# Installing Feedzirra (and Curl/Curb) on Windows Vista

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/installing-feedzirra-and-curl-curb-on-windows-vista/178418>\
**Category:** Rails\
**Created:** [November 4, 2009, 10:33am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/installing-feedzirra-and-curl-curb-on-windows-vista/178418 "2009-11-04T10:33:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![philostler](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/dbc845/32.png) [@philostler](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/philostler)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 10:33am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/installing-feedzirra-and-curl-curb-on-windows-vista/178418/1 "2009-11-04T10:33:18Z")

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I’m trying to use Feedzirra within my rails app and am having a  
mountain of trouble trying to get the gem installed.

Running “gem install pauldix-feedzirra” gives me the following output.

ERROR: Error installing pauldix-feedzirra:  
ERROR: Failed to build gem native extension.

“C:/Program Files/Ruby/186-26/bin/ruby.exe” extconf.rb  
checking for curl-config… no  
checking for main() in curl.lib… no  
\*\*\* extconf.rb failed \*\*\*  
Could not create Makefile due to some reason, probably lack of  
necessary libraries and/or headers. Check the mkmf.log file for more  
details. You may need configuration options.

Provided configuration options:  
–with-opt-dir  
–without-opt-dir  
–with-opt-include  
–without-opt-include=${opt-dir}/include  
–with-opt-lib  
–without-opt-lib=${opt-dir}/lib  
–with-make-prog  
–srcdir=.  
–curdir  
–ruby=C:/Program Files/Ruby/186-26/bin/ruby  
–with-curl-dir  
–without-curl-dir  
–with-curl-include  
–without-curl-include=${curl-dir}/include  
–with-curl-lib  
–without-curl-lib=${curl-dir}/lib  
–with-curllib  
–without-curllib  
extconf.rb:12: Can’t find libcurl or curl/curl.h (RuntimeError)

Try passing --with-curl-dir or --with-curl-lib and --with-curl-  
include  
options to extconf.

Gem files will remain installed in C:/Program Files/Ruby/186-26/lib/  
ruby/gems/1.  
8/gems/taf2-curb-0.5.4.0 for inspection.  
Results logged to C:/Program Files/Ruby/186-26/lib/ruby/gems/1.8/gems/  
taf2-curb-  
0.5.4.0/ext/gem\_make.out

I took this as Curl was not installed, so have been trying to work out  
how to setup Curl in my enviroment with no success at all.

I’ve download curl-7.19.6-devel-mingw32.zip and placed it with the  
“ruby/lib” directory under “curl” and then attempted to reference that  
path when both trying to install the gem on feedzirra and when trying  
to perform a rake install in the curb freshly downloaded from github.  
I’ve moved the curl directory to the root of my drive, run prompt in  
admin mode, tried the --with-curl-dir --with-curl-lib and everything  
else in the list it recommends and any help I could find on Google.

Everytime it’s comes back with the same error and to be fair to it I  
can’t find the curl-config and curl.lib files within my curl zip  
download anyway but that is the windows lib from the curl website.

Does anyone know where I’m going wrong here. I’ve not been using Ruby  
or Rails that long so I might be making a silly mistake. Step by step  
instructions would be a god send.

Cheers

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![philostler](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/dbc845/32.png) [@philostler](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/philostler)\
**Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 10:49am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/installing-feedzirra-and-curl-curb-on-windows-vista/178418/2 "2009-11-04T10:49:07Z")

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On Nov 3, 11:53 pm, philostler [removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid](mailto:removed_email_address@domain.invalid) wrote:

> I’m trying to use Feedzirra within my rails app and am having a  
> mountain of trouble trying to get the gem installed.
> 
> Running “gem install pauldix-feedzirra” gives me the following output.

You need to tell the extconf script where to find the curl headers,  
something like

gem install somegem – --with-curl-include=path/to/curl/headers --with-  
curl-lib=/path/to/curl/lib

This being windows I think you would also have to put the curl dll (if  
their is one) somewhere where it will be found at run time.

Last but not least, do you have a C compiler/toolchain installed (and  
if my memory is correct this must match what was used to build ruby.  
if as the name suggests your curl headers/libraries are of mingw32  
heritage then you’ll want a mingw32 compiled ruby for everything to  
work together (this may already be the case, I don’t know much about  
ruby on windows)

Fred