Typescript error “Cannot write file … because it would overwrite input file.”

Question

In my Typescript 2.2.1 project in Visual Studio 2015 Update 3, I am getting hundreds of errors in the error list like:

Cannot write file \'C:/{{my-project

Answer 1

There's several possible causes to this.

• In your tsconfig.json:
  • Set outDir to "dist" or the name of another same-level folder. (prefixing with './' is unnecessary). This is where the build files go.
  • Set allowJs to false or delete the line. Note: enabled, allowJs will conflict with the declaration setting/flag. It isn't enabled by default.
  • Include "dist" (or your build folder) in exclude.
• In your package.json:
  • Set main to "index" or some other chosen name. Don't prefix with the build folder (eg "dist/index"), nor the unnecessary "./".
  • Set types (modern alias of typings) to "index". Adding the extensions (.d.ts or .js) is unnecessary.

Though you can have it a million different ways, for the sake of simplicity and developing understanding it's best to stick to common practices at first - like using "dist", simple tsconfig.json and package.json files at the same level in the tree, and so on. Of course, rooting through the files of your node_modules would also deepen your grasp, but there are more rewarding things in life.