agent-skills/skills/tsdown/references/option-dts.md

TypeScript Declaration Files

Generate .d.ts type declaration files for your library.

Overview

tsdown uses rolldown-plugin-dts to generate and bundle TypeScript declaration files.

Requirements:

• TypeScript must be installed in your project

Enabling DTS Generation

Auto-Enabled

DTS generation is automatically enabled if package.json contains:

• types field, or
• typings field

Manual Enable

CLI

tsdown --dts

Config File

export default defineConfig({
  dts: true,
})

Performance

With isolatedDeclarations (Recommended)

Extremely fast - uses oxc-transform for generation.

// tsconfig.json
{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "isolatedDeclarations": true
  }
}

Without isolatedDeclarations

Falls back to TypeScript compiler. Reliable but slower.

Declaration Maps

Map .d.ts files back to original .ts sources (useful for monorepos).

Enable in tsconfig.json

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "declarationMap": true
  }
}

Enable in tsdown Config

export default defineConfig({
  dts: {
    sourcemap: true,
  },
})

Advanced Options

Custom Compiler Options

Override TypeScript compiler options:

export default defineConfig({
  dts: {
    compilerOptions: {
      removeComments: false,
    },
  },
})

Build Process

• ESM format: .js and .d.ts files generated in same build
• CJS format: Separate build process for .d.ts files

Common Patterns

Basic Library

export default defineConfig({
  entry: ['src/index.ts'],
  format: ['esm', 'cjs'],
  dts: true,
})

Output:

• dist/index.mjs
• dist/index.cjs
• dist/index.d.ts

Multiple Entry Points

export default defineConfig({
  entry: {
    index: 'src/index.ts',
    utils: 'src/utils.ts',
  },
  format: ['esm', 'cjs'],
  dts: true,
})

Output:

• dist/index.mjs, dist/index.cjs, dist/index.d.ts
• dist/utils.mjs, dist/utils.cjs, dist/utils.d.ts

With Monorepo Support

export default defineConfig({
  entry: ['src/index.ts'],
  format: ['esm', 'cjs'],
  dts: {
    sourcemap: true, // Enable declaration maps
  },
})

Fast Build (Isolated Declarations)

// tsconfig.json
{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "isolatedDeclarations": true,
    "declaration": true,
    "declarationMap": true
  }
}

// tsdown.config.ts
export default defineConfig({
  entry: ['src/index.ts'],
  format: ['esm', 'cjs'],
  dts: true, // Will use fast oxc-transform
})

Troubleshooting

Missing Types

Ensure TypeScript is installed:

pnpm add -D typescript

Slow Generation

Enable isolatedDeclarations in tsconfig.json for faster builds.

Declaration Errors

Check that all exports have explicit types (required for isolatedDeclarations).

Report Issues

For DTS-specific issues, report to rolldown-plugin-dts.

Vue Support

Enable Vue component type generation (requires vue-tsc):

export default defineConfig({
  dts: {
    vue: true,
  },
})

Oxc Transform

Control Oxc usage for declaration generation:

export default defineConfig({
  dts: {
    oxc: true,  // Use oxc-transform (fast, requires isolatedDeclarations)
  },
})

Custom TSConfig

Specify a different tsconfig for DTS generation:

export default defineConfig({
  dts: {
    tsconfig: './tsconfig.build.json',
  },
})

Available DTS Options

Option	Type	Description
sourcemap	boolean	Generate declaration source maps
compilerOptions	object	Override TypeScript compiler options
vue	boolean	Enable Vue type generation (requires vue-tsc)
oxc	boolean	Use oxc-transform for fast generation
tsconfig	string	Path to tsconfig file
resolver	'oxc' | 'tsc'	Module resolver: 'oxc' (default, fast) or 'tsc' (more compatible)
cjsDefault	boolean	CJS default export handling
sideEffects	boolean	Preserve side effects in declarations

Tips

1. Always enable DTS for TypeScript libraries
2. Use isolatedDeclarations for fast builds
3. Enable declaration maps in monorepos
4. Ensure explicit types for all exports
5. Install TypeScript as dev dependency

Related Options

• Entry - Configure entry points
• Output Format - Multiple output formats
• Target - JavaScript version