NormalModuleReplacementPlugin doesn't play nice with ts-loader

Expected Behaviour

When I implement the pattern for the NormalModuleReplacementPlugin, I expect that the ts-loader would be aware of the configuration and help swallow the compiler error so the compilation would finish.

Actual Behaviour

Because './config/config-APP_TARGET' does not actually exist, the compiler throws an error:

    ERROR in ./ClientApp/boot.ts
    Module build failed (from ./node_modules/ts-loader/index.js):
    Error: Typescript emitted no output for D:\GitHub\NMRP-Plus-TypeScript-Repro\WebPack-NMRP-Repro\ClientApp\boot.ts.
        at successLoader (D:\GitHub\NMRP-Plus-TypeScript-Repro\WebPack-NMRP-Repro\node_modules\ts-loader\dist\index.js:41:15)
        at Object.loader (D:\GitHub\NMRP-Plus-TypeScript-Repro\WebPack-NMRP-Repro\node_modules\ts-loader\dist\index.js:21:12)

    ERROR in D:\GitHub\NMRP-Plus-TypeScript-Repro\WebPack-NMRP-Repro\ClientApp\boot.ts
    ./ClientApp/boot.ts
    [tsl] ERROR in D:\GitHub\NMRP-Plus-TypeScript-Repro\WebPack-NMRP-Repro\ClientApp\boot.ts(1,20)
          TS2307: Cannot find module './config/config-APP_TARGET'.

The code executes locally anyway, but because webpack throws a failed error code at this point, automated build systems like Azure Pipelines fail.

Workaround:

You have to add a config-APP_TARGET.ts file to the config folder, with a blank exported module mirroring your actual config module, so that the compiler does not error out.

It would be really nice if this workaround was not necessary.

Steps to Reproduce the Problem

See repro below.

Location of a Minimal Repository that Demonstrates the Issue.

https://github.com/CloudNimble/NMRP-Plus-TypeScript-Repro

I hope this information helps someone who runs into the same problem, and I hope it can ultimately be fixed so that the pattern in the documentation can be implemented as-is.

Thanks!

Start by running the linked NMRP-Plus-TypeScript-Repro with NormalModuleReplacementPlugin and ts-loader, then inspect ClientApp/boot.ts and the loader entry points shown in node_modules/ts-loader/index.js and dist/index.js. Done means the webpack compilation completes without the TS2307 missing-module or “Typescript emitted no output” errors, without requiring config-APP_TARGET.ts.