fix typescript compiler watch path inconsistency

[bbenshalom]

Related GitHub Issue

Closes: #5133

Description

Fixes TypeScript compiler watch mode reporting incorrect file paths without the src/ prefix, which prevented VS Code from properly navigating to error locations.

Before:

• Error paths: core/webview/webviewMessageHandler.ts:439:7
• VS Code navigation: ❌ Broken

After:

• Error paths: src/core/webview/webviewMessageHandler.ts:439:7
• VS Code navigation: ✅ Working

Changes Made

• Removed rootDir: "." from src/tsconfig.json
  • The watch script already runs from project root (cd .. && tsc --noEmit --watch --project src/tsconfig.json)
  • Removing explicit rootDir allows TypeScript to use default behavior and include src/ in error paths

Test Procedure

• Manually produced a forced compile error before and after the change
• All lint checks and automatic tests pass successfully

Pre-Submission Checklist

• Issue Linked: This PR is linked to an approved GitHub Issue (see "Related GitHub Issue" above).
• Scope: My changes are focused on the linked issue (one major feature/fix per PR).
• Self-Review: I have performed a thorough self-review of my code.
• Testing: New and/or updated tests have been added to cover my changes (if applicable).
• Documentation Impact: I have considered if my changes require documentation updates (see "Documentation Updates" section below).
• Contribution Guidelines: I have read and agree to the Contributor Guidelines.

Documentation Updates

Additional Notes

Get in Touch

Discord username is gooner4ever

---

Important

Fixes TypeScript compiler watch mode path inconsistency by removing rootDir from tsconfig.json, enabling correct VS Code navigation.

• Behavior:
  • Fixes TypeScript compiler watch mode path inconsistency by removing rootDir: "." from src/tsconfig.json.
  • Error paths now include src/ prefix, enabling correct VS Code navigation.
• Scripts:
  • Updates watch:tsc script in package.json to run from project root (cd .. && tsc --noEmit --watch --project src/tsconfig.json).

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[daniel-lxs]

Thanks for the PR! I've left a few questions and suggestions in the code for your consideration. Let me know what you think!

[daniel-lxs]

I'm curious about the implications of removing rootDir. Could this affect TypeScript's module resolution or output structure in other build scenarios beyond the watch mode?

For instance, would this change how TypeScript resolves relative imports or affect the structure of declaration files if they were to be generated?

[bbenshalom]

I don't see how it would affect ts module resolution. There are two tsc commands that use this tsconfig.json, and they're both without output because of --noEmit. The actual compilation is done by esbuild. So our change really only affects the error reporting.

(Plus, I think it's a better practice and the original rootDir property isn't beneficial in any way)

[daniel-lxs]

Is changing the working directory the most maintainable approach here? I'm wondering if there might be alternative solutions that could achieve the same result without requiring the script to cd ...

For example:

• Could we use TypeScript's --rootDir CLI flag instead?
• Would adjusting the include paths in tsconfig.json work?
• Could we leverage the baseUrl compiler option?

The current approach works, but I'm curious if you considered these alternatives and what led to choosing this specific solution?

[bbenshalom]

This is actually the only change I managed to come up with that can be minimal in the command itself.
Changing the include paths or baseUrl doesn't affect error reporting. The --rootDir only works with an absolute path (which isn't viable).

Only other alternative I could think of was to write a script instead of a one liner, which is even uglier.

[bbenshalom]

Hi @daniel-lxs @hannesrudolph , I've addressed the concerns in the comments, please let me know if it makes sense to you. Thanks.

[daniel-lxs]

Tested main and this PR with a compiler error and it seems to work, I didn't notice any negative side effects.

[KJ7LNW]

yay! this has been driving me nuts!

[KJ7LNW]

I am not sure this completely fixed the issue, there is still some noise in the file name:

/home/ewheeler/src/roo/roo-main/roo-cline:watch:tsc: src/core/webview/__tests__/ClineProvider.spec.ts

The text :watch:tsc: should be /. This causes the following problem when you click the item:

notice the bottom two lines of this image.

• the first line is incorrect
• the second line is correct, and I can click on the second one but not the first.