'require': cannot load such file -- 'nokogiri\nokogiri' (LoadError) when running `rails server`

Question

I'm running a clean install of Ruby 2.2.1 on Windows 8.1 with DevKit. After the installation I run:

gem install rails rails new testapp cd testapp rails server 

leaving everything else at default.

The process fails at the last line when, instead of running the server, I get the error message

in 'require': cannot load such file -- 'nokogiri\nokogiri' (LoadError) 

It happens every time and I've looked around and tried everything I found to fix it, but nothing so far has worked.

What is the problem here and how do I get a simple test Rails app to work?

Answer 1

1. First, uninstall the version of Nokogiri you currently have with:

   gem uninstall nokogiri 

2. Download Nokogiri 1.6.6.2 (x64) or Nokogiri 1.6.6.2 (x86)

3. Install this version locally using:

   gem install --local C:\Users\$user$\Downloads\nokogiri-1.6.6.2-x64-mingw32.gem 

   or if you're running 32bit Ruby:

   gem install --local C:\Users\$user$\Downloads\nokogiri-1.6.6.2-x86-mingw32.gem 

   The path may differ depending on where you downloaded the file to.

Try to start the server again using ruby bin\rails server, and it should work.

Answer 2

Nokogiri doesn't support Ruby 2.2 on Windows yet. The next release will. See https://github.com/sparklemotion/nokogiri/issues/1256

Nokogiri doesn't support native builds (e.g. with devkit) on Windows. Instead it provides gems containing prebuilt DLLs.

There's a discussion which you may want to join or watch on the topic of devkit build support here: https://github.com/sparklemotion/nokogiri/issues/1190