) => {
  console.log(`Hello, ${name}!`)
}

Now that we have the sayHello function defined, let's call it from src/main.ts:

import { sayHello } from 'src/utils/log.ts'

sayHello('world')

Run the npm run dev command to see the famous Hello, world! phrase.