Compilation

Compiling your TypeScript files to JavaScript is not handled by tsx, but it's a necessary step in most setups.

::: info Should I publish TypeScript files?

No. While tsx is capable of running TypeScript files in dependencies if need be (e.g. monorepos), it's highly discouraged to publish uncompiled TypeScript. Source files require a specific compilation configuration in tsconfig.json which may not be read, and TypeScript performance will degrade. :::

Compiling an npm package

npm packages are distinguished from applications by defining package entry-points in package.json.

pkgroll is the recommended bundler for projects using tsx. It's developed by the same author and used to compile tsx.

Given your source files are in the src directory, it automatically infers how to build your package based on the entry points defined in package.json by outputting them to the dist directory.

Setup

::: details Basic setup

Set your entry-point in exports:

// package.json
{
    "exports": "./dist/index.mjs"
}

:::

::: details Dual package (CJS & ESM)

Set your CommonJS & Module entry-points in exports:

// package.json
{
    "main": "./dist/index.cjs",
    "module": "./dist/index.mjs",
    "types": "./dist/index.d.cts",

    "exports": {
        "require": {
            "types": "./dist/index.d.cts",
            "default": "./dist/index.cjs"
        },
        "import": {
            "types": "./dist/index.d.mts",
            "default": "./dist/index.mjs"
        }
    }
}

:::

::: details Command-line package

Set your CLI entry-point in bin:

// package.json
{
    "bin": "./dist/cli.mjs"
}

:::

Build

In your directory, simply run pkgroll:

::: code-group

$ npx pkgroll

$ pnpm pkgroll

$ yarn pkgroll

:::

Optionally, add a build script for convenience:

// package.json
{
    // Optional: build script
    "scripts": {// [!code ++]
        "build": "pkgroll"// [!code ++]
    }// [!code ++]
}