Errors when installing cocoapods with gem

Question

I am using macOS Mojave and when I try to install cocoapods using gem I am getting the following error.

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

current directory: /Library/Ruby/Gems/2.3.0/gems/ffi-1.12.2/ext/ffi_c

/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.3/usr/bin/ruby -r ./siteconf20200302-707-1iveybq.rb extconf.rb mkmf.rb can't find header files for ruby at /System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.3/usr/lib/ruby/include/ruby.h

extconf failed, exit code 1

Gem files will remain installed in /Library/Ruby/Gems/2.3.0/gems/ffi-1.12.2 for inspection. Results logged to /Library/Ruby/Gems/2.3.0/extensions/universal-darwin-18/2.3.0/ffi-1.12.2/gem_make.out

This error comes when I run the following commands.

sudo gem install cocoapods

sudo gem install -n /usr/local/bin cocoapods

I have already installed xcode command line tools and I get the following message when I run xcode-select --install

xcode-select: error: command line tools are already installed, use "Software Update" to install updates

I have also agreed to xcode license agreements with the command sudo xcodebuild -license

The error log in /Library/Ruby/Gems/2.3.0/extensions/universal-darwin-18/2.3.0/ffi-1.12.2/gem_make.out gives the following

current directory: /Library/Ruby/Gems/2.3.0/gems/ffi-1.12.2/ext/ffi_c /System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.3/usr/bin/ruby -r ./siteco$ mkmf.rb can't find header files for ruby at /System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.fra$

extconf failed, exit code 1

What do I do to fix this issue ?

Answer 1

The answer for this can be found here here although it is unrelated to this question. Below is a snippet of the answer which works best.

For Xcode 11 on macOS 10.14, this can happen even after installing Xcode and installing command-line tools and accepting the license with

sudo xcode-select --install
sudo xcodebuild -license accept

The issue is that Xcode 11 ships the macOS 10.15 SDK which includes headers for ruby2.6, but not for macOS 10.14's ruby2.3. You can verify that this is your problem by running

ruby -rrbconfig -e 'puts RbConfig::CONFIG["rubyhdrdir"]'

which on macOS 10.14 with Xcode 11 prints the non-existent path

/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.15.sdk/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.3/usr/include/ruby-2.3.0

However, Xcode 11 installs a macOS 10.14 SDK within /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/SDKs/MacOS10.14.sdk. It isn't necessary to pollute the system directories by installing the old header files as suggested in other answers. Instead, by selecting that SDK, the appropriate ruby2.3 headers will be found:

sudo xcode-select --switch /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools
ruby -rrbconfig -e 'puts RbConfig::CONFIG["rubyhdrdir"]'

This should now correctly print

/Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/SDKs/MacOSX10.14.sdk/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.3/usr/include/ruby-2.3.0

Likewise, gem install should work while that SDK is selected.

To switch back to using the current Xcode 11 SDK, use

sudo xcode-select --switch /Applications/Xcode.app

Answer 2

For me use a command sudo gem install cocoapods -v 1.8.4 instead of sudo gem install cocoapods

Reference: https://github.com/CocoaPods/CocoaPods/issues/9568#issuecomment-599235420

Answer 3

sudo xcode-select --switch /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools

ruby -rrbconfig -e 'puts RbConfig::CONFIG["rubyhdrdir"]'

Answer 4

1. Run

   ruby -rrbconfig -e 'puts RbConfig::CONFIG["rubyhdrdir"]'
   

   to figure out your ruby configuration.
2. If the output is a nonexistent MacOSX10.15 path. Like

   /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/Platforms/MacOSX.platform/Developer/SDKs/MacOSX10.15.sdk/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.3/usr/include/ruby-2.3.0
   

   then you should correct the configuration by doing next step.
3. Run

   sudo xcode-select --switch /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools
   

4. You can run

   ruby -rrbconfig -e 'puts RbConfig::CONFIG["rubyhdrdir"]'
   

   again to see if the path has changed.
5. The output should be something like

   /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools/SDKs/MacOSX10.14.sdk/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.3/usr/include/ruby-2.3.0
   

Now you can run gem install to install cocoapods!

Answer 5

This helped/ worked for me like charm:

# brew cleanup -d -v    
# brew install cocoapods

P.S.: You should have Homebrew installed. You can use below command to install brew:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install.sh)"

Good luck :)

Answer 6

Try this on mac os big sur

sudo gem install cocoapods -v 1.8.4

Answer 7

just spent my day figuring out solution, I am using MacOS Big Sur Beta 8. to upgrade cocoapods with gem, try this:

1. install rbenv

• git clone https://github.com/rbenv/rbenv.git ~/.rbenv

• cd ~/.rbenv && src/configure && make -C src

• Add ~/.rbenv/bin to your $PATH for access to the rbenv command-line utility. see: https://github.com/rbenv/rbenv#basic-github-checkout

• make sure export PATH="$HOME/.rbenv/shims:${PATH}" was added to your $PATH

2. xcode-select --switch /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Develope

3. gem install cocoapods should work like a charm!

Answer 8

Try

1. Install homebrew via terminal.

2. After homebrew is successfully installed, type in the terminal

   $ brew install cocoapods

Answer 9

You should install the latest version of CommandLineTools for Xcode to fix this issue.

Answer 10

I copied these commands from other threads. After trying several approaches answered above and in other threads. Only this one works for me.

1. Run this command and then close the Terminal

   curl -L https://get.rvm.io | bash -s stable

2. Run these commands one by one or just copy and paste them all in the Terminal. The latest version now is 3.1.0

   rvm install ruby-3.1.0

   rvm --default use 3.1.0

   sudo gem install cocoapods