---
id: wiki-2026-0508-ambient-declarations
title: Ambient Declarations
category: 10_Wiki/Topics
status: verified
canonical_id: self
aliases: [.d.ts, declare keyword, TypeScript ambient, Type definitions]
duplicate_of: none
source_trust_level: A
confidence_score: 0.9
verification_status: applied
tags: [typescript, types, declarations, dts, interop]
raw_sources: []
last_reinforced: 2026-05-10
github_commit: pending
tech_stack:
  language: typescript
  framework: TypeScript 5.7
---

# Ambient Declarations

## 매 한 줄
> **"매 type-only declarations — 매 describe shapes that exist elsewhere"**. 매 TypeScript (Anders Hejlsberg, 2012) 매 since v0.8 매 `.d.ts` files. 매 DefinitelyTyped (2014) → @types/* npm scope (2016) → TS 4.x package "exports" + types (2021) → TS 5.7 (2026 stable) 매 `--isolatedDeclarations` 매 fast .d.ts emit.

## 매 핵심

### 매 ambient 의 의미
- **Ambient**: 매 declaration only, 매 no implementation. 매 emit 매 not 매 produce JS.
- **`.d.ts` files**: 매 declarations only. 매 imports 매 type-erased.
- **`declare` keyword**: 매 inside `.ts` files 매 declare 매 ambient binding.

### 매 use cases
- Type 3rd-party JS library (no built-in types).
- Type global runtime (browser, Node, custom).
- Augment existing module/global.
- Distribute types separate from JS (npm "types" field).
- Emit minimal API surface from TS source.

### 매 응용
1. **@types/* packages** — DefinitelyTyped community types.
2. **Global augmentation** — extend `Window`, `process.env`.
3. **Module augmentation** — add methods to existing module's interface.
4. **Asset typing** — `*.svg` `*.css` import as module.

## 💻 패턴

### Basic ambient module (3rd-party JS)
```typescript
// types/legacy-lib.d.ts
declare module "legacy-lib" {
  export function greet(name: string): string;
  export interface Config { timeout: number }
  export default class Client {
    constructor(cfg: Config);
    send(msg: string): Promise<void>;
  }
}
```

### Ambient global
```typescript
// types/globals.d.ts
declare global {
  var __APP_VERSION__: string;
  interface Window {
    analytics?: { track(event: string, props?: object): void };
  }
  namespace NodeJS {
    interface ProcessEnv {
      DATABASE_URL: string;
      REDIS_URL: string;
    }
  }
}
export {};  // 매 file 의 module 의 만듦 — augmentation 매 valid
```

### Module augmentation (extend existing)
```typescript
// add-toJSON.d.ts
import "express";
declare module "express" {
  interface Request {
    user?: { id: string; role: "admin" | "user" };
    requestId: string;
  }
}
// Now in any file: req.user is typed
```

### Asset module typing
```typescript
// assets.d.ts
declare module "*.svg" {
  const url: string;
  export default url;
}
declare module "*.css" {
  const classes: { readonly [key: string]: string };
  export default classes;
}
declare module "*.json" {
  const value: unknown;
  export default value;
}
```

### Triple-slash directive (legacy, still used)
```typescript
/// <reference types="node" />
/// <reference path="./vendor.d.ts" />
```

### `declare` inside .ts file
```typescript
// app.ts
declare const FEATURE_FLAGS: { newCheckout: boolean };
declare function gtag(cmd: string, ...args: unknown[]): void;

if (FEATURE_FLAGS.newCheckout) gtag("event", "view_new_checkout");
```

### Conditional types via ambient
```typescript
// react-augmentation.d.ts
import "react";
declare module "react" {
  interface CSSProperties {
    "--theme-color"?: string;
    "--theme-radius"?: string;
  }
}
// Now: <div style={{ "--theme-color": "blue" }}/> typechecks
```

### tsconfig declarations
```json
{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "declaration": true,
    "declarationMap": true,
    "emitDeclarationOnly": false,
    "isolatedDeclarations": true,
    "types": ["node", "vitest/globals"],
    "typeRoots": ["./node_modules/@types", "./types"]
  }
}
```

### Library author (publish .d.ts)
```json
// package.json
{
  "name": "my-lib",
  "main": "./dist/index.js",
  "types": "./dist/index.d.ts",
  "exports": {
    ".": {
      "types": "./dist/index.d.ts",
      "import": "./dist/index.mjs",
      "require": "./dist/index.cjs"
    }
  }
}
```

## 매 결정 기준
| 상황 | Approach |
|---|---|
| 3rd-party JS lib, no types | Check @types/lib first; else write `.d.ts` |
| Add field to req/res in Express/Fastify | Module augmentation |
| Type custom Vite/Webpack asset import | Wildcard module decl |
| Globals (browser/Node) | `declare global { ... }` + `export {}` |
| Library publish | TS source → emit .d.ts (declaration: true) |

**기본값**: 매 prefer @types/* package, 매 fall back 매 hand-written `.d.ts`, 매 augmentation 매 last resort (subtle to debug).

## 🔗 Graph
- 부모: [[TypeScript]] · [[TypeScript 타입 시스템 (TypeScript Type System)|Type System]]
- 변형: [[Global Augmentation]]
- 응용: [[DefinitelyTyped]]
- Adjacent: [[tsconfig.json]] · [[Conditional Types]]

## 🤖 LLM 활용
**언제**: 매 untyped JS interop, 매 global runtime typing, 매 library distribution, 매 framework extension points.
**언제 X**: 매 internal TS code (use regular `interface`/`type`), 매 enforcement need (declarations 매 erased — runtime check 매 separate).

## ❌ 안티패턴
- **`any` everywhere in .d.ts**: 매 type loss 의 propagation. 매 `unknown` + narrow.
- **Augmenting without `export {}`**: 매 file 매 script 의 treated, 매 augmentation silently fails.
- **Triple-slash in modern code**: 매 prefer `tsconfig "types"` array.
- **Global pollution**: 매 every helper 매 global 의 declare → namespace clashes.

## 🧪 검증 / 중복
- Verified (TypeScript Handbook "Declaration Files", DefinitelyTyped contribution guide, TS 5.7 release notes).
- 신뢰도 A.

## 🕓 Changelog
| 날짜 | 변경 |
|---|---|
| 2026-05-08 | Phase 1 |
| 2026-05-10 | Manual cleanup — full content (.d.ts, declare, augmentation patterns) |