Exclude with pattern in tsconfig.json

Question

Is there any way to add a pattern in the exclude property of a tsconfig file or is it only able to support directories?

I'm trying to exclude all my test files from compilation so I was wondering if I can use something like this :

src/**/*.spec.ts

Seems like it doesn't work though.

[Looks like they're working on it.](https://github.com/Microsoft/TypeScript/pull/5980) — Joe Clay, Apr 07 '16 at 12:11
in the meanwhile, instead of excluding you can use `filesGlob` to indicate which files you want to include — iberbeu, Apr 07 '16 at 12:18
Adding them in filesGlob will cause the files list to appear and I'm trying to avoid that. — Nick Tsitlakidis, Apr 07 '16 at 12:20
Somebody who can explain to me why one would exclude the spec/test files from typescript? — Advena, Aug 12 '21 at 07:59
@Tanckom it's been so long since that post (and so much changed) that even I can't remember why I needed that. — Nick Tsitlakidis, Aug 18 '21 at 10:03
Damnit - hope **somebody else picks up the previous comment** to explain the reason. — Advena, Aug 19 '21 at 12:14
is there any way to make this work only on production build bundle? — amerw, May 27 '22 at 03:38

score 90 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 17 '17 at 20:49

90

Full example if anyone needs it:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    ...
  },
  "include": [
    "src/**/*"
  ],
  "exclude": [
    "src/**/*.spec.ts"
  ]
}

answered Oct 17 '17 at 20:49

sherb

1

The test files in the output directory has to be cleared! Else the test will still keep checking them – mykoman Nov 13 '21 at 09:50

score 65 · Accepted Answer · edited Sep 13 '22 at 23:59

65

Globs work in Typescript 2.0+. You would do "exclude" : ["src/**/*.spec.ts"] in your tsconfig.json.

More

edited Sep 13 '22 at 23:59

OneCricketeer

answered Apr 07 '16 at 23:39

basarat

Remember to remove the previous test files from the output folder after changing the configuration – mykoman Nov 13 '21 at 09:51
@basarat hi i do this on my tsconfig.json, `"exclude": ["src/**/*.test.ts"]`, but how to verify its already exclude when i run npm build? – kupang lie Nov 16 '21 at 05:13
4

you can use `tsc --listFiles` to see which files are included – basarat Nov 18 '21 at 00:06

2 Answers2