---
url: /docs/guide/usage/linter/rules/typescript/triple-slash-reference.md
---

### What it does

Disallow certain triple slash directives in favor of ES module import declarations.

### Why is this bad?

Use of triple-slash reference type directives is generally discouraged in favor of ECMAScript Module imports.

### Examples

Examples of **incorrect** code for this rule:

```ts
/// <reference lib="code" />
globalThis.value;
```

## Configuration

This rule accepts a configuration object with the following properties:

### lib

type: `"always" | "never"`

default: `"always"`

What to enforce for `/// <reference lib="..." />` references.

### path

type: `"always" | "never"`

default: `"never"`

What to enforce for `/// <reference path="..." />` references.

#### `"always"`

Allow triple-slash `path` references.

#### `"never"`

Disallow triple-slash `path` references.

### types

type: `"always" | "never" | "prefer-import"`

default: `"prefer-import"`

What to enforce for `/// <reference types="..." />` references.

#### `"always"`

Allow triple-slash `types` references.

#### `"never"`

Disallow triple-slash `types` references.

#### `"prefer-import"`

Prefer ES module import declarations over triple-slash `types` references.
This option only reports when there is an existing `import` declaration for the same module.

For example, this would be reported as a lint violation with `prefer-import`:

```ts
/// <reference types="foo" />
import { bar } from "foo";
```

## How to use

## Version

This rule was added in v0.2.0.

## References