---
title: tsconfig.json
layout: docs
permalink: /docs/handbook/tsconfig-json.html
---

## Overview

The presence of a `tsconfig.json` file in a directory indicates that the directory is the root of a TypeScript project.
The `tsconfig.json` file specifies the root files and the compiler options required to compile the project.
A project is compiled in one of the following ways:

## Using tsconfig.json

- By invoking tsc with no input files, in which case the compiler searches for the `tsconfig.json` file starting in the current directory and continuing up the parent directory chain.
- By invoking tsc with no input files and a `--project` (or just `-p`) command line option that specifies the path of a directory containing a `tsconfig.json` file, or a path to a valid `.json` file containing the configurations.

When input files are specified on the command line, `tsconfig.json` files are ignored.

## Examples

Example `tsconfig.json` files:

- Using the `"files"` property

  ```json
  {
    "compilerOptions": {
      "module": "commonjs",
      "noImplicitAny": true,
      "removeComments": true,
      "preserveConstEnums": true,
      "sourceMap": true
    },
    "files": [
      "core.ts",
      "sys.ts",
      "types.ts",
      "scanner.ts",
      "parser.ts",
      "utilities.ts",
      "binder.ts",
      "checker.ts",
      "emitter.ts",
      "program.ts",
      "commandLineParser.ts",
      "tsc.ts",
      "diagnosticInformationMap.generated.ts"
    ]
  }
  ```

- Using the `"include"` and `"exclude"` properties

  ```json
  {
    "compilerOptions": {
      "module": "system",
      "noImplicitAny": true,
      "removeComments": true,
      "preserveConstEnums": true,
      "outFile": "../../built/local/tsc.js",
      "sourceMap": true
    },
    "include": ["src/**/*"],
    "exclude": ["node_modules", "**/*.spec.ts"]
  }
  ```

## Details

The `"compilerOptions"` property can be omitted, in which case the compiler's defaults are used. See our full list of supported [Compiler Options](/v2/tsconfig).

## Schema

Schema can be found at: [http://json.schemastore.org/tsconfig](http://json.schemastore.org/tsconfig)