Cannot use import statement outside a module error when running build project

Question

I am building an app using Angular, NestJS, TypeORM and PostgreSQL. The issue I have is that when I am running the server using npm run start:dev or npm run start. The server starts, but when I go to the dist folder and try to run node main.js the server throws the following error

SyntaxError: Cannot use import statement outside a module

I need that because I am trying to deploy the app at DigitalOcean and use pm2.

Here is a sample of my code:

package.json:

"start": "ts-node -r tsconfig-paths/register src/main.ts",
"start:dev": "tsc-watch -p tsconfig.build.json --onSuccess \"node dist/src/main.js\"",
"typeorm": "ts-node -r tsconfig-paths/register ./node_modules/typeorm/cli.js --config ./ormconfig.ts",
"typeorm:migrate": "npm run typeorm migration:generate -- -n",
"typeorm:run": "npm run typeorm migration:run",

ormconfig.ts

import * as yn from 'yn';
const config: any = {
type: process.env.DB_TYPE as any,
host: +process.env.DB_HOST,
port: +process.env.DB_PORT,
username: process.env.DB_USER,
password: process.env.DB_PASSWORD,
database: process.env.DB_NAME,
ssl: yn(process.env.SSL_STATUS),
dialectOptions: {
    ssl: { require: yn(process.env.SSL_STATUS) },
  },
entities: [__dirname + '/**/*.entity{.ts,.js}'],

  synchronize: false,
  migrationsRun: true,
  migrations: ['src/database/migrations/**/*.ts'],
  cli: {
    migrationsDir: 'src/database/migrations',
  },
};

export = config;

app.module.ts:

@Module({
  imports: [
    ConfigModule.forRoot({isGlobal: true}),
    DatabaseModule,
    <other modules>
  ],
  controllers: [AppController],
  providers: [AppService],
})
export class AppModule {}

database.module.ts

@Module({
  imports: [
    TypeOrmModule.forRootAsync({
      imports: [ConfigModule],
      inject: [ConfigService],
      useFactory: async (configService: ConfigService) => ({
        type: configService.get('DB_TYPE'),
        host: configService.get('DB_HOST'),
        port: configService.get('DB_PORT'),
        username: configService.get('DB_USER'),
        password: configService.get('DB_PASSWORD'),
        database: configService.get('DB_NAME'),
        entities: [__dirname + '/**/*.entity{.ts,.js}'],
        synchronize: false,
      }),
    }),
  ],
  exports: [],
})
export class DatabaseModule {}

The error

How are you building the app? There should be no reference to .ts file after the build. Read the error carefully! its referncing to ormconfig.ts which shouldn't be the case. — Shumail, Jan 29 '20 at 13:03
Does this answer your question? [TypeORM Entity in NESTJS - Cannot use import statement outside a module](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/59435293/typeorm-entity-in-nestjs-cannot-use-import-statement-outside-a-module) — Jay McDoniel, Jan 29 '20 at 16:45
Unfortunately it does not. [But this here did](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/52121725/maintain-src-folder-structure-when-building-to-dist-folder-with-typescript-3) The problem was that I was using ormconfig.ts with an "import" statement outside the "src" folder. I moved the ormconfig.ts to the "database" folder and resolved this problem. But then I had to provide this ormconfig wherever I was creating connection with the DB. For examples in the seed file -> `const connection = await createConnection(config);` — Martin Pavlov, Jan 30 '20 at 09:10
Glad you solved your problem ! Don't forget to mark your question as solved thought :p — A. Maitre, Jan 30 '20 at 11:16

Cannot use import statement outside a module error when running build project

0 Answers0