TS2304

Cannot find name

Cannot find name 'Missing'.

The compiler’s own words. Not translated — this is the string you pasted into a search box.

The compiler looked for this name in every scope it can see and found nothing. Usually a typo, an unimported type, or a value being used where a type belongs.

Reproduction

type A = Missing

The build asserts this emits exactly this code.

Why the compiler says this

Types and values live in separate namespaces, and this error is often the seam between them. A const called config is not a type called config, and asking for one where the other exists produces exactly this message — which is why the fix is sometimes not "define it" but "ask for its type instead".

Fixes

01
```
type Missing = string

type A = Missing
```
Define it, if it genuinely does not exist yet.
02
```
const config = { retries: 3 }

type A = typeof config
```
Or reach across the namespaces with typeof. The name existed all along — as a value — and typeof is how you ask for the type of one.

Takeaway

Before defining the missing name, check whether it already exists on the other side of the type/value divide. typeof crosses it in one direction and keyof walks what you find there.

Where to go next

keyof and indexed access Try it in the Lab

Errors