ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND CustomError: Cannot find package when using paths

[Jazcash]

C:\Users\me\Desktop\test\node_modules\ts-node\dist-raw\node-internal-modules-esm-resolve.js:757
  throw new ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND(packageName, fileURLToPath(base));
        ^
CustomError: Cannot find package '@/stuff' imported from C:\Users\me\Desktop\test\src\index.ts
    at packageResolve (C:\Users\me\Desktop\test\node_modules\ts-node\dist-raw\node-internal-modules-esm-resolve.js:757:9)
    at moduleResolve (C:\Users\me\Desktop\test\node_modules\ts-node\dist-raw\node-internal-modules-esm-resolve.js:798:18)
    at Object.defaultResolve (C:\Users\me\Desktop\test\node_modules\ts-node\dist-raw\node-internal-modules-esm-resolve.js:912:11)
    at C:\Users\me\Desktop\test\node_modules\ts-node\src\esm.ts:218:35
    at entrypointFallback (C:\Users\me\Desktop\test\node_modules\ts-node\src\esm.ts:168:34)
    at C:\Users\me\Desktop\test\node_modules\ts-node\src\esm.ts:217:14
    at addShortCircuitFlag (C:\Users\me\Desktop\test\node_modules\ts-node\src\esm.ts:409:21)
    at resolve (C:\Users\me\Desktop\test\node_modules\ts-node\src\esm.ts:197:12)
    at resolve (C:\Users\me\Desktop\test\node_modules\ts-node\src\child\child-loader.ts:15:39)
    at nextResolve (node:internal/modules/esm/loader:163:28)

I'm importing another file with import { test } from "@/stuff". If I don't use the @ path alias and instead do import { test } from "./stuff" then it works fine. Previously the tsconfig-paths module has worked fine for me, but in this ESM project it seems to not work. Any ideas that don't require abandoning ESM and going back to CJS?

Minimal reproduction

https://codesandbox.io/p/sandbox/fast-dew-p8vcjk?file=%2Ftsconfig.json%3A11%2C27

Specifications

• ts-node version: ^10.9.1
• node version: 18.16.0
• TypeScript version: 5.1.3
• tsconfig.json:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "module": "es2022",
    "moduleResolution": "Node",
    "noEmit": true,
    "baseUrl": ".",
    "paths": {
      "@/*": ["./src/*"]
    }
  },
  "include": ["src/**/*"],
  "ts-node": {
    "esm": true,
    "require": ["tsconfig-paths/register"]
  }
}

• package.json:

{
  "name": "test",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "",
  "type": "module",
  "scripts": {
    "build": "ts-node src/index.ts",
    "start": ""
  },
  "author": "",
  "license": "ISC",
  "devDependencies": {
    "ts-node": "^10.9.1",
    "tsconfig-paths": "^4.2.0",
    "typescript": "^5.1.3"
  }
}

[ptandler]

Seems, this is currently not supported on purpose, see #2023 (comment)

[aaggarwal-sumo]

I am facing similar issue can any one please help me out: #2023 (comment)

[mettini]

This has done the trick for me: #1450 (comment)

[mvarchdev]

Does not work in node 21 :/

[MyNameIsNeXTSTEP]

I faced the same issue with npx tsx too.

Specifications:

• "@types/node": "^22.10.1",
• "typescript": "^5.6.3",
• tsx@4.19.2
• node ^22.10.0

tsconfig.json

{
  "extends": "../../tsconfig.json", // referrence below
  "compilerOptions": {
    "baseUrl": ".",
    "paths": {
      "~/*": ["./*"],
    }
  },
"include": ["**/*.ts", "./server/**/*", "./packages/**/*"],
}

package.json

{
  "name": "backend",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "scripts": {
    "start:server": "npx tsx watch server/server.ts"
  },
  "license": "Proprietary and Confidential",
  "private": true,
  "type": "module",
  "dependencies": {
    "@fastify/autoload": "^6.0.2",
    "@fastify/swagger": "^9.4.0",
    "@fastify/swagger-ui": "^5.1.0",
    "ajv": "^8.17.1",
    "dotenv": "^16.4.5",
    "fastify": "^5.1.0",
    "fastify-cors": "^6.1.0",
    "fastify-plugin": "^5.0.1",
    "postgres": "^3.4.5",
    "redis": "^4.7.0",
    "shared": "workspace:^"
  },
  "devDependencies": {
    "@types/node": "^22.10.1",
    "dotenv": "^16.4.5",
    "typescript": "^5.6.3"
  }
}

refereenced root tsconfig.json (using yarn workspaces):

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "lib": ["ES2022"],
    "baseUrl": ".",
    "module": "ESNext",
    "composite": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "allowJs": true,
    "noEmit": true,
    "incremental": true,
    "strict": true,
    "strictBindCallApply": true,
    "strictFunctionTypes": true,
    "strictPropertyInitialization": true,
    "moduleResolution": "Node",
    "resolveJsonModule": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true,
    "isolatedModules": true,
    "paths": {
      "*": [".yarn/sdks/typescript/lib/*"],
      "@root/*": ["./*"],
      "@shared/*": ["./packages/shared/*"],
    },
  },
  "include": ["./apps/**/*", "./packages/**/*"],
  "exclude": [
    "node_modules"
  ],
  "files": [] // Prevent this config from compiling anything directly
}

So when using import as:

import psql from '~/packages/db/connection';

For the miported file:

import postgres from 'postgres';

const psql = postgres();
export default psql;

The error is inside the backend server container is:

node:internal/modules/run_main:122
    triggerUncaughtException(
    ^
Error [ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND]: Cannot find package '~' imported from /app/<my_app>/apps/backend/server/server.ts

[MyNameIsNeXTSTEP]

@Jazcash Have you figured out how to resolve this issue properly ?

[Jazcash]

@Jazcash Have you figured out how to resolve this issue properly ?

No, I swapped to using tsx and haven't looked back.

[MyNameIsNeXTSTEP]

@Jazcash Same thing, still cannot even imagine how to fix that.

Found that the most reliable way from any perspectives for using TypesScript with whatever you need - is to write .d.ts files separately from youre main code, which has to be written is JavaScript, and the connect them together by a package.json configuration of "types" field.

[Jazcash]

@MyNameIsNeXTSTEP I straight swapped ts-node for tsx in my sandbox above and it works just fine. There's also a build tool called tsup that I've used a fair bit which also just tends to work out-the-box.