Typescript: Unexpected token import - node.js

Question

Just started working with typescript. Unfortunately when I try to build for production it fails.
Firstly I run
tsc
This passes without any error, but when I try to run the build file I get import errors
node build/index.js
The error I get is below:
[0] (function (exports, require, module, __filename, __dirname) { import {
[0] ^^^^^^
[0]
[0] SyntaxError: Unexpected token import
[0] at createScript (vm.js:80:10)
[0] at Object.runInThisContext (vm.js:139:10)
Below is my tsconfig
{
"include": [
"src/**/*"
],
"exclude": [
"node_modules",
"**/*.spec.ts"
],
"compilerOptions": {
"lib": [
"es5",
"es6",
],
"pretty": true,
"target": "es5",
"module": "commonjs",
"outDir": "./build",
"moduleResolution": "node",
"emitDecoratorMetadata": true,
"experimentalDecorators": true,
"allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true,
"sourceMap": true
}
}
I am using node v8.9.3

Answer 1

If you use TypeORM there can be a problem with your ormconfig. Your configuration file probably contains path like src/entities/*.ts in the entity section. So it causes requiring *.ts files from your src folder, not from dist folder.

Answer 2

When working with NodeJs, your tsconfig.json should look like this:
{
"include": [
"src/**/*"
],
"exclude": [
"node_modules",
"**/*.spec.ts"
],
"compilerOptions": {
"lib": ["es6"], // No need for "es5" if you have "es6"
"types": ["node"], // When you code for nodejs
"target": "es6", // NodeJs v8.9.3 supports most of the es6 features
"pretty": true,
"module": "commonjs",
"outDir": "./build",
"moduleResolution": "node",
"emitDecoratorMetadata": true,
"experimentalDecorators": true,
"allowSyntheticDefaultImports": true,
"sourceMap": true
}
}