rollup-plugin-generate-declarations

1.1.2 verified Mon Apr 27 auth: no javascript

A simple Rollup plugin that runs `tsc --emitDeclarationOnly` during build to generate `.d.ts` declaration files, solving the common problem of missing declarations when using Babel to transpile TypeScript. Current stable version is 1.1.2. Releases are infrequent. Key differentiator: integrates declaraton generation directly into Rollup pipeline, avoiding separate `tsc` step. Alternatives like `rollup-plugin-dts` generate declarations from compiled bundles; this plugin uses TypeScript compiler directly for more accurate declarations.

Common errors

error Error: Cannot find module 'rollup-plugin-generate-declarations' ↓

cause Missing or incomplete install; missing peer deps.

fix

Run npm install rollup-plugin-generate-declarations --save-dev and ensure rollup and typescript are installed.

error TypeError: generateDeclarations is not a function ↓

cause Used named import instead of default import (e.g., import { generateDeclarations }).

fix

Use default import: import generateDeclarations from ...

error Error: The 'rollup' version (x.x.x) does not satisfy the peer dependency requirement (>=2.30.0) ↓

cause Incompatible Rollup version.

fix

Upgrade Rollup to >=2.30.0.

Warnings

gotcha Plugin runs `tsc --emitDeclarationOnly` after rollup bundle, potentially overwriting declarations from other plugin if ordering is incorrect. ↓

fix Ensure generateDeclarations is placed after typescript compilation plugins in plugins array.

breaking Version 1.0.0 changed from CJS to ESM; require() may fail without wrapper. ↓

fix Use dynamic import or set "type": "module" in package.json for Node.js.

deprecated Plugin does not support Rollup's watch mode; declarations may not regenerate on file changes. ↓

fix For watch mode, use tsc separately or combine with @rollup/plugin-typescript's declaration setting.

Install

npm install rollup-plugin-generate-declarations

yarn add rollup-plugin-generate-declarations

pnpm add rollup-plugin-generate-declarations

Imports

generateDeclarations

wrong

import { generateDeclarations } from 'rollup-plugin-generate-declarations'

correct

import generateDeclarations from 'rollup-plugin-generate-declarations'

Package uses default export only; named import will fail.

generateDeclarations

wrong

const { generateDeclarations } = require('rollup-plugin-generate-declarations')

correct

const generateDeclarations = require('rollup-plugin-generate-declarations')

CommonJS require use default; destructuring named export returns undefined.

RollupPluginGenerateDeclarations (type)
```
import type GenerateDeclarations from 'rollup-plugin-generate-declarations'
```
No explicit type export; use typeof generateDeclarations if needed.

Quickstart

Shows basic usage with @rollup/plugin-typescript; generates .d.ts files for TypeScript source.

import generateDeclarations from 'rollup-plugin-generate-declarations';
import typescript from '@rollup/plugin-typescript';

export default {
  input: 'src/index.ts',
  output: {
    dir: 'dist',
    format: 'esm'
  },
  plugins: [
    typescript(),
    generateDeclarations()
  ]
};