TypeScript cannot resolve "@repo/typescript-config/backends.json" in Turborepo + PNPM workspace

Question

I’m using Turborepo with PNPM workspaces, and I have a shared TypeScript config package located at:

packages/typescript-config/
  backends.json
  package.json

Inside apps/http-server/tsconfig.json I extend it like this:

{
  "extends": "@repo/typescript-config/backends.json"
}

However, TypeScript keeps throwing this error:

File '@repo/typescript-config/backends.json' not found.

When I check node_modules/@repo, I only see:

eslint-config -> ../../packages/eslint-config

but @repo/typescript-config is missing, even though the package exists in packages/typescript-config.

Why is PNPM not linking this workspace package, and how do I fix it so that other developers don’t face this problem?

Saurabh kumar Sahu · Accepted Answer · 2025-11-19 06:26:24Z

0

In PNPM workspaces, a package is only symlinked into node_modules if at least one workspace project depends on it.

Your package @repo/typescript-config exists in packages/, but no app explicitly lists it as a dependency — so PNPM simply doesn’t link it.

✅ Fix

Add the shared TypeScript config package as a dependency inside the consuming app:

apps/http-server/package.json

{
  "devDependencies": {
    "typescript": "latest",
    "@repo/typescript-config": "workspace:*"
  }
}

Then reinstall workspace dependencies:

pnpm -w install

Now PNPM will create:

node_modules/@repo/typescript-config -> ../../packages/typescript-config

And TypeScript successfully resolves:

"extends": "@repo/typescript-config/backends.json"

answered Nov 19 at 6:26

1 Answer 1