[Solved] /Library/Ruby/Gems/2.6.0/extensions/universal-darwin-19/2.6.0/ffi-1.14.2/mkmf.log extconf failed, exit code 1

Last Updated on 2021-10-11 by Clay

Today when I configuring the Flutter development environment on Mac OS, according to flutter doctor command, I want to use the following command to install cocoapods:

sudo gem install cocoapods

But I got an error message:

Building native extensions. This could take a while...
ERROR:  Error installing cocoapods:
	ERROR: Failed to build gem native extension.

    current directory: /Library/Ruby/Gems/2.6.0/gems/ffi-1.14.2/ext/ffi_c
/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.6/usr/bin/ruby -I /System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.6/usr/lib/ruby/2.6.0 -r ./siteconf20210222-12879-1feqcae.rb extconf.rb
*** extconf.rb failed ***
Could not create Makefile due to some reason, probably lack of necessary
libraries and/or headers.  Check the mkmf.log file for more details.  You may
need configuration options.

Provided configuration options:
	--with-opt-dir
	--without-opt-dir
	--with-opt-include
	--without-opt-include=${opt-dir}/include
	--with-opt-lib
	--without-opt-lib=${opt-dir}/lib
	--with-make-prog
	--without-make-prog
	--srcdir=.
	--curdir
	--ruby=/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.6/usr/bin/$(RUBY_BASE_NAME)
	--with-ffi_c-dir
	--without-ffi_c-dir
	--with-ffi_c-include
	--without-ffi_c-include=${ffi_c-dir}/include
	--with-ffi_c-lib
	--without-ffi_c-lib=${ffi_c-dir}/lib
	--enable-system-libffi
	--disable-system-libffi
	--with-libffi-config
	--without-libffi-config
	--with-pkg-config
	--without-pkg-config
/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.6/usr/lib/ruby/2.6.0/mkmf.rb:467:in `try_do': The compiler failed to generate an executable file. (RuntimeError)
You have to install development tools first.
	from /System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.6/usr/lib/ruby/2.6.0/mkmf.rb:546:in `block in try_link0'
	from /System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.6/usr/lib/ruby/2.6.0/tmpdir.rb:93:in `mktmpdir'
	from /System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.6/usr/lib/ruby/2.6.0/mkmf.rb:543:in `try_link0'
	from /System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.6/usr/lib/ruby/2.6.0/mkmf.rb:570:in `try_link'
	from /System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.6/usr/lib/ruby/2.6.0/mkmf.rb:672:in `try_ldflags'
	from /System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.6/usr/lib/ruby/2.6.0/mkmf.rb:1832:in `pkg_config'
	from extconf.rb:9:in `system_libffi_usable?'
	from extconf.rb:42:in `<main>'

To see why this extension failed to compile, please check the mkmf.log which can be found here:

  /Library/Ruby/Gems/2.6.0/extensions/universal-darwin-19/2.6.0/ffi-1.14.2/mkmf.log

extconf failed, exit code 1

Gem files will remain installed in /Library/Ruby/Gems/2.6.0/gems/ffi-1.14.2 for inspection.
Results logged to /Library/Ruby/Gems/2.6.0/extensions/universal-darwin-19/2.6.0/ffi-1.14.2/gem_make.out

I searched many places according to the keywords of this error message, and tried various methods such as upgrading the version and adjusting the path, but still no solution. Finally, it was mentioned in a forum discussion that "Recommended not to use the ruby that comes with Mac OS to install the package".

So, I tried to switch the ruby version and reinstall it, this time it succeeded.

---

Solution

Install Ruby Version Manager (RVM):

curl -L https://get.rvm.io | bash -s stable
source ~/.rvm/scripts/rvm
rvm list known

Output:

# MRI Rubies
[ruby-]1.8.6[-p420]
[ruby-]1.8.7[-head] # security released on head
[ruby-]1.9.1[-p431]
[ruby-]1.9.2[-p330]
[ruby-]1.9.3[-p551]
[ruby-]2.0.0[-p648]
[ruby-]2.1[.10]
[ruby-]2.2[.10]
[ruby-]2.3[.8]
[ruby-]2.4[.10]
[ruby-]2.5[.8]
[ruby-]2.6[.6]
[ruby-]2.7[.2]
[ruby-]3[.0.0]
ruby-head

In the examples I saw, the installation of 2.5.x and 2.6.x were successful.

Based on the higher the version the better, I chose 2.6.6 to install.

rvm install 2.6.6

After installation, you can use the following command to check ruby version, make sure that the current ruby version is you just installed.

ruby -v

Output:

ruby 2.6.6p146 (2020-03-31 revision 67876) [x86_64-darwin19]

Use the following command again:

sudo gem install cocoapods

Then you can install it normally.

---

References

• https://rvm.io/
• https://medium.com/%E5%BD%BC%E5%BE%97%E6%BD%98%E7%9A%84-swift-ios-app-%E9%96%8B%E7%99%BC%E6%95%99%E5%AE%A4/sudo-gem-install-cocoapods-show-failed-to-build-gem-native-extension-error-handling-9956a4e71385
• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/20939568/error-error-installing-cocoapods-error-failed-to-build-gem-native-extension

---

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