"Unexpected token 'export'" when using module.exports in .cts file

Question

i am trying to import a commonjs module into my existing typescript project with type: module. I have these files:

// server.cts module.exports = "hello"

//index.ts import * as server from './server.cjs';

//tsconfig.json `{ "compilerOptions": { "target": "ES5",
"module": "ES2015",

"outDir": "dist", 
"sourceMap": true,
"esModuleInterop": true,           

}, "include": ["src/**/*"], }`

When i compile and run it compiles the server.cts to; module.exports = "suck"; export {}; //# sourceMappingURL=cllientServer.cjs.map

and gives the error: export {}; SyntaxError: Unexpected token 'export'.

This module stuff is really confusing at times

imported cjs with server exports