Typescript: Specify a tsconfig.json for use with `tsc` on the command line

[IceDragon200]

Expected:

# works like normal, loads ./tsconfig.json
tsc
# specifying a different tsconfig
tsc --config /path/to/a/tsconfig.json

# example: specifying different config files 
tsc -c /configs/typescript/es3-commonjs.json --outDir ./build/es3
tsc --config /configs/typescript/es5.json --outFile ./build/production.js
tsc --config /configs/typescript/es6-experimental.json --outFile ./build/staging.js

# the order of the parameters should be respected, configs are loaded and their options overloaded 
# by the ones specified on the command line
tsc -c config.json --outDir ./build
# in this case, the config is loaded, and its outDir is overriden if defined
tsc --outDir ./build -c config.json
# outDir is set, but overriden by the config if set

If tsc is able to load a tsconfig.json, why can't I specify what to load?

Certainly I could use the @text.txt format, but that's no fun, I even tried tsc @tsconfig.json only to be met with errors (you couldn't extract the extension from the filename and just load it as a json file, like really?).

[mhegazy]

the flag name is --p or `--project and not config. it takes the path the the folder containing tsconfig.json, and starting with 1.8, it will allow a full path to the file (see https://github.com/Microsoft/TypeScript/issues/2869)

you can find more information about this in https://github.com/Microsoft/TypeScript/wiki/tsconfig.json#using-tsconfigjson

[mitermayer]

I also expect to be able to provide my own configuration that should not reside in the root of the project

[mhegazy]

I also expect to be able to provide my own configuration that should not reside in the root of the project

sure. --p argument can be a file path. you can pass any valid json file to it.

[e-cloud]

@mhegazy how can i compile only one file with a tsconfig.json using tsc, inside a project with many .ts files

[mhegazy]

@mhegazy how can i compile only one file with a tsconfig.json using tsc, inside a project with many .ts files

there is no way to do this currentlly. your best bet is to specify a new tsconfig.json extends the exiting one (see https://github.com/Microsoft/TypeScript/issues/9876), and add your file to it.