Importing images in TypeScript React - "Cannot find module"

Question

I am trying to import images to use inside a React component with TypeScript. The bundler I'm using is Parcel (not Webpack).

I have created a .d.ts file inside the project with the image file extension, and included it inside tsconfig.json. However, when I try to import an image, TS yells at me about Cannot find module.

My project structure:

+ src
  + assets
    - image.jpg
  + components
    - Box.tsx
    - App.tsx
  - index.d.ts
  - index.html
  - index.tsx
- tsconfig.json
- tslint.json

I tried to import the image in App.tsx like this. VS Code underlined '../assets/image.jpg' and said Cannot find module '../assets/image.jpg'.

import * as React from 'react';
import * as img from '../assets/image.jpg';

const Box = props => {
  // do things...
}

export default Box;

The discussions I found online point to the need of defining a .d.ts file myself, so I created that index.d.ts file with this line.

declare module '*.jpg';

Then added "include": ["./src/index.d.ts"] inside tsconfig.json, after "compilerOptions" : {...}.

What did I miss? How can I fix the error TS is throwing?

Answer 1

create index.d.ts file in folder src,and add this line

declare module '*.jpg';

Answer 2

If you literally wrote "include": ["./src/index.d.ts"] in tsconfig.json and you don't have a "files" setting, that means the project defined by tsconfig.json includes only the single file ./src/index.d.ts. When you open any other file in VS Code, VS Code uses a separate language service instance that doesn't use your tsconfig.json. Adjust your "include" setting to match all the .ts and .tsx files in your project, or just delete it and rely on the default behavior of including all files under the directory containing tsconfig.json.

Round 2

TypeScript is ignoring index.d.ts because it assumes that index.d.ts is generated from index.tsx and index.tsx is more likely to be up to date. Name your index.d.ts file something else, e.g., declaration.d.ts.

Answer 3

Create module/type

# src/types/images.d.ts
declare module '*.jpg';
declare module '*.jpeg';

Change tsconfig.json

{
    "compilerOptions": {
        "typeRoots" : ["node_modules/@types", "src/types"]
    }
}

Answer 4

There can be many solutions to this problem

Solution #1:
Use require to include image

<img src={require('../../assets/logo.png')} alt="" />

---

Solution #2:

Instead of importing images as import logo from "../../assets/logo.png"

Import as const logo = require("../../assets/logo.png");

then use it like

<img src={logo} alt="" />

---

Solution #3:
There is a react-app-env.d.ts file in your src folder. If you don't see it, create a new file in the src folder named react-app-env.d.ts.

Now in your react-app-env.d.ts, add this code.

declare module "*.png";
declare module "*.svg";
declare module "*.jpeg";
declare module "*.jpg";

---

Solution #4:
Create declaration.d.ts in your src folder.
Then add following text in it.

declare module "*.png";
declare module "*.svg";
declare module "*.jpeg";
declare module "*.jpg";

Now you have to make your tsconfig.json look like this:

{
  "compilerOptions": {},
  "include": [
    "src",
    "src/declaration.d.ts",
  ]
}

---

Solution #5:

Create a types folder in your src folder and add images.d.ts in this folder. Add below text in it.

declare module "*.png";
declare module "*.svg";
declare module "*.jpeg";
declare module "*.jpg";

Now configure tsconfig.json like this:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "typeRoots": [
      "node_modules/@types",
      "src/types"
    ],
}

---

Answer 5

there is a work around to it for example,

import logo from "../../assets/logo.png"

change this to

const logo =  require("../../assets/logo.png")

Answer 6

This took me about an hour so I'm going to leave the solution that worked for me.

Matt McCutchen's solution half-worked for me, but I was still facing a VSCode error. To combat this, I moved my tsconfig.json and index.d.ts to the root directory, NOT the src. Now you want your tsconfig.json to look like this:

"include": ["src", "index.d.ts"]

And for your index.d.ts, this:

declare module '*.png';
declare module '*.jpg';

(^ tweak to your typing needs)

Answer 7

For "react": "^18.2.0" with Typescript do the following:

1. Create a file called: declaration.d.ts in your src/ dir.
2. Add this lines of code:

declare module "*.jpg"
declare module "*.png"

That's it the error should be gone.

Good luck!

Answer 8

There should be a file called "react-app-env.d.ts" that is created when you use create-react-app. This file classes all types of image files and many more as modules that can be imported. inside the file there should be the following:

/// <reference types="react-scripts" />

Answer 9

I declared multiple image types, and had to put them in separate .d.ts files to make VS Code happy:

src/types/image.jpg.d.ts:

declare module '*.jpg' {
  import { ImageSourcePropType } from 'react-native'

  const content: ImageSourcePropType

  export default content
}

src/types/image.png.d.ts:

declare module '*.png' {
  import { ImageSourcePropType } from 'react-native'

  const content: ImageSourcePropType

  export default content
}

src/types/image.svg.d.ts:

declare module '*.svg' {
  import React from 'react'
  import { SvgProps } from 'react-native-svg'

  const content: React.FC<SvgProps>

  export default content
}

No tweaks to tsconfig, etc required.

Answer 10

I've pasted:

/// <reference types="react-scripts" />

from an older project in my: react-app-env.d.ts and it worked.

In the latest versions of CRA (when TS is the chosen language), this file is automatically added to the src folder and contains the single line shown above. It is a directive to reference types from react-scripts.

Answer 11

Create a global.d.ts file inside your src directory or any rootDir

declare module "*.png" {
 export default "" as string
}

This will make use of an asset, in this case png image and also clear a vscode error

Answer 12

I test all of the replies and found the answer.

First, create a file with the name .d.ts in your route folder.

Then copy these lines into that.

declare module "*.png" {
  export default "" as string;
}
declare module "*.svg" {
  export default "" as string;
}
declare module "*.jpeg" {
  export default "" as string;
}
declare module "*.jpg" {
  export default "" as string;
}

Finally, go to tsconfig.json file in your route folder. and define new child.

{
   "include": ["src", ".d.ts"]
}

your're go to go.

Answer 13

This is worked for me

declare module "*.png" {
const src: string
export default src
}

Answer 14

I fixed adding file index.d.ts in root:

Paste the following code inside of it: /// <reference types="react-scripts" />

inside tsconfig.json, add: "include": ["src", "index.d.ts"]

Answer 15

This error happens when you not included react-app-env.d.ts file in your src folder becoz you need two line of code for get rid of this error ==> <reference types="react-scripts" />

Answer 16

The image above illustrates how this error can arise falsely when you've miss quoted the path. Note I accidentally started with a double quote " and ended with a single quote '. Easy fix.

Answer 17

To address this issue, create a file named index.d.ts inside the src/Types directory. In this file, add the following declaration:

declare module '*.jpg';

This declaration allows TypeScript to recognize and import JPG image files without any type errors.

Answer 18

For those who has this issue in a monorepo

First let's clarify one thing, I assume you're using create react app or vite and still have this issue. Although it really should not matter.

How I ended up in this mess?

I just had a monorepo and I was extending from the root tsconfig.json which was a place too keep every shared configuration in my entire monorepo. So I was extending from it in each and every sub repo I had in my monorepo. OK, Here is how my directory tree looks like

|-apps
|---backend
|-----src
|-----tsconfig.json
|---frontend
|-----src
|-----tsconfig.json
|-tsconfig.json

e.x. apps/frontend/tsconfig.json

{
    "extends": "../../tsconfig.json",
    "compilerOptions": {
        /* ... */
    }
}

Solution #1

So then TS was not able to find the file definition for the images. All I did was creating a new file in the root of my monorepo, named declarations.d.ts and pasting this code inside it:

// images
declare module '*.png' {
    const src: string;
    export default src;
}
declare module '*.jpg' {
    const src: string;
    export default src;
}
declare module '*.jpeg' {
    const src: string;
    export default src;
}
declare module '*.jfif' {
    const src: string;
    export default src;
}
declare module '*.pjpeg' {
    const src: string;
    export default src;
}
declare module '*.pjp' {
    const src: string;
    export default src;
}
declare module '*.gif' {
    const src: string;
    export default src;
}
declare module '*.svg' {
    const src: string;
    export default src;
}
declare module '*.ico' {
    const src: string;
    export default src;
}
declare module '*.webp' {
    const src: string;
    export default src;
}
declare module '*.avif' {
    const src: string;
    export default src;
}

Solution #2

Though you can resolve this issue by removing that extends in your ./apps/frontend/tsconfig.json. I chose to remove the extends since it was easier to rely on Vite rather my own code. Besides this way we have less code to worry of.

Answer 19

if you have tried createing index.d.ts file in folder src, and adding declare module '*.jpg'; to it but it didn't work just rename index.d.ts to something else like export.d.ts .