denoland/deno · error · anyhow::Error

Input file is not under the current directory. Use --output…

Error message

Input file {} is not under the current directory. Use --output instead.

What it means

compute_output_path (cli/tools/transpile.rs:550-560) mirrors each input's directory structure under --outdir by stripping the current directory from the output .js path. An input that resolves outside cwd — typically an absolute path from another tree, or a working directory changed via -C while paths are given relative to elsewhere — cannot be stripped, so Deno raises this error and the message itself points you to --output.

Solutions

Use --output <file> as the error suggests: single-file mode needs no relative structure.
Run deno from a common ancestor so all inputs sit under the current directory.
Pass inputs as paths relative to the actual cwd instead of absolute paths from another tree.

Example fix

# before
$ cd app && deno transpile --outdir dist /opt/shared/mod.ts
error: Input file /opt/shared/mod.ts is not under the current directory. Use --output instead.

# after
deno transpile --output dist/mod.js /opt/shared/mod.ts
# or: cd /opt && deno transpile --outdir app/dist shared/mod.ts

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

# Reject inputs outside cwd before choosing --outdir
for f in "$@"; do
  p=$(realpath -m "$f")
  [ "${p#$(pwd)}" != "$p" ] || { echo "$f is outside cwd — use --output"; exit 1; }
done
deno transpile --outdir dist "$@"

Prevention

Use --output for any input not under the current directory.
Run builds from the repo root so --outdir can mirror the relative structure.
Feed paths relative to the actual cwd instead of absolute paths from another tree.

When it happens

Trigger: deno transpile --outdir dist /opt/other/src/mod.ts (absolute input outside cwd); running with -C elsewhere while passing paths relative to the original directory.

Common situations: Build scripts that feed absolute paths collected from find/rg; monorepo builds invoked from a subdirectory; CI checkout layouts where sources live outside the declared cwd.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of denoland/deno@9ad36f7a2c (2026-08-20). Data as JSON: /api/errors/30d2be30a9f41853. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at cli/tools/transpile.rs:555

  cwd: &Path,
  output: Option<&str>,
  output_dir: Option<&str>,
  media_type: MediaType,
) -> Result<PathBuf, AnyError> {
  if let Some(output) = output {
    // Explicit output file
    return Ok(cwd.join(output));
  }

  let ext = js_extension_for_media_type(media_type);
  let js_filename = input_path.with_extension(ext);

  if let Some(outdir) = output_dir {
    let outdir = cwd.join(outdir);
    let relative = js_filename
      .strip_prefix(cwd)
      .map_err(|_| {
        anyhow::anyhow!(
          "Input file {} is not under the current directory. Use --output instead.",
          input_path.display()
        )
      })?;
    Ok(outdir.join(relative))
  } else {
    // Write alongside source file
    Ok(js_filename)
  }
}

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