microsoft / microsoft/TypeScript

Display files with errors summary in `--watch` mode

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Description

### 🔍 Search Terms

file listing watch mode
file summary watch mode

### ✅ Viability Checklist

- [x] This wouldn't be a breaking change in existing TypeScript/JavaScript code
- [x] This wouldn't change the runtime behavior of existing JavaScript code
- [x] This could be implemented without emitting different JS based on the types of the expressions
- [x] This isn't a runtime feature (e.g. library functionality, non-ECMAScript syntax with JavaScript output, new syntax sugar for JS, etc.)
- [x] This isn't a request to add a new utility type: https://github.com/microsoft/TypeScript/wiki/No-New-Utility-Types
- [x] This feature would agree with the rest of our Design Goals: https://github.com/Microsoft/TypeScript/wiki/TypeScript-Design-Goals

### ⭐ Suggestion

When running `tsc` with the `--watch` flag, we should see a list of files with errors, similar to what you see when running without `--watch`.

**Running without watch**

```
npx tsc
src/bar.ts:3:5 - error TS2554: Expected 0 arguments, but got 1.

3 bar(1);
~

src/foo.ts:2:3 - error TS18048: 'a' is possibly 'undefined'.

2 a.toString();
~

👇
Found 2 errors in 2 files.

Errors Files
1 src/bar.ts:3 👈 these are clickable and I don't have to scroll up the terminal to see them
1 src/foo.ts:2

👆
```

**Running with watch mode**

First run:
```
[9:49:05 AM] Starting compilation in watch mode...

src/bar.ts:3:5 - error TS2554: Expected 0 arguments, but got 1.

3 bar(1);
~

src/foo.ts:2:3 - error TS18048: 'a' is possibly 'undefined'.

2 a.toString();
~

[9:49:05 AM] Found 2 errors. Watching for file changes.
```

After a file change to bar.ts

```[9:49:53 AM] File change detected. Starting incremental compilation...

src/bar.ts:5:5 - error TS2554: Expected 0 arguments, but got 1.

5 bar(2);
~

src/foo.ts:2:3 - error TS18048: 'a' is possibly 'undefined'.

2 a.toString();
~

[9:49:53 AM] Found 2 errors. Watching for file changes.

```

**The ask**

Either by default, or with an option (`--showFileSummaryInWatchMode` ?) show the file summary when running with watch mode.

### 📃 Motivating Example

When running the TypeScript compiler in watch mode, you now have the option to see the list of files with errors.

### 💻 Use Cases

The main use case I have in mind, is for when I make a breaking change to a type in my codebase, and I need to know the impact this change can have.

Because these file paths are clickable in most IDEs (On MacOS cmd+click will open the file in the IDE), this file list can be a very convenient starting point to see the impact/make changes.

eg. I make a change to type X making a property optional, and I can see that this causes type errors in files A, B, C. I got to file A and to fix the type error, I make a return property there optional. I now see additional errors in files H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O. I abandon this approach.

### Related

https://github.com/Microsoft/TypeScript/issues/22124 - This is about pretty mode and watch mode. It's essentially asking the same thing 'I don't need to see all the details of the errors, I just want to see the file count'.

The issue is marked as completed - but I can't see that it actually does what the OP wants. AFAICT all it does is add colors to the terminal.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start at the tsc --watch entry point and compare its diagnostic output with a normal tsc run. Reproduce the examples in the issue, then determine whether the file summary should be default behavior or an option. Done means watch mode displays a clickable summary of files containing errors after each compilation.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
typescript
Domain
cli
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Active
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
68/100

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