How to fix Cannot find name 'exports' in TypeScript

The most common fix is installing Node.js type definitions:

npm install --save-dev @types/node

Or with yarn:

yarn add --dev @types/node

This provides TypeScript with type definitions for all Node.js globals, including exports, require, and module.

Ensure your tsconfig.json is set up for CommonJS modules. Edit or create tsconfig.json in your project root:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2020",
    "module": "commonjs",
    "moduleResolution": "node",
    "lib": ["ES2020"],
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "forceConsistentCasingInFileNames": true,
    "strict": true
  },
  "include": ["src/**/*"],
  "exclude": ["node_modules"]
}

The key settings are:
- "module": "commonjs" - tells TypeScript you're using CommonJS
- "moduleResolution": "node" - uses Node.js module resolution

Ensure you're using CommonJS syntax consistently. There are several valid patterns:

Pattern 1: Direct module.exports

// myModule.ts
const doSomething = () => "done";

module.exports = doSomething;

Pattern 2: Named exports with exports object

// utils.ts
export const add = (a: number, b: number): number => a + b;
export const subtract = (a: number, b: number): number => a - b;

Pattern 3: CommonJS exports object (requires @types/node)

// oldStyle.ts
exports.add = (a: number, b: number): number => a + b;
exports.subtract = (a: number, b: number): number => a - b;

After installing @types/node or updating tsconfig.json, restart your TypeScript language server:

In VS Code:
1. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P)
2. Search for "TypeScript: Restart TS Server"
3. Press Enter

In other editors:
- Close and reopen the file
- Restart the IDE
- Restart the TypeScript language server plugin

This forces the IDE to re-read the type definitions and configuration.

If restarting doesn't help, check that Node.js types are being loaded correctly:

# Verify @types/node is installed
npm list @types/node

# Reinstall if necessary
npm install --save-dev @types/node@latest

You can also check your package.json to confirm the dependency is listed:

{
  "devDependencies": {
    "@types/node": "^20.0.0",
    "typescript": "^5.0.0"
  }
}