Typescript: require.main.require imports do not work

[mjbvz]

TypeScript Version: 2.6.0-dev.201xxxxx

From: https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode/issues/35489#issuecomment-335689358

Code

const myModule = require.main.require('./file.js')

Run go to definition on myModule

Expected behavior:
Goes to defintion of myModule

Actual behavior:
Nothing happens. Looks like we don't understand require.main.require style imports

[mhegazy]

the analysis of module imports in .js files is limited to the known require call. require.main is not a pattern the compiler looks for. it is also early in the compilation process to know that require.main.require is an alias to require.

This is currently a design limitation.

[weswigham]

@mhegazy Worse yet, require.main.require isn't strictly an alias to require - it's a require relative to the package entrypoint... Something we don't currently define.

[grokky1]

I realise this may be a big feature for you, but consider that it is a widely-used alternative to requiring crazy paths like ../../../../../../foo/bar/baz.js. So many people are using this approach now.

I hope you can find a way to get this to work.

[rafaelmaeuer]

I am looking forward to this feature too. Intellisense is not able to understand require.main.require as alias for require. But this method helps a lot for readability of code when you have files in deeper folder structures.

[TheColorRed]

I am not sure if this is the same issue, but what I want is to have the types in the current package, but I want the root package to include 'mongodb'.

When I do the following:

import mongo = require.main.require('mongodb')

I get the following error:

Cannot find namespace 'require'.

However, the following works, but isn't what I want:

import mongo = require('mongodb')

[phramos07]

Apparently require.main.require is referencing the Main package of your program, i. e., the entry script. When running with vscode code & debug tool, this package appears to be something else rather than my node js main process, because it fails to find the module require inside the main.