Auto-import should not offer a barrel to files inside same package

[lonix1]

🔍 Search Terms

"typescript extension", "circular import", "barrel file", "autoImportFileExcludePatterns"

✅ Viability Checklist

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

⭐ Suggestion

PROBLEM

Suppose a package exposes its public API through barrel files via exports subpaths. Within that package, auto-import offers the declaring file as well as the barrel. Accidentally choosing to import from the barrel from inside the package itself would create a circular import.

The autoImportFileExcludePatterns setting doesn't help. It matches the file being offered, not the importing file. So excluding the barrels would remove them for every importer, including consumers. (Doing so anyway means consumers would receive relative cross-project paths instead of the package subpath, and TS would report error 2878.)

REPRO

packages/shared/
  package.json            // "name": "@company/shared", "exports": { "./logging": "./src/api/logging.ts" }
  tsconfig.json           // composite, "module": "node20", rewriteRelativeImportExtensions
  src/api/logging.ts      // export * from '../logging/utils.ts';
  src/logging/utils.ts    // export function logEvent() {}
  src/other.ts
apps/billing/
  package.json            // "dependencies": { "@company/shared": "workspace:*" }
  tsconfig.json           // composite, "module": "node20", references: [{ "path": "../../packages/shared" }]
  src/index.ts

1. In packages/shared/src/other.ts, type logEvent and request auto-import. Two suggestions appear: the declaring file and the ./api/logging barrel file.
2. In apps/billing/src/index.ts, do the same. Two suggestions appear: the declaring file (as a relative cross-project path) and @company/shared/logging.
3. Add setting "js/ts.preferences.autoImportFileExcludePatterns": ["**/packages/*/src/api/*.ts"].
4. Repeat step 2. The only suggestion is ../../../packages/shared/src/logging/utils.ts, which reports error 2878 ("This import path is unsafe to rewrite because it resolves to another project...").

EXPECTED

Barrels should be offered to consumers, not to files inside the package that declares them.

Perhaps a new extension setting can configure that?

ACTUAL

Importers inside and outside the package are treated identically:

• Without the setting, both are offered the barrel and the declaring file.
• With the setting, neither is offered the barrel.