Error: spawn node-gyp ENOENT

18 min read

The error message "Error: spawn node-gyp ENOENT" typically occurs when the node-gyp command cannot be found in the system's PATH.

Here are a few possible solutions to resolve this error:

  1. Make sure Node.js is installed: Ensure that Node.js is installed on your system. You can check if it is installed and the version using the node -v command in your terminal. If Node.js is not installed, download and install it from the official Node.js website.

  2. Verify node-gyp installation: node-gyp is typically installed alongside Node.js. However, in some cases, it might not be installed properly. You can try reinstalling node-gyp globally by running the following command:

    npm install -g node-gyp

  3. Verify system requirements: node-gyp requires some additional system dependencies to build native addons. Make sure you have those dependencies installed according to the requirements of your operating system. You can find the required dependencies and installation instructions in the official node-gyp documentation.

  4. Check system PATH variable: Ensure that the directory containing the node-gyp executable is included in your system's PATH environment variable. This allows your system to find and execute the command. If it is not included, you need to add the appropriate directory to the PATH variable. The exact instructions for modifying the PATH variable will depend on your operating system.

    • For Windows:

      • Open the Start menu and search for "Environment Variables".
      • Click on "Edit the system environment variables".
      • In the System Properties window, click on the "Environment Variables" button.
      • In the "System Variables" section, find the "Path" variable and click the "Edit" button.
      • Add the directory path containing node-gyp (e.g., C:\Users\YourUsername\AppData\Roaming\npm) to the list of paths.
      • Click "OK" to save the changes and close the windows.

    • For macOS and Linux:

      • Open a terminal window.

      • Open the shell-specific configuration file (~/.bashrc for Bash, ~/.zshrc for Zsh, ~/.profile, ~/.bash_profile, etc.).

      • Add the following line to the file, replacing /path/to/node-gyp with the actual path to node-gyp:

        export PATH="/path/to/node-gyp:$PATH"

      • Save the file and restart your terminal or run source ~/.bashrc (or the appropriate command depending on the file you edited) to apply the changes.

After trying these solutions, node-gyp should be accessible, and the "Error: spawn node-gyp ENOENT" should no longer occur.