Workspace with TS packages: Go to references IDE command is simply not working

[baptisteArno]

Summary

I found that since Turborepo advises not to use typescript references and not to have a root tsconfig, tsserver can't know about package references. So if I open my project on VSCode and try to see all the references of a function, it won't list anything until the referenced project is opened.

I am wondering what are your thoughts on this, can the DX be improved in some ways that I am not aware of?

CleanShot.2025-01-25.at.11.48.48.mp4

Additional information

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Example

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[anthonyshew]

Hey, this does look like an interesting edge case. A few thoughts:

• The Project References version still didn't work correctly. It showed you the reference to apps/web but not the one in apps/docs.
• Having to press "Go to references" twice for it to work doesn't really seem like the way it should work either. 😄
• It's interesting that you're the first to mention this after we've been recommending this strategy for years. I'm left wondering how much this matters in practice, given that there are likely thousands of developers working in codebases set up this way at this point. That's not to say this isn't a problem (it is), but that maybe it's not as impactful day-to-day given the first two points that it doesn't work right either with Project References. The delta between the two setups doesn't seem that large. Neither of them work how I'd expect for this case.
• I was interested to see if this was an issue with Just-in-Time Packages and I'm seeing the same behavior after converting the package to a Compiled Package, so that doesn't help.
• After talking to a lot of people about TypeScript in Workspaces, it's pretty clear people don't like Project References. The recommendations in the Turborepo documentation come from learning from the community about what works, what doesn't, and what people seem to prefer. Ultimately, if you prefer a different approach, you can use it!
• Really, what we need is: Infer project references from common monorepo patterns / tools microsoft/TypeScript#25376

[baptisteArno]

The Project References version still didn't work correctly. It showed you the reference to apps/web but not the one in apps/docs.

Because I didn't add the reference in docs' tsconfig

Having to press "Go to references" twice for it to work doesn't really seem like the way it should work either. 😄

I agree that's still annoying.

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Right, I think we are mostly used to things not properly working with tsserver. At this point Cmd + P + "Restart TS Server", is a second nature for TS devs... Same for Go to references, it's been years that I'm experimenting this and I fallback to just search for the function name. This time I just took the time to investigate.

Thank you for the info though. I'm sad that this issue is so old though and not receiving a lot of interest.

[baptisteArno]

Also, after experimenting with project references in a large(?) project like https://github.com/baptisteArno/typebot.io. I confirm that I have issues, espacially:

The inferred type of this node exceeds the maximum length the compiler will serialize. An explicit type annotation is needed.

tsserver errors. Most likely due to composite prop but not sure why

[anthonyshew]

Because I didn't add the reference in docs' tsconfig

🤦 Of course, that makes sense, apologies.

There are many issues with tsserver, unfortunately. If there was a way to configure it that made it work correctly, we would certainly recommend it. 😄

[baptisteArno]

Also, my guess is that it does not only affect "Go to references" but this should also impact every code action like renaming, auto update import path when moving file etc...

[baptisteArno]

I tried with WebStorm IDE, it works perfectly. Most likely because they load in memory all the packages. Which I am OK with so I wish VSCode would offer that option 🤔