Cannot find name '__dirname' Error in TypeScript [Solved]

# Cannot find name '__dirname' Error in TypeScript

To solve the error "Cannot find name __dirname", install the node typings by running npm i -D @types/node.

If the error is not resolved, try adding node to your types array in tsconfig.json and restarting your IDE.

# Install the typings for Node.js

Open your terminal in the root directory of your project (where your package.json file is) and run the following command to install the typings for Node.js.

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npm i -D @types/node

If the error persists, try restarting your IDE.

# Add the typings to the types array in your tsconfig.json file

If that doesn't help, make sure the types array in your tsconfig.json file contains "node".

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{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "types": [
      // ... your other types
      "node"
    ],
  },
}

That should fix the error in your project.

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import * as path from 'path';

// 👇️ "/home/borislav/Desktop/typescript"
console.log(__dirname);

// 👇️ "/home/borislav/Desktop/typescript/src/another-file.ts"
console.log(path.join(__dirname, './another-file.ts'));

We include the typings for Node, so we have access to the __dirname variable.

If you get the error __dirname is not defined in ES module scope, click on the link and follow the instructions.

# Delete your node_modules and reinstall your dependencies

If the error is not resolved, try to delete your node_modules and package-lock.json files, re-run npm install and restart your IDE.

If you are on Windows, run the following commands in CMD.

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# 👇️  (Windows) delete node_modules and package-lock.json
rd /s /q "node_modules"
del package-lock.json
del -f yarn.lock

# 👇️ clean npm cache
npm cache clean --force

npm install

If you are on macOS or Linux, issue the following commands in bash or zsh.

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# 👇️  (macOS/Linux) delete node_modules and package-lock.json
rm -rf node_modules
rm -f package-lock.json
rm -f yarn.lock

# 👇️ clean npm cache
npm cache clean --force

npm install

Make sure to restart your IDE and dev server if the error persists.

The __dirname global variable comes with the Node.js typings, so installing the package via npm i -D @types/node should resolve the issue.

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npm i -D @types/node

If the error persists, check out my __dirname is not defined in ES module scope article.