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generate:types (and other bin commands) hang forever with 100% CPU when tsconfig has a relative rootDir like "./"

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Assessment

Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Newbie friendliness
78/100
Issue type
Bug
Clarity
Clearly specified
Activity status
Active
Tech stack
node.js, typescript
Domain
backend, cli

Research direction

Start with getTSConfigPaths() in packages/payload/src/config/find.ts and the findUpSync implementation in packages/payload/src/utilities/findUp.ts. Reproduce the hang with the linked setup or the listed tsconfig changes, then verify that pnpm payload generate:types no longer loops and either generates types or reports that the config cannot be found.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

area: core Bug status: needs-triage v3
Describe the Bug

When PAYLOAD_CONFIG_PATH is not set and tsconfig.json has no "@payload-config" path, payload generate:types hangs indefinitely at 100% CPU with no output.

Cause: in getTSConfigPaths() (packages/payload/src/config/find.ts), srcPath is taken directly from compilerOptions.rootDir without being resolved to an absolute path:

const srcPath = tsConfig.compilerOptions?.rootDir || path.resolve(process.cwd(), 'src')

With "rootDir": "./", findUpSync({ dir: './' }) loops forever:

  • path.parse('./').root === ''
  • path.dirname('./') === '.', and path.dirname('.') === '.'
  • so dir never equals root and the while(true) loop never exits.

Suggested fix: resolve rootDir (and outDir) relative to the tsconfig directory, e.g.
path.resolve(tsConfigDir, tsConfig.compilerOptions.rootDir)
Optionally, findUpSync/findUp could also guard against dirname(dir) === dir.

Workaround: set PAYLOAD_CONFIG_PATH, or add "paths": { "@payload-config": ["./path/to/payload.config.ts"] } to tsconfig.json.

Link to the code that reproduces this issue

https://github.com/bbkysf/payload-rootdir-hang

Reproduction Steps
  1. pnpx create-payload-app@latest -t blank repro && cd repro
  2. Move src/payload.config.ts to dev/payload.config.ts (fix its relative imports)
  3. In tsconfig.json:
    • remove "@payload-config" from compilerOptions.paths
    • set "rootDir": "./"
  4. Run pnpm payload generate:types

Expected: types are generated, or an error says the config can't be found.
Actual: the process hangs forever with no output at 100% CPU (one core pinned). It never exits.

findUpSync({ dir: './' }) in packages/payload/src/utilities/findUp.ts loops forever because path.dirname('.') === '.' and path.parse('./').root === '', so dir !== root is always true.

Setting PAYLOAD_CONFIG_PATH, or adding the @payload-config path back, avoids the hang.

Which area(s) are affected?

area: core

Environment Info
Binaries:
  Node: 24.18.0
  pnpm: 11.20.0
Relevant Packages:
  payload: 3.90.0
  next: 16.3.3
  @payloadcms/db-postgres: 3.90.0
  @payloadcms/next: 3.90.0
  @payloadcms/richtext-lexical: 3.90.0
  react: 19.2.6
Operating System:
  Debian GNU/Linux 13 (trixie) on WSL2 (kernel 6.18.33.2-microsoft-standard-WSL2), Windows 11
  x64, 8 cores
Dominant language
TypeScript
Stars
45.5k
Forks
4.3k
Avg merge
1d 19h
Merged PRs (30d)
309

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