Skip to main content

NodeNext / Native TypeScript Imports

TypeScript's moduleResolution: "nodenext" and Node's native TypeScript support (type stripping) both require explicit file extensions on relative ESM imports. Without them, generated schemas fail with:

TS2835: Relative import paths need explicit file extensions in ECMAScript imports

No zod-generator configuration is needed for this. The generator follows the prisma-client generator block's own knobs — set moduleFormat and importFileExtension there, and every relative import the zod generator emits (operation schemas, objects, enums, variants, index barrels, and the Prisma type import) carries the same extension.

NodeNext / bundler-free ESM​

generator client {
  provider            = "prisma-client"
  output              = "./generated/client"
  moduleFormat        = "esm"
  importFileExtension = "js"
}

generator zod {
  provider = "prisma-zod-generator"
  output   = "./generated/zod"
}

Generated imports look like:

import type { Prisma } from '../../client/browser.js';
import { UserWhereInputObjectSchema } from './objects/UserWhereInput.schema.js';

The .js specifiers resolve to the .ts sources under nodenext — this is the standard TypeScript ESM convention, and the output compiles clean under "module": "nodenext" with strict enabled.

Node native TypeScript (type stripping)​

To import generated schemas directly in Node without a build step, use .ts specifiers instead:

generator client {
  provider            = "prisma-client"
  output              = "./generated/client"
  moduleFormat        = "esm"
  importFileExtension = "ts"
}
node --experimental-strip-types main.ts   # or plain `node` on versions where type stripping is stable

If you also typecheck this layout with tsc, enable allowImportingTsExtensions in your tsconfig.json.

Notes​

  • The extension is applied only when the client generator declares moduleFormat = "esm" and an importFileExtension — matching Prisma's own behavior for its generated client.
  • Works in both multi-file and single-file (useMultipleFiles: false) modes.
  • Requires the modern prisma-client provider (Prisma 6.6+/7); the legacy prisma-client-js provider has no extension knobs and its output does not need them.