I'm working with a TypeScript project where I have two files:

• index.ts - This file contains the main application logic.
• index.d.ts - This file is where I declare global types.

In my index.d.ts, I'm declaring globals like this:

declare global {
  namespace Express {
    interface Request {
      user_id?: number;
      role?: string;
    }
  }
}

export {};

However, it seems that the global declarations are not being recognized in my project. If I rename index.d.ts to any other name (e.g., globals.d.ts), the global declarations work perfectly fine.

My Questions:

1. Why are the global declarations in index.d.ts not being recognized?
2. Does the file name index.d.ts affect the recognition of global types in TypeScript?
3. How can I fix this issue so that my global types in index.d.ts are properly recognized?

I've ensured that index.d.ts is included in the tsconfig.json file under the include array, but the issue persists.

Things I've already tried:

• Renamed the file to other names (e.g., globals.d.ts) and it works fine.

Any help would be appreciated!

---

This should help others understand your issue and offer suggestions for resolving it!

I'm working with a TypeScript project where I have two files:

• index.ts - This file contains the main application logic.
• index.d.ts - This file is where I declare global types.

In my index.d.ts, I'm declaring globals like this:

declare global {
  namespace Express {
    interface Request {
      user_id?: number;
      role?: string;
    }
  }
}

export {};

However, it seems that the global declarations are not being recognized in my project. If I rename index.d.ts to any other name (e.g., globals.d.ts), the global declarations work perfectly fine.

My Questions:

1. Why are the global declarations in index.d.ts not being recognized?
2. Does the file name index.d.ts affect the recognition of global types in TypeScript?
3. How can I fix this issue so that my global types in index.d.ts are properly recognized?

I've ensured that index.d.ts is included in the tsconfig.json file under the include array, but the issue persists.

Things I've already tried:

• Renamed the file to other names (e.g., globals.d.ts) and it works fine.

Any help would be appreciated!

---

This should help others understand your issue and offer suggestions for resolving it!

• javascript
• node.js
• typescript
• express
• backend

Share Improve this question Follow asked Mar 8 at 18:13 Naga mani kanta manamNaga mani kanta manam 4144 bronze badges

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2 Answers 2

Sorted by: Reset to default 0

Since index.ts contains actual logic so typescript treats index.d.ts as a module instead of global declaration file. There are possible solutions:

1. Rename index.d.ts file to something else like globals.d.ts or custom-types.d.ts. This is the best approach as in this case typescript would not consider it as module.
2. Explicitly mark it as non-module that means remove export{}; from index.d.ts as it is turning it into module.

declare global {
  namespace Express {
    interface Request {
      user_id?: number;
      role?: string;
    }
  }
}

Why bother writing your own declaration files? Why not declare a new Request interface that extends Express's Request interface?

Something like this: ts playground

This way you can let the typescript compiler generate the declaration file for you (using either "declaration"="true" in the tsconfig file or with the --declaration flag at the tsc CLI; link).