Couldn't parse tsconfig.json or jsconfig.json: ${inputConfig

Error message

Couldn't parse tsconfig.json or jsconfig.json: ${inputConfig.message}

What it means

When `astro add <integration>` syncs editor settings, it loads your tsconfig.json (or jsconfig.json). If TypeScript reports parse diagnostics — broken JSON syntax or an unresolvable `extends` — Astro logs this warning and returns 'failure': your tsconfig was NOT updated, so the integration's compiler options and generated typings were not wired up. The rest of `astro add` (dependency install, astro.config edit) still completes; only the TS-config step is skipped.

Source

Thrown at packages/astro/src/cli/add/index.ts:983

	options?: { addIncludes?: string[] },
): Promise<UpdateResult> {
	const integrations = integrationsInfo.map(
		(integration) => integration.id as frameworkWithTSSettings,
	);
	const includesToAppend = Array.from(new Set((options?.addIncludes ?? []).filter(Boolean)));
	const firstIntegrationWithTSSettings = integrations.find((integration) =>
		presets.has(integration),
	);

	if (!firstIntegrationWithTSSettings && includesToAppend.length === 0) {
		return 'none';
	}

	let inputConfig = await loadTSConfig(cwd);
	let inputConfigText = '';

	if (inputConfig.error === 'invalid-config') {
		logger.warn(`add`, `Couldn't parse tsconfig.json or jsconfig.json: ${inputConfig.message}`);
		return 'failure';
	} else if (inputConfig.error === 'missing-config') {
		logger.debug('add', "Couldn't find tsconfig.json or jsconfig.json, generating one");
		const tsconfigFile = path.join(cwd, 'tsconfig.json');
		inputConfig = {
			tsconfig: defaultTSConfig,
			tsconfigFile: tsconfigFile,
			rawConfig: defaultTSConfig,
			sources: [tsconfigFile],
		};
	} else {
		inputConfigText = JSON.stringify(inputConfig.rawConfig, null, 2);
	}

	const configFileName = path.basename(inputConfig.tsconfigFile);

	let outputConfig = firstIntegrationWithTSSettings
		? updateTSConfigForFramework(inputConfig.rawConfig, firstIntegrationWithTSSettings)

View on GitHub (pinned to e294953aa8)

Solutions

Surface the syntax error: `npx tsc -p . --noEmit` or `npx astro check` — both parse the config and report the offending line
Fix the JSON syntax (or install the missing `extends` package), then rerun `astro add <integration>`
Confirm the rerun actually patched tsconfig (astro add prints the diff it intends to apply)
If you intentionally skip TS setup, the warning is harmless — integrate typings manually via a reference to the integration's types

Example fix

// before: tsconfig.json with a syntax error
{ "extends": "astro/tsconfigs/strict", }  // trailing junk or missing brace

// after
{ "extends": "astro/tsconfigs/strict" }

Defensive patterns

Strategy: validation

Validate before calling

// Run before `astro add` to catch a broken config early
import { readFileSync } from 'node:fs';
import ts from 'typescript';
const parsed = ts.readConfigFile('tsconfig.json', ts.sys.readFile);
if (parsed.error) {
  console.error(ts.flattenDiagnosticMessageText(parsed.error, '\n'));
  process.exit(1);
}

Prevention

Keep tsconfig.json valid JSONC — no stray characters beyond comments
Add `astro check` or `tsc -p .` to CI so config parse errors surface before astro add runs
After astro add reports 'failure', always rerun it once the config is fixed — the sync step never retried itself

When it happens

Trigger: Running `astro add` in a project whose tsconfig.json has a syntax error (missing brace/quote, stray comma, leftover merge-conflict markers) or an `extends` pointing at a package/file that does not exist.

Common situations: Hand-edited tsconfig with a typo; merge conflicts resolved badly; `extends` referencing an uninstalled base config; the file sits outside common JSONC pitfalls but contains genuine garbage.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of withastro/astro@e294953aa8 (2026-08-18). Data as JSON: /api/errors/28da9514f71494d0. Report an issue: GitHub.