microsoft / microsoft/TypeScript
Inconsistent behavior with Generic ElementType
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Description
### 🔎 Search Terms
JSX, Generic ElementType, TS2786
### 🕗 Version & Regression Information
- Behavior seen in 5.8.3 and 5.9.0-dev.20250703
- I was unable to test this on prior versions
### ⏯ Playground Link
_No response_
### 💻 Code
```ts
export namespace dsl {
export namespace JSX {
export type Element = {
name: U
type: string
children: Element[]
}
[tsconfig.json](https://github.com/user-attachments/files/21047590/tsconfig.json)
export function createElement(
tag: JSX.ElementType,
props : { name: U },
...children: JSX.Element[]
): JSX.Element {
return tag(props, ...children)
}
}
function Form(props: { name: U }, ...children: dsl.JSX.Element[]) {
return { ...props, type: "form", children }
}
const formDesugared = dsl.createElement(
Form, { name: "one" }
)
const form = (
// <--- Error here, error TS2786: 'Form' cannot be used as a JSX component.
)
```
### 🙁 Actual behavior
Compile error:
sui.tsx:31:6 - error TS2786: 'Form' cannot be used as a JSX component.
Its type '(props: { name: U; }, ...children: Element[]) => { type: string; children: Element[]; name: U; }' is not a valid JSX element type.
Types of parameters 'props' and 'props' are incompatible.
Type '{ name: unknown; }' is not assignable to type '{ name: string; }'.
Types of property 'name' are incompatible.
Type 'unknown' is not assignable to type 'string'.
31
### 🙂 Expected behavior
Changing props: { name: U } in the definition of ElementType to props: { name: string } causes the code to compile [loosing the wanted typing of the resulting Element
Since the desugared version of the code compiles and infers types correctly, I'd expect the JSX code to compile, or at least produce a less deeply mysterious error - the type of the 'name' property plainly *isn't* unknown.
### Additional information about the issue
_No response_
Contributor guide
Research direction
Reproduce the .tsx example with the linked tsconfig.json on TypeScript 5.8.3 and the 5.9 development version, comparing JSX with dsl.createElement and the TS2786 diagnostic. Trace how JSX.ElementType checks the generic Form; done means the JSX form compiles consistently with the desugared call, preserves the intended inferred Element typing, and avoids the misleading unknown-name error.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- typescript
- Domain
- compilers
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100