nodejs · GeoffreyBooth · Jun 15, 2026
diff --git a/doc/api/cli.md b/doc/api/cli.md
@@ -1407,6 +1407,20 @@ added:
 
 Enable the experimental [`node:stream/iter`][] module.
 
+### `--experimental-strip-types-in-node-modules-with-declarations`
+
+<!-- YAML
+added: REPLACEME
+-->
+
+> Stability: 1.0 - Early development
+
+Allow [TypeScript type-stripping][] for TypeScript files under `node_modules` when a co-located declaration file is
+present. By default, Node.js refuses to strip types from files under `node_modules`. With this flag, a file under
+`node_modules` is stripped and executed when a co-located declaration file sits beside it (for example, a `.d.ts` file
+alongside the `.ts` file), which is the default layout emitted by `tsc --emitDeclarationOnly`. Otherwise the
+`ERR_UNSUPPORTED_NODE_MODULES_TYPE_STRIPPING` error is thrown.
+
 ### `--experimental-test-coverage`
 
 <!-- YAML

diff --git a/doc/api/errors.md b/doc/api/errors.md
@@ -3393,7 +3393,12 @@ import 'package-name'; // supported
 added: v22.6.0
 -->
 
-Type stripping is not supported for files descendent of a `node_modules` directory.
+Type stripping is not supported for TypeScript files descendent of a `node_modules`
+directory. With the experimental `--experimental-strip-types-in-node-modules-with-declarations`
+flag, such a file is stripped and executed when a co-located declaration file
+sits beside it (for example, a `.d.ts` next to the `.ts`); otherwise this error
+is thrown. The declaration signals that the package author pre-computed the type
+boundaries that downstream tooling relies on.
 
 <a id="ERR_UNSUPPORTED_RESOLVE_REQUEST"></a>
 

diff --git a/doc/api/typescript.md b/doc/api/typescript.md
@@ -213,9 +213,26 @@ correct line numbers in stack traces; and Node.js does not generate them.
 
 ### Type stripping in dependencies
 
-To discourage package authors from publishing packages written in TypeScript,
-Node.js refuses to handle TypeScript files inside folders under a `node_modules`
-path.
+By default, Node.js refuses to strip types from TypeScript files inside folders
+under a `node_modules` path, to discourage shipping raw TypeScript without
+pre-computed type information.
+
+With the experimental [`--experimental-strip-types-in-node-modules-with-declarations`][] flag, a
+TypeScript file under `node_modules` is stripped and executed when a co-located
+declaration file sits beside it (for example, a `mod.d.ts` next to `mod.ts`, a
+`mod.d.mts` next to `mod.mts`, or a `mod.d.cts` next to `mod.cts`). This is the
+default layout emitted by `tsc --emitDeclarationOnly`.
+
+The presence of a co-located declaration acts as an opt-in: it signals that the
+author ran a declaration emitter and therefore pre-computed the explicit type
+boundaries that editors and type-checkers rely on, so they do not need to infer
+types from the raw source. Otherwise the
+`ERR_UNSUPPORTED_NODE_MODULES_TYPE_STRIPPING` error is thrown.
+
+This unblocks workflows that copy first-party TypeScript into `node_modules` —
+such as `pnpm deploy`, packages installed from a private registry or a Git URL,
+and globally installed TypeScript CLIs — without requiring the source to be
+transpiled to JavaScript first.
 
 ### Paths aliases
 
@@ -226,6 +243,7 @@ with `#`.
 [CommonJS]: modules.md
 [ES Modules]: esm.md
 [Full TypeScript support]: #full-typescript-support
+[`--experimental-strip-types-in-node-modules-with-declarations`]: cli.md#--experimental-strip-types-in-node-modules-with-declarations
 [`--no-strip-types`]: cli.md#--no-strip-types
 [`ERR_UNSUPPORTED_TYPESCRIPT_SYNTAX`]: errors.md#err_unsupported_typescript_syntax
 [`tsconfig` "paths"]: https://www.typescriptlang.org/tsconfig/#paths

diff --git a/lib/internal/errors.js b/lib/internal/errors.js
@@ -1908,7 +1908,9 @@ E('ERR_UNSUPPORTED_ESM_URL_SCHEME', (url, supported) => {
   return msg;
 }, Error);
 E('ERR_UNSUPPORTED_NODE_MODULES_TYPE_STRIPPING',
-  'Stripping types is currently unsupported for files under node_modules, for "%s"',
+  'Stripping types is unsupported for files under node_modules unless a ' +
+  'co-located declaration file is present (e.g. a ".d.ts" next to the ".ts"), ' +
+  'for "%s"',
   Error);
 E('ERR_UNSUPPORTED_RESOLVE_REQUEST',
   'Failed to resolve module specifier "%s" from "%s": Invalid relative URL or base scheme is not hierarchical.',

diff --git a/lib/internal/modules/typescript.js b/lib/internal/modules/typescript.js
@@ -2,6 +2,9 @@
 
 const {
   ObjectPrototypeHasOwnProperty,
+  RegExpPrototypeExec,
+  StringPrototypeSlice,
+  StringPrototypeStartsWith,
 } = primordials;
 const {
   validateOneOf,
@@ -19,6 +22,9 @@ const {
   ERR_UNSUPPORTED_TYPESCRIPT_SYNTAX,
 } = require('internal/errors').codes;
 const assert = require('internal/assert');
+const { getOptionValue } = require('internal/options');
+const { fileURLToPath } = require('internal/url');
+const { internalModuleStat } = internalBinding('fs');
 const {
   getCompileCacheEntry,
   saveCompileCacheEntry,
@@ -141,6 +147,44 @@ function stripTypeScriptTypesForCoverage(code) {
 }
 
 
+// Matches a TypeScript source extension, capturing the module-system letter so
+// the declaration extension can be reconstructed: `.ts` -> `.d.ts`,
+// `.mts` -> `.d.mts`, `.cts` -> `.d.cts`.
+const kTypeScriptExtensionRegExp = /\.([mc]?)ts$/;
+
+/**
+ * Maps a TypeScript source path to its co-located declaration path (the
+ * "declaration beside the implementation" rule, the default layout emitted by
+ * `tsc`).
+ * @param {string} sourcePath Absolute path to a TypeScript source file.
+ * @returns {string|undefined} The co-located declaration path, or `undefined`
+ *   if the path does not have a recognized TypeScript extension.
+ */
+function getColocatedDeclarationFile(sourcePath) {
+  const match = RegExpPrototypeExec(kTypeScriptExtensionRegExp, sourcePath);
+  if (match === null) {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+  return `${StringPrototypeSlice(sourcePath, 0, match.index)}.d.${match[1]}ts`;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Determines whether a TypeScript file under node_modules ships a co-located
+ * declaration file (e.g. `foo.d.ts` next to `foo.ts`), the default layout
+ * emitted by `tsc --emitDeclarationOnly`. Its presence signals that the author
+ * pre-computed the type boundaries downstream tooling relies on, so editors and
+ * type-checkers read declarations instead of inferring from the raw source.
+ * @param {string} filename The TypeScript source path or `file:` URL.
+ * @returns {boolean} `true` if a co-located declaration file exists.
+ */
+function hasColocatedDeclarationFile(filename) {
+  const sourcePath = StringPrototypeStartsWith(filename, 'file://') ?
+    fileURLToPath(filename) : filename;
+  const declaration = getColocatedDeclarationFile(sourcePath);
+  // `internalModuleStat` returns 0 for a regular file.
+  return declaration !== undefined && internalModuleStat(declaration) === 0;
+}
+
 /**
  * Performs type-stripping to TypeScript source code internally.
  * It is used by internal loaders.
@@ -151,8 +195,17 @@ function stripTypeScriptTypesForCoverage(code) {
  */
 function stripTypeScriptModuleTypes(source, filename, sourceURL) {
   assert(typeof source === 'string');
+  // Type-stripping is disallowed inside node_modules. Behind the experimental
+  // `--experimental-strip-types-in-node-modules-with-declarations` flag it is
+  // allowed when the package ships a co-located declaration file (e.g. a
+  // `.d.ts` next to the `.ts`), which signals that the author pre-computed the
+  // type boundaries downstream tooling relies on.
   if (isUnderNodeModules(filename)) {
-    throw new ERR_UNSUPPORTED_NODE_MODULES_TYPE_STRIPPING(filename);
+    if (!getOptionValue('--experimental-strip-types-in-node-modules-with-declarations') ||
+        !hasColocatedDeclarationFile(filename)) {
+      throw new ERR_UNSUPPORTED_NODE_MODULES_TYPE_STRIPPING(filename);
+    }
+    emitExperimentalWarning('Type stripping in node_modules');
   }
   // Get a compile cache entry into the native compile cache store,
   // keyed by the filename. If the cache can already be loaded on disk,

diff --git a/src/node_options.cc b/src/node_options.cc
@@ -194,6 +194,12 @@ void EnvironmentOptions::CheckOptions(std::vector<std::string>* errors,
     errors->push_back("either --check or --eval can be used, not both");
   }
 
+  if (strip_types_in_node_modules_with_declarations && !strip_types) {
+    errors->push_back(
+        "--experimental-strip-types-in-node-modules-with-declarations "
+        "requires type-stripping (--strip-types) to be enabled");
+  }
+
   if (!unhandled_rejections.empty() &&
       unhandled_rejections != "warn-with-error-code" &&
       unhandled_rejections != "throw" &&
@@ -1204,6 +1210,11 @@ EnvironmentOptionsParser::EnvironmentOptionsParser() {
             kAllowedInEnvvar,
             HAVE_AMARO);
   AddAlias("--experimental-strip-types", "--strip-types");
+  AddOption("--experimental-strip-types-in-node-modules-with-declarations",
+            "Allow type-stripping for TypeScript files under node_modules when "
+            "the package provides a resolvable declaration for the module.",
+            &EnvironmentOptions::strip_types_in_node_modules_with_declarations,
+            kAllowedInEnvvar);
   AddOption("--interactive",
             "always enter the REPL even if stdin does not appear "
             "to be a terminal",

diff --git a/src/node_options.h b/src/node_options.h
@@ -273,6 +273,7 @@ class EnvironmentOptions : public Options {
   std::vector<std::string> preload_esm_modules;
 
   bool strip_types = HAVE_AMARO;
+  bool strip_types_in_node_modules_with_declarations = false;
 
   std::vector<std::string> user_argv;
 

diff --git a/test/es-module/test-typescript.mjs b/test/es-module/test-typescript.mjs
@@ -174,6 +174,53 @@ test('execute CommonJS TypeScript file from node_modules with require-module', a
   assert.strictEqual(result.code, 1);
 });
 
+test('strip a node_modules .ts with a co-located .d.ts when the flag is set', async () => {
+  const result = await spawnPromisified(process.execPath, [
+    '--no-warnings',
+    '--experimental-strip-types-in-node-modules-with-declarations',
+    fixtures.path('typescript/ts/test-import-ts-twin-node-modules.ts'),
+  ]);
+
+  assert.strictEqual(result.stderr, '');
+  assert.match(result.stdout, /Hello, TypeScript!/);
+  assert.strictEqual(result.code, 0);
+});
+
+// A declaration that is not co-located with the source (only reachable via the
+// `exports` "types" condition, in a separate directory) is not stripped: the
+// flag only recognizes a declaration file beside the source.
+test('node_modules .ts with a non-co-located declaration is not stripped', async () => {
+  const result = await spawnPromisified(process.execPath, [
+    '--experimental-strip-types-in-node-modules-with-declarations',
+    fixtures.path('typescript/ts/test-import-ts-exports-types-node-modules.ts'),
+  ]);
+
+  assert.match(result.stderr, /ERR_UNSUPPORTED_NODE_MODULES_TYPE_STRIPPING/);
+  assert.strictEqual(result.stdout, '');
+  assert.strictEqual(result.code, 1);
+});
+
+test('node_modules .ts with declarations is still blocked without the flag', async () => {
+  const result = await spawnPromisified(process.execPath, [
+    fixtures.path('typescript/ts/test-import-ts-twin-node-modules.ts'),
+  ]);
+
+  assert.match(result.stderr, /ERR_UNSUPPORTED_NODE_MODULES_TYPE_STRIPPING/);
+  assert.strictEqual(result.stdout, '');
+  assert.strictEqual(result.code, 1);
+});
+
+test('the node_modules declarations flag requires type-stripping enabled', async () => {
+  const result = await spawnPromisified(process.execPath, [
+    '--no-strip-types',
+    '--experimental-strip-types-in-node-modules-with-declarations',
+    fixtures.path('typescript/ts/test-import-ts-twin-node-modules.ts'),
+  ]);
+
+  assert.match(result.stderr, /requires type-stripping \(--strip-types\) to be enabled/);
+  assert.strictEqual(result.code, 9);
+});
+
 test('execute a TypeScript file with CommonJS syntax requiring .cts', async () => {
   const result = await spawnPromisified(process.execPath, [
     '--no-warnings',

diff --git a/test/fixtures/typescript/ts/node_modules/twin-exports/package.json b/test/fixtures/typescript/ts/node_modules/twin-exports/package.json
diff --git a/test/fixtures/typescript/ts/node_modules/twin-exports/src/index.ts b/test/fixtures/typescript/ts/node_modules/twin-exports/src/index.ts
diff --git a/test/fixtures/typescript/ts/node_modules/twin-exports/types/index.d.ts b/test/fixtures/typescript/ts/node_modules/twin-exports/types/index.d.ts
diff --git a/test/fixtures/typescript/ts/node_modules/twin/package.json b/test/fixtures/typescript/ts/node_modules/twin/package.json
diff --git a/test/fixtures/typescript/ts/node_modules/twin/twin.d.ts b/test/fixtures/typescript/ts/node_modules/twin/twin.d.ts
diff --git a/test/fixtures/typescript/ts/node_modules/twin/twin.ts b/test/fixtures/typescript/ts/node_modules/twin/twin.ts
diff --git a/test/fixtures/typescript/ts/test-import-ts-exports-types-node-modules.ts b/test/fixtures/typescript/ts/test-import-ts-exports-types-node-modules.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+import { message } from 'twin-exports';
+
+console.log(message);
diff --git a/test/fixtures/typescript/ts/test-import-ts-twin-node-modules.ts b/test/fixtures/typescript/ts/test-import-ts-twin-node-modules.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+import { twin } from 'twin';
+
+console.log(twin);
Original file line number	Diff line number	Diff line change
		@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
		import { message } from 'twin-exports';

		console.log(message);
Original file line number	Diff line number	Diff line change
		@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
		import { twin } from 'twin';

		console.log(twin);