Why does installing Nokogiri on Mac OS fail with libiconv is missing? Why does installing Nokogiri on Mac OS fail with libiconv is missing? ruby ruby

Why does installing Nokogiri on Mac OS fail with libiconv is missing?


I had the same issue. Unfortunately the "Installing Nokogiri" doesn't cover Iconv issues. Here's how I resolved the issue.

First install homebrew, it'll make your life easier. If you already have it installed, be sure to grab the latest formulae by updating like so:

brew update

Note: In OSX 10.9+ you may need to install xCode command tools to allow you to install libiconv.

xcode-select --install

then install a newer version of libiconv

brew install libiconv

then install your gem

gem install nokogiri -- --with-iconv-dir=/usr/local/Cellar/libiconv/1.14


Try using the system libraries. OSX comes with libiconv in newer versions, but the defaults install script seems to have a problem

gem install nokogiri -- --use-system-libraries

Edit: If using bundler, as mentioned by Geoff you can do:

bundle config build.nokogiri --use-system-libraries


@Cory's solution contains the correct answer, but the solution on Mavericks is actually much simpler than the top solution so I'm reposting with only the necessary steps.

On Mavericks (OSX 10.9+):

Install Xcode Command Line Tools:

xcode-select --install

then install your gem:

gem install nokogiri