How to fix Cannot find name 'module' in TypeScript

Open your terminal in the project root and run:

npm install --save-dev @types/node

For yarn users:

yarn add --dev @types/node

For pnpm users:

pnpm add --save-dev @types/node

This installs TypeScript type definitions for all Node.js built-in globals and modules.

Open your tsconfig.json and ensure it recognizes Node.js types. Add or verify these fields:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2020",
    "lib": ["ES2020"],
    "moduleResolution": "node",
    "types": ["node"]
  }
}

The "types": ["node"] option explicitly tells TypeScript to include the Node.js type definitions. If you omit the types array, TypeScript will include all @types packages automatically. The "moduleResolution": "node" setting tells TypeScript to resolve modules the way Node.js does.

If your error specifically involves module.hot.accept() or other webpack HMR features, also install:

npm install --save-dev @types/webpack-env

Then update tsconfig.json to include webpack-env types:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "types": ["node", "webpack-env"]
  }
}

This provides type definitions for webpack's HMR module interface.

Sometimes npm or yarn caches can cause issues. Perform a clean install:

rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
npm install

For yarn:

rm -rf node_modules yarn.lock
yarn install

For pnpm:

rm -rf node_modules pnpm-lock.yaml
pnpm install

This removes the cached modules and lock file, then reinstalls everything fresh.

After installing type definitions, your IDE may still show the old error. Reload the TypeScript language server:

VS Code:
- Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P)
- Type "TypeScript: Restart TS Server" and press Enter

WebStorm/IntelliJ:
- Go to File → Invalidate Caches → Invalidate and Restart

Other editors:
- Simply reload or restart the IDE

This forces the IDE to re-read the installed type definitions.

Run the TypeScript compiler to verify the error is fixed:

npx tsc --noEmit

If your project has a build script, run it:

npm run build

If no errors are reported, the issue is resolved. Your code can now safely use module and other Node.js globals with full type safety.