Unexpected cache behavior when combining "dependentTasksOutputFiles" and "--excludeTaskDependencies"

[Kilghaz]

Current Behavior

The combination of using inputs with "dependentTasksOutputFiles" produces a different stable hash when running the the target with "--excludeTaskDependencies" and without.

This results in potentially completely different outcomes for a target, depending on the state of the cache and the usage of the "--excludeTaskDependencies" flag.

Expected Behavior

At least display a warning, when the combination of --excludeTaskDependencies and dependentTasksOutputFiles is detected. Alternatively, throw an error, because the behavior might be very unexpected.

GitHub Repo

No response

Steps to Reproduce

libs/lib/project.json

  {
    "name": "lib",
    "targets": {
      "build": {
        "command": "tsc --emitDeclarationOnly --outDir dist/libs/lib",
        "outputs": ["{workspaceRoot}/dist/libs/lib"],
        "inputs": ["{projectRoot}/**/*.ts"]
      } 
    } 
  } 

apps/app/project.json

  {
    "name": "lib",
    "targets": {
      "build": {
        "command": "tsc --emitDeclarationOnly --outDir dist/libs/lib",
        "outputs": ["{workspaceRoot}/dist/libs/lib"],
        "inputs": ["{projectRoot}/**/*.ts"]
      }
    }
  }

apps/app/project.json

  {
    "name": "app",
    "targets": {
      "build": {
        "command": "tsc -p apps/app",
        "outputs": ["{workspaceRoot}/dist/apps/app"],
        "inputs": [
          "{projectRoot}/**/*.ts",
          { "dependentTasksOutputFiles": "**/*.d.ts", "transitive": true }
        ],
        "dependsOn": ["^build"]
      }
    }
  }

Normal run

• Run nx build app, actually runs all targets
• Run nx build app again, returns output from cache

Run with --excludeTaskDependencies

• Run nx build app, actually runs all targets
• Run nx build app --excludeTaskDependencies, just runs app:build

Nx Report

NX   Report complete - copy this into the issue template

Node           : 25.6.1
OS             : darwin-arm64
Native Target  : aarch64-macos
npm            : 11.9.0
daemon         : Disabled

nx (global)    : 22.5.4
nx             : 22.5.4
@nx/js         : 22.5.4
@nx/eslint     : 22.5.4
@nx/workspace  : 22.5.4
@nx/jest       : 22.5.4
@nx/devkit     : 22.5.4
@nx/plugin     : 22.5.4
typescript     : 5.9.3
---------------------------------------
Local workspace plugins:
cosign
docker
trivy
---------------------------------------
Cache Usage: 2.28 GB / 92.64 GB

Failure Logs

Package Manager Version

No response

Operating System

• macOS
• Linux
• Windows
• Other (Please specify)

Additional Information

No response