node-gyp · npm
The message
gyp ERR! build error
What it means
A dependency contains C or C++ that has to be compiled on your machine at install time, and that compile failed — node-gyp needs a compiler and python. It happens when no build toolchain is installed, or when the package is older than your node and the headers no longer match. Install the toolchain: xcode-select --install for the command line tools on macOS, build-essential and python3 on Debian or Ubuntu, the Visual Studio C++ workload on Windows. If a newer version of the package ships a prebuilt binary for your node, upgrading the package is far quicker than fixing the build environment.
The fix
There is no one-line command for this. The explanation says what to look at instead.
- Printed by
- node-gyp
- npm
- 20
With npm the cause sits in the first code XXXX line rather than the last six npm ERR! lines, and when the failure comes from the dependency tree or a native build instead of your own code, deleting node_modules and installing again clears about half of them.
Reading an error message
- Read from the first line down. The lower you go the more it is about the tool’s internals; the cause is usually at the top.
- If there is a file and a line number, start there — not the top stack frame, but the topmost line that names a file you wrote.
- Search the message verbatim, but strip your own paths and variable names first; those are what stop the search from matching.
- The same condition is worded differently across tool versions. If results look wrong, add the version number to the query.
- Before pasting a fix, check what it throws away. Some of these cannot be undone.
Common questions
Q. What does “gyp ERR! build error” mean?
A dependency contains C or C++ that has to be compiled on your machine at install time, and that compile failed — node-gyp needs a compiler and python. It happens when no build toolchain is installed, or when the package is older than your node and the headers no longer match. Install the toolchain: xcode-select --install for the command line tools on macOS, build-essential and python3 on Debian or Ubuntu, the Visual Studio C++ workload on Windows. If a newer version of the package ships a prebuilt binary for your node, upgrading the package is far quicker than fixing the build environment.
Q. How do I fix it?
There is no one-line command. The explanation above says what to look at instead.
Q. Which tool prints this?
node-gyp. It sits under npm, and the message runs to 4 words.