Issue with module resolution after TypeScript compilation in Node.js

Question

I have a TypeScript project with a specific directory structure and a custom tsconfig.json. After successfully compiling the TypeScript code using the tsc command, I encounter an issue when trying to run the compiled JavaScript code using node dist/app.js. The error suggests a problem with module resolution, specifically with the import statement in my app.ts file:

import { environment, logger } from "~/configs";

The error message I receive is:

Error: Cannot find module '~/configs'
Require stack:
- /home/kiran/xxx/app/dist/src/app.js

I'm also facing similar issues when using ts-node-dev for development, with the error pointing to the same module resolution problem.

Here are the relevant details:

• Directory structure:

  .
  ├── src
  │   ├── app.ts
  │   ├── configs
  │   └── controllers
  ├── tsconfig.json
  └── yarn.lock
  

• tsconfig.json:

  {
    "compilerOptions": {
      "allowJs": false,
      "strict": true,
      "declaration": true,
      "types": ["node"],
      "lib": ["ES2017", "ES6", "ES7", "DOM"],
      "esModuleInterop": true,
      "module": "commonjs",
      "moduleResolution": "node",
      "resolveJsonModule": true,
      "isolatedModules": true,
      "target": "ESNext",
      "experimentalDecorators": true,
      "emitDecoratorMetadata": true,
      "skipLibCheck": true,
      "outDir": "dist",
      "baseUrl": "src",
      "paths": {
        "~/controllers": ["controllers"],
        "~/configs": ["configs"],
      },
    },
    "exclude": ["node_modules", "dist"]
  }
  

• Versions:

  • TypeScript: 5.3.3
  • Node: 18.18.0 (also tested on 20.x.x)

How to resolve this module resolution issue and successfully run my compiled TypeScript code in Node.js? Additionally, I've provided the commands I use for development with ts-node-dev, which also result in a similar error.

Tried:

• to change ~ with #
• to use globs like ~/* in tsconfig
• to downgrade TypeScript to older versions