Language Service: Automatic Import Improvements

[dylhunn]

I recently implemented auto-imports in the language service in #47088. This feature includes the scaffolding for a large number of possible improvements, tracked below. We should prioritize some of these to make the experience as excellent as possible.

• ✅ (15.0.0) Automatic Quickfix Imports: Suggest imports as a quick fix for unknown standalone components.
• ✅ (15.0.0) NgModule support: Support importing to and from NgModules, in addition to standalone components.
• ✅ (15.1.0) Multi-suggestions: If more than one directive has this selector, give the user a choice.
• ✅ (15.2.0) Pipes: Support pipes as well as directives.
• 🗓️ Declaration Files: Suggest directives from .d.ts files, including imports with @ specifiers.
• 🗓️ Builtin Directives: We should suggest first-party Angular directives and pipes when appropriate.

✅ Complete | 🚧 In Progress | 🗓️ Planned

Collected PRs Relevant to this Hotlist
Language Service: #47181, #47088, #47787, #47938, #48074, #48354
Compiler: #47180, #47166, #47561, #47631, #48090

[kbrilla]

Is the code behind this feature using typescript auto-import rules?
[https://github.com/microsoft/TypeScript/issues/51155](Auto-import priority rules)
There are some issues right now in TS when for example monorepors like nx are involved where relative paths are proposed instead of @my-lib/... even if they are properly exported in barrels.

[dylhunn]

@kbrilla

Is the code behind this feature using typescript auto-import rules?

Not at present. I may switch to using the TypeScript compiler to emit some import references -- I need to do more research into how this works.

In general, we can always emit a same-project relative path, but figuring out absolute specifiers is much trickier.

[JeanMeche]

Awesome work !

Btw you might want to consider #48689 which have been opened recently !

[dylhunn]

Thanks. I hadn't actually seen that issue yet.

[Akxe]

What do I need to do in order to enable this in my codebase? I am using Angular 15.1 with nx monorepo

[kbrilla]

Any progress on this one? Seems like Webstorm is once again ahead of angular language service

[rezoled]

What's the current status and roadmap?
We are currently running with language service 16.1 and it seems like a lot of features are missing, which makes it really difficult to us to migrate to VSCode from IntelliJ.
Specifically

• Auto imports of components based on tsconfig paths declaration.
• Component suggestions

[fMoro1999]

Hi, are there any news on this?

[itspers]

Can't understand how people using Vscode for developing angular... Trying once in few months, it looks like some kind of GPT in 50% of functions now, but it still cant import simple button directive. Only theory i have - MS made it not to write real code, but to have something simple and fast to shoot videos of how to make hello world one-file projects to make them viral in twitter and popularize programming in general...

[jpike88]

Over 2 years later... I have relative imports scattered all over the place in my angular project because my devs just can't help themselves using the auto import suggestions. It's a mess now.

@alan-agius4 these kind of things matter, can the team please look at this one properly? Most people with a project bigger than a hello world likely use tsconfig paths, they're critical in helping maintain an organized codebase. This shouldn't have even been released without getting that part right.

[luketanner]

I agree with @jpike88 -- this is a very frustrating pain point for our team as well. Is this issue even on the agenda/roadmap?

Between this and a whole host of other missing/half-broken features (as @rezoled and others have also alluded to) -- and more than anything, the lack of acknowledgement/response to them (so many issues open for years with no indication of whether they're even being considered) -- we're finding it very hard to justify sticking with VS Code. As reluctant as I am to admit it, we're this close to giving up on it altogether and just moving to WebStorm.

[itspers]

I agree with @jpike88 -- this is a very frustrating pain point for our team as well. Is this issue even on the agenda/roadmap?

Between this and a whole host of other missing/half-broken features (as @rezoled and others have also alluded to) -- and more than anything, the lack of acknowledgement/response to them (so many issues open for years with no indication of whether they're even being considered) -- we're finding it very hard to justify sticking with VS Code. As reluctant as I am to admit it, we're this close to giving up on it altogether and just moving to WebStorm.

It all moving so slow that since my last comment i already switched to VSCode, and now considering switching back.
At some point AI in Cursor became so good, that it fixes lack of serious language server - Cursor just suggest right import faster than extensions even think. And not only for angular, but TS language server as well. So i just press tab, tab, tab...

But now Windsurf announced new Jetbrains plugin, and Jetbrains themselves announced owen Junie - will try all that, maybe in combination will be better than Cursor, cause after working half year in this, still feels like you working in Notepad