Microsoft/TypeScript

error TS5053: Option 'declarationDir' cannot be specified with option 'outFile'.

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#12,405 opened on Nov 21, 2016

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Description

Attempting to change the declaration file output directory, I get the following error:

error TS5053: Option 'declarationDir' cannot be specified with option 'outFile'.

tsconfig.json looks like this:

{
    "$schema": "http://json.schemastore.org/tsconfig",
    "compilerOptions": {
        "module": "amd",
        "target": "es6",
        "outFile": "../assets/js/main.js",
        "sourceMap": true,
        "declaration": true,
        "declarationDir": "../"
    }
}

I want my .d.ts file emitted somewhere else, since that's not a public asset.

Why is this not permitted?

I'm forced to create two (near-identical) tsconfig files and run the compiler twice to get the declaration file and output file. What for?

Contributor guide

Tech stack
typescript
Domain
build systemclitooling
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
TypeScript compiler basicsunderstanding of tsconfig.json
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
25
Research direction
This feature request asks to allow `declarationDir` when `outFile` is set. Currently, the TypeScript compiler shows error TS5053 preventing this combination. To implement this, a contributor should examine the compiler's option validation logic, likely in `src/compiler/commandLineParser.ts` where incompatible options are checked. They need to understand the technical reason for the restriction (possibly related to AMD module output) and modify the validation to allow it while ensuring correct behavior. No maintainer response or linked PRs exist, so the contributor must infer requirements from the issue description and codebase.
error TS5053: Option 'declarationDir' cannot be specified with option 'outFile'. · Microsoft/TypeScript#12405 | Good First Issue