`tsgo -b -v` differs in output directory

[TheArcaneBrony]

Steps to reproduce

1. Install @typescript/native-preview in project
2. Run tsgo -b -v
3. Observe that files are emitted in dist/src/ instead of dist/

https://github.com/spacebarchat/server/blob/491c0de/tsconfig.json

Behavior with typescript@5.9

Output files are in dist/*

Behavior with tsgo

Output files are in dist/src/*

I was not able to find an open issue for this, did I miss a deprecation?

[jakebailey]

Yes:

• Assume rootDir is the current configuration directory TypeScript#62194
• Port rootDir default to configFile directory and some module resoluton fixes #2521
• Assume rootDir is the current configuration directory TypeScript#62418 (TS 6.0)

Explicitly set your rootDir.

@sheetalkamat was there supposed to be some sort of error related to this? (I think not in this case, so nevermind)

[TheArcaneBrony]

Can confirm that setting rootDir fixed the issue and means I can get rid of my mv hack...

Maybe could be a warning message?

[TheArcaneBrony]

Hm, seems with that change, it doesn't include all of the code, causing a MODULE_NOT_FOUND error to be thrown for files that don't exist...

Error: Cannot find module '../dist/util/util/Stopwatch' (File wasn't included for some reason?)

[jakebailey]

Can you provide the whole repro?

Maybe could be a warning message?

We haven't historically had anything like this.

[TheArcaneBrony]

Ah, I figured it out... i was doing rm -rf dist/*, but tsconfig.tsbuildinfo was moved from dist/ to ./, which was causing it to skip compilation at all...

[sheetalkamat]

As pointed out this is expected behavior with change in rootDir if not specified. microsoft/TypeScript#62194

You would get error with typescript@6.0

c:\temp\server>node c:\temp\ts\node_modules\typescript\lib\tsc.js -b -v
[11:09:29 AM] Projects in this build:
    * tsconfig.json

[11:09:29 AM] Project 'tsconfig.json' is out of date because output file 'dist/.tsbuildinfo' does not exist

[11:09:29 AM] Building project 'c:/temp/server/tsconfig.json'...

tsconfig.json:63:9 - error TS5011: The common source directory of 'tsconfig.json' is './src'. The 'rootDir' setting must be explicitly set to this or another path to adjust your output's file layout.
  Visit https://aka.ms/ts6 for migration information.

63         "outDir": "./dist/" /* Specify an output folder for all emitted files. */,
           ~~~~~~~~


Found 1 error.


c:\temp\server>node c:\temp\ts\node_modules\typescript\lib\tsc.js -v
Version 6.0.0-dev.20260120

[jakebailey]

Should we port that error from TS 6.0, just for the time being until 6.0 is properly out as the stable version?