jestjs/jest · error · Error

${file} has the following non-node type references: ${refer

Error message

${file} has the following non-node type references:

${references}

What it means

After tsc emits .d.ts files, buildTs.mjs:200-227 scans every build/**/*.d.ts for `/// <reference types="..." />` directives. Only `/// <reference types="node" />` is permitted (allowed via typesNodeReferenceDirective); any other bundled type reference is reported and, if any exist, the script throws at buildTs.mjs:226. Bundled declarations must be self-contained so consumers don't need to install transitive @types packages.

Source

Thrown at scripts/buildTs.mjs:226

              .split('\n')
              .map(line => line.trim())
              .filter(line => line.includes(typesReferenceDirective))
              .filter(line => line !== typesNodeReferenceDirective)
              .join('\n'),
          ])
          .filter(([, content]) => content.length > 0)
          .filter(hit => hit.length > 0)
          .map(([file, references]) =>
            chalk.red(
              `${chalk.bold(
                file,
              )} has the following non-node type references:\n\n${references}\n`,
            ),
          )
          .join('\n\n');

        if (filesWithReferences) {
          throw new Error(filesWithReferences);
        }

        const filesWithNodeReference = filesWithTypeReferences.map(
          ([filename]) => filename,
        );

        if (filesWithNodeReference.length > 0) {
          assert.ok(
            pkg.dependencies,
            `Package \`${pkg.name}\` is missing \`dependencies\``,
          );
          assert.strictEqual(
            pkg.dependencies['@types/node'],
            '*',
            `Package \`${pkg.name}\` is missing a dependency on \`@types/node\``,
          );
        }
      }),

View on GitHub (pinned to f49721c78e)

Solutions

Remove the non-node `/// <reference types="..." />` directive from the source file and use a normal import instead.
If the directive comes from a transitive @types package, avoid importing types from it in the public surface, or inline/extract the needed types.
Rebuild and re-run scripts/buildTs.mjs; the scan must find only node references (or none).

Example fix

// before (src/foo.ts)
/// <reference types="lodash" />
import lodash from 'lodash';
// after
import lodash from 'lodash';

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

const fs = require('fs'), path = require('path');
function findNonNodeTypeReferences(buildDir) {
  const files = globSync('**/*.d.ts', { cwd: buildDir, absolute: true });
  const offenders = [];
  for (const f of files) {
    const lines = fs.readFileSync(f, 'utf8').split('\n').map(l => l.trim());
    const bad = lines.filter(l => l.includes('/// <reference types') && l !== '/// <reference types="node" />');
    if (bad.length) offenders.push({ file: f, refs: bad });
  }
  return offenders;
}

Type guard

function hasOnlyNodeReferenceTypes(content): boolean {
  return content.split('\n').map(l => l.trim())
    .filter(l => l.includes('/// <reference types'))
    .every(l => l === '/// <reference types="node" />');
}

Prevention

Avoid `/// <reference types="..." />` in source; prefer normal imports so tsc tracks types explicitly.
If a transitive @types package injects a reference directive, avoid re-exporting its types from your public surface.
Run scripts/buildTs.mjs locally before pushing so leaked directives surface early.

When it happens

Trigger: A source file contains `/// <reference types="some-package" />` (other than node), or imports a type whose @types package injects a reference directive that tsc copies into the emitted .d.ts. Running scripts/buildTs.mjs then surfaces the offending file(s) and their reference lines.

Common situations: Adding a dependency on a third-party package with bundled @types that emit reference directives; hand-writing triple-slash reference directives in source instead of normal imports; an @types package whose auto-generated directive leaks into the public .d.ts surface.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of jestjs/jest@f49721c78e (2026-08-03). Data as JSON: /data/errors/a09a7dbfb3f1101b.json. Report an issue: GitHub.