Including & Excluding Files.md

Including & Excluding Files

Introduction

You can control which files are included or excluded from compilation using the "include" and "exclude" options in the tsconfig.json configuration file.

Including Files:

The "include" option specifies an array of file globs that determine which files should be included in the compilation. Here's an example:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    // Compiler options...
  },
  "include": [
    "src/**/*.ts",
    "tests/**/*.ts"
  ]
}

In this example, TypeScript will include all .ts files under the src and tests directories and their subdirectories in the compilation process.

Excluding Files:

The "exclude" option specifies an array of file globs for files that should be excluded from compilation. Here's an example:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    // Compiler options...
  },
  "exclude": [
    "node_modules",
    "build"
  ]
}

In this example, TypeScript will exclude all files under the node_modules and build directories from the compilation.

Using Both "include" and "exclude":

You can use both "include" and "exclude" options together. When both options are specified, TypeScript first includes files based on the "include" patterns and then excludes files based on the "exclude" patterns. Here's an example:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    // Compiler options...
  },
  "include": [
    "src/**/*.ts",
    "tests/**/*.ts"
  ],
  "exclude": [
    "node_modules",
    "build"
  ]
}

In this example, TypeScript includes files matching the "include" patterns but excludes files matching the "exclude" patterns.

Using "files" Option:

Alternatively, you can use the "files" option to explicitly list the files that should be included. This option overrides both "include" and "exclude". Here's an example:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    // Compiler options...
  },
  "files": [
    "src/main.ts",
    "src/utils/math.ts",
    "tests/test1.ts"
  ]
}

In this example, TypeScript will only compile the files specified in the "files" array.

Choose the approach that best fits your project's organization and requirements. The combination of "include", "exclude", and "files" options gives you flexibility in controlling which files are part of the TypeScript compilation process.