TypeScript Compile Options: module vs target

Question

Trying to have some basic understanding about module and target.

I would like to know the difference between module and target compile options in a typical tsconfig.json

 {     "compilerOptions": {         "module": "es6",         "sourceMap": true,         "target": "es6"     } } 

What happens if I provide the following options:

module: commonjs, target: es6

module: es6, target: commonjs

module: commonjs, target: commonjs

Answer 1

There are 2 different things. --target simply means which version of ECMAScript you're using to code. --module simply means which module system you're using such as commonjs for Node or ES module for all that supports it and what not.

Answer 2

A more detailed explanation is here : Understanding "target" and "module" in tsconfig

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See also: Understanding "target" and "module" in tsconfig.

Here is a quote from the documentation on compiler options:

--target

Specify ECMAScript target version: 'es3' (default), 'es5', or 'es6'.

--module

Specify module code generation: 'none', 'commonjs', 'amd', 'system', 'umd', 'es6', or 'es2015'.

• Only 'amd' and 'system' can be used in conjunction with --outFile.
• 'es6' and 'es2015' values may be used when targeting ES5 or lower.