tsc does not recognize '--init' option

Judging from the output of npx tsc --init you do not seem to have the typescript package installed in the directory where you've run the command. npx tries to be helpful by installing any packages needed in order for the command to run.

Although it was trying to be helpful it ended up not installing the package one would expect in 2020. If you run $ npx tsc -v you will most likely get this output:

$ npx tsc -vnpx: installed 1 in 1.098smessage TS6029: Version 1.5.3

If you had the typescript package installed, however, you would have gotten this, instead:

$ npx tsc -vVersion 3.9.3

As you can see, the version installed by npm is different. That's because npx ended up installing the tsc package and not typescript. The tsc package also provides a tsc command. npx chose it instead of typescript because, while both packages provide a tsc command, it is also called tsc. npx thought it was a better fit.

UPDATE:

Yarn 2 introduces the Plug'n'Play feature. Dependencies are installed very differently from how Yarn 1 and npm used to.

Yarn 1 and npm place the code for your packages in the node_modules directory in every single project. npx goes to look for commands there.

Yarn 2, on the other hand, installs package code in a shared location and places in your project a single .pnp.js file that performs the mapping. If you install a package for one project, you won't have to download it again if you use it in another project.

Any tooling that was dependent on node_modules, however, will be broken. That's why npx was unable to find typescript in your project. npx does not know about Plug'n'Play.

You can read more about this feature here: https://yarnpkg.com/features/pnp

For others came here which use no yarn nor npx, in my case that solve it:

npm install -g typescript --force

EDIT

1. I know it doesn't answer the exact question, but it does handle same error.
2. Possible explanation of my npm solution: something was broken before, maybe installed tsc instead of typescript, or problems with previous typescript installation itself.npm install would install typescript again, and --force flag is for ignoring existing local files and override them.