Typescript compile on save setting in Visual studio is not honored

[rkavalap]

Repro steps: Edit a typescript file.

Expected behavior: If Tools -> Text Editor -> Typescript -> Project -> General If Compile on Save option unchecked equivalent js file should not be generated at the current location.

Current behavior: Generating a js file.

Earlier versions of ntvs had this in the project file for the behavior

<EnableTypeScript>true</EnableTypeScript>
<TypeScriptSourceMap>true</TypeScriptSourceMap>
<TypeScriptModuleKind>CommonJS</TypeScriptModuleKind>
<ToolsVersionPromptShown>1.7</ToolsVersionPromptShown>

Which was automatically generating the js file.

When I open a nodejs solution, I currently see it's automatically edited. But I don't see above setting changes getting added in the edit. I am currently not sure where it is getting controlled from.

Issue redirected from https://github.com/Microsoft/nodejstools/issues/832

[pebezo]

You need to add { "compileOnSave": true } to your tsconfig.json file. However, it doesn't seem to always follow it, or there are hidden errors... not sure; it's very flaky.

[mhegazy]

If you are using a tsconfig, set "compileOnSave": true in it. see http://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/tsconfig.json.html#compileonsave

If you are not using a tsconfig.json file, then the project property pages should would be the place to set CompileOnSave.

If you do not have a project file, i.e. open a ts file and start editing, then use Tools -> Text Editor -> Typescript -> Project -> General to turn compile on save on.

hope that helps.

[mhegazy]

not sure; it's very flaky.

@pebezo, we would love to get to the bottom of any issues you are running into. can you share more infromaiton

[pebezo]

If I can come up with a repro I'll make sure to post it -- unfortunately it seems rather random. Sometimes right-clicking on the project and choosing "rebuild" works when just saving doesn't. Just "build" doesn't seem to work...

[mhegazy]

@pebezo what you are saying makes me think it could be https://github.com/Microsoft/TypeScript/issues/7247. i am assuming you have a tsconfig.json, if so, then build will work iff you touched the tsconfig.json, otherwise a rebuild is required.

[rkavalap]

@mhegazy @pebezo I neither have a tsconfig.json nor a compile on save option in my project properties. It's a nodejs tools project. A sample project https://github.com/rkavalap/NightWatchTest Project itself doesn't have .njsproj file checked in. But you can try this one as a reference.

I use gulp to transpile my typescript files to javascript. I am not sure how this a compiler issue. The setting I was referring earlier to is in the visual studio options which created the above referred xml fragment in my project file

[EDIT]: I just re-read the wording of the checkbox, the expected behavior is different to what I am reporting. From the wording I believe files not included in the project file should be transpiled or not.

For my issue: But the edited files get transpiled on the fly which are already part of project as well.

[mhegazy]

this setting only controls loose files, i.e. open a random .ts file and save it. if you have project, ntvs or other, you need to set this in your project.

[davlinski]

This was working perfectly before VS2015 Update 2 (TS 1.8). Now it's not working at all. Only way I can get it to transpile is by performing a build/rebuild. No bueno.

[mhegazy]

@davlinski can you share more information about your project/setup.

[davlinski]

@mhegazy Sorry 'bout that! I restarted Visual Studio and it started working again. I added the setting mentioned above ("compileOnSave": true) to my tsconfig.json file and it wasn't working. I spoke (typed) before adhering to the cardinal rule of Windows; when all else fails...restart. Thank you!

[rkavalap]

@mhegazy Is there a setting that is currently exposed to not compile the ts file I just edited and saved. Below is my current my vs setup. I am unable to track this setting down.

Microsoft Visual Studio Enterprise 2015 Version 14.0.25123.00 Update 2 Microsoft .NET Framework Version 4.6.01038

Installed Version: Enterprise

Architecture and Modeling Tools 00322-90000-92003-AA742 Microsoft Architecture and Modeling Tools

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LightSwitch for Visual Studio 2015 00322-90000-92003-AA742 Microsoft LightSwitch for Visual Studio 2015

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[mhegazy]

@rkavalap can you share your project? or at least the project file.

[rkavalap]

@mhegazy here you go. Github doesn't support the nodejs project file. So copy pasting it below. I can repro this with my sample project on github. https://github.com/rkavalap/NightWatchTest

Earlier I was under the assumption of Task runner explorer was causing an issue. But I uninstalled the extention and still find the issue to repro

I find this issue to be closely related https://github.com/Microsoft/TypeScript/issues/5638

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Project DefaultTargets="Build" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/developer/msbuild/2003">
  <PropertyGroup>
    <Configuration Condition=" '$(Configuration)' == '' ">Debug</Configuration>
    <SchemaVersion>2.0</SchemaVersion>
    <ProjectGuid>{09e167bc-f3de-4c00-8b25-01239456b211}</ProjectGuid>
    <ProjectHome />
    <ProjectView>ShowAllFiles</ProjectView>
    <StartupFile>node_modules/nightwatch/bin/runner.js</StartupFile>
    <WorkingDirectory>.</WorkingDirectory>
    <OutputPath>.</OutputPath>
    <ProjectTypeGuids>{3AF33F2E-1136-4D97-BBB7-1795711AC8B8};{349c5851-65df-11da-9384-00065b846f21};{9092AA53-FB77-4645-B42D-1CCCA6BD08BD}</ProjectTypeGuids>
    <VisualStudioVersion Condition="'$(VisualStudioVersion)' == ''">11.0</VisualStudioVersion>
    <VSToolsPath Condition="'$(VSToolsPath)' == ''">$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v$(VisualStudioVersion)</VSToolsPath>
    <ScriptArguments>-t buildOutput/JavaScript1.js --env devtest-chrome-win8</ScriptArguments>
    <StartWebBrowser>True</StartWebBrowser>
  </PropertyGroup>
  <PropertyGroup Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Debug'" />
  <PropertyGroup Condition="'$(Configuration)' == 'Release'" />
  <ItemGroup>
    <Content Include="configs\capabilities.json5" />
    <Content Include="configs\defaults.json5" />
    <Content Include="configs\deployments.json5" />
    <Content Include="configs\TestConfigData\ci.json5" />
    <Content Include="configs\TestConfigData\devtest.json5" />
    <Content Include="configs\TestConfigData\pprod.json5" />
    <Content Include="nightwatch.conf.js" />
    <Content Include="package.json" />
    <Content Include="README.md" />
    <TypeScriptCompile Include="globalsModule.js" />
    <TypeScriptCompile Include="tests\JavaScript1.ts" />
    <TypeScriptCompile Include="tests\JavaScript2.ts" />
    <TypeScriptCompile Include="tests\JavaScript3.ts" />
    <TypeScriptCompile Include="tests\JavaScript4.ts" />
    <TypeScriptCompile Include="typings\nightwatch-custom\custom-assertions.d.ts" />
    <TypeScriptCompile Include="typings\nightwatch-custom\custom-commands.d.ts" />
    <TypeScriptCompile Include="typings\nightwatch-custom\custom-reporters.d.ts" />
    <TypeScriptCompile Include="typings\nightwatch\nightwatch.d.ts" />
    <TypeScriptCompile Include="typings\nightwatch-custom\page-objects.d.ts" />
    <TypeScriptCompile Include="typings\node\node.d.ts" />
    <TypeScriptCompile Include="typings\tsd.d.ts" />
  </ItemGroup>
  <ItemGroup>
    <Folder Include="configs\" />
    <Folder Include="configs\TestConfigData\" />
    <Folder Include="lib\" />
    <Folder Include="lib\common\" />
    <Folder Include="lib\common\utils\" />
    <Folder Include="lib\custom-assertions\" />
    <Folder Include="lib\custom-commands\" />
    <Folder Include="lib\custom-reporters\" />
    <Folder Include="lib\page-objects\" />
    <Folder Include="tests" />
    <Folder Include="typings\" />
    <Folder Include="typings\nightwatch-custom\" />
    <Folder Include="typings\nightwatch\" />
    <Folder Include="typings\node\" />
  </ItemGroup>
  <ItemGroup>
    <Compile Include="lib\custom-reporters\reporter.js" />
  </ItemGroup>
  <Import Project="$(MSBuildToolsPath)\Microsoft.Common.targets" Condition="Exists('$(MSBuildExtensionsPath)\$(MSBuildToolsVersion)\Microsoft.Common.props')" />
  <!--Do not delete the following Import Project.  While this appears to do nothing it is a marker for setting TypeScript properties before our import that depends on them.-->
  <Import Project="$(MSBuildExtensionsPath32)\Microsoft\VisualStudio\v$(VisualStudioVersion)\TypeScript\Microsoft.TypeScript.targets" Condition="False" />
  <Import Project="$(VSToolsPath)\Node.js Tools\Microsoft.NodejsTools.targets" />
  <ProjectExtensions>
    <VisualStudio>
      <FlavorProperties GUID="{349c5851-65df-11da-9384-00065b846f21}">
        <WebProjectProperties>
          <UseIIS>False</UseIIS>
          <AutoAssignPort>True</AutoAssignPort>
          <DevelopmentServerPort>0</DevelopmentServerPort>
          <DevelopmentServerVPath>/</DevelopmentServerVPath>
          <IISUrl>http://localhost:48022/</IISUrl>
          <NTLMAuthentication>False</NTLMAuthentication>
          <UseCustomServer>True</UseCustomServer>
          <CustomServerUrl>http://localhost:1337</CustomServerUrl>
          <SaveServerSettingsInUserFile>False</SaveServerSettingsInUserFile>
        </WebProjectProperties>
      </FlavorProperties>
      <FlavorProperties GUID="{349c5851-65df-11da-9384-00065b846f21}" User="">
        <WebProjectProperties>
          <StartPageUrl>
          </StartPageUrl>
          <StartAction>CurrentPage</StartAction>
          <AspNetDebugging>True</AspNetDebugging>
          <SilverlightDebugging>False</SilverlightDebugging>
          <NativeDebugging>False</NativeDebugging>
          <SQLDebugging>False</SQLDebugging>
          <ExternalProgram>
          </ExternalProgram>
          <StartExternalURL>
          </StartExternalURL>
          <StartCmdLineArguments>
          </StartCmdLineArguments>
          <StartWorkingDirectory>
          </StartWorkingDirectory>
          <EnableENC>False</EnableENC>
          <AlwaysStartWebServerOnDebug>False</AlwaysStartWebServerOnDebug>
        </WebProjectProperties>
      </FlavorProperties>
    </VisualStudio>
  </ProjectExtensions>
</Project>

[mhegazy]

@rkavalap the fix is in https://github.com/rkavalap/NightWatchTest/pull/2/commits/a3066a44740e7a615f56026e9ee52ad1527b3939

The better fix is to add a tsconfig.json to your project.

{
    "compileOnSave": false,
    "compilerOptions": {
        "module": "commonjs",
        "target": "es5"
    }
}

you can find the full documentation for the properties in http://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/compiler-options-in-msbuild.html

[dcumin39]

I am having the same issue. >net 4.6.1. I save the ts file and the quickest workaround i have found is to manually deleted both the .map and .js file. It would be nice if it automatically compiled on save like the Project Options Indicate it should.

[Legends]

I can confirm, that is sometimes does not compile on save. VS 2015 Update 3, tsconfig.js. I put the directive "compileOnSave": true, under compilerOptions now, before that it was below, don't know if this will have any impact on reliability

{
    "compilerOptions": {
        "compileOnSave": true,
        "module": "amd", // system
        "target": "es5",
        "allowJs": false,
        "noImplicitAny": false,
        "removeComments": true,
        "preserveConstEnums": true,
        "sourceMap": true,
        "allowUnreachableCode": false,
        "listFiles": true,
        "typeRoots": [ "node_modules/@types/" ],
        "watch": false,
        //"noLib": true,
        "suppressImplicitAnyIndexErrors": false,
        "noEmitOnError": true
    },
    "compileOnSave": true,
    //"files": [""],
    "exclude": [
        "node_modules",
        "Scripts-Built",
        "**/*.spec.ts"
    ],
    "include": [
        "scripts/**/*"
    ]
}

[wgutierrezr]

Using tsconfig.json or without, Visual Studio 2017 Professional is not updating site.js when running in Debug mode in my case (Core 2 MVC project)

[ghost]

I have the same issue. Whenever i save or make a new change in the file, the TSC WATCH doesnt do the change. It is doing it only if i close and restart it....i receive an error like: tsconfig.json(4,6): error TS5023: Unknown compiler option 'compileOnSave'.

My settings from tsconfig.json are:

{

   "compilerOptions": {
     "compileOnSave": true,
     "module": "commonjs",
     "outDir": "outnew/",
     "noImplicitAny": true,
     "removeComments": true,
     "preserveConstEnums": true
   },
   "include": [
     "*"
   ],
   "exclude": [
       "node_modules",
       "**/*.spec.ts"
   ]
 }

[AdamSharon]

This is still an issue, but the problem now is slightly different - the version of typescript is not honoured : I have a project that is configure with TypeScript 2.2, and the "Compile On Save" is compiling according to the latest on my machine (2.5), so it issues me compiling errors since I am not working according to the strict "non-weak" convention of 2.5. the regular Build still compiles fine.

by using the tsconfig.json I was able to make visual studio compile it on save anyway, but the IDE still shows me all the errors.

Also it should work for those of us who choose to work with project options.

@iocohen - you settings are wrong, the "CompileOnSave" should not be in the options, but under the root brackets. this works for me: { "compileOnSave": true, "compilerOptions": { "noImplicitAny": false, "noEmitOnError": false, "removeComments": false, "sourceMap": false, "target": "es5", "module": "commonjs", "skipLibCheck": true }, "exclude": [ "node_modules", "wwwroot" ] }

[rkorszun]

@AdamSharon try re-install TypeScript SDK from here https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=55258 and restart VS

[AdamSharon]

@rkorszun there is no 2.2 on that list, also I tried adding manually the Release ZIP from this repo but it not solve the issue.