# Json gem error help please?

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/json-gem-error-help-please/133908>\
**Category:** Ruby\
**Created:** [April 4, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/json-gem-error-help-please/133908 "2008-04-04T21:15:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![yetanothergeek](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/y/8e8cbc/32.png) [@yetanothergeek](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/yetanothergeek)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 9:15pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/json-gem-error-help-please/133908/1 "2008-04-04T21:15:17Z")

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Hi, Could someone please point me in the right direction, I need the  
json gem for an apps I am working on, I’m new to RoR been working with  
it for around 4 weeks now im instant rails on windows. i have been given  
a requirements list for the gems. When I try to install the json gem  
using “gem install json” I  
am getting an error saying,

ERROR: Error installing json:  
ERROR:Failed to build gem native extension.

C:/User…/…/./ruby/bin/ruby.exe extconf.rb install on  
creating Makefile  
nmake  
‘nmake’ is not recognized as an internal or external command,  
operable program or batch file.

gem file will remain installed in C:/User…/…/…/gems/json-1.1.2 for  
inspection.  
results logged to  
c:/User/…/…/…/gems/json-1.1.2/ext/parser/gem\_make.out

I have manually installed the gem to but this hasn’t seem to help  
Sorry if this is very basic but like i say im new to ROR so all help is  
greatly appreciated

Thanks Christopher

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![yetanothergeek](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/y/8e8cbc/32.png) [@yetanothergeek](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/yetanothergeek)\
**Post date:** [April 4, 2008, 9:31pm UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/json-gem-error-help-please/133908/2 "2008-04-04T21:31:11Z")

</div>

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Chris S. wrote:  
| Hi, Could someone please point me in the right direction, I need the  
| json gem for an apps I am working on, I’m new to RoR been working with  
| it for around 4 weeks now im instant rails on windows. i have been given  
| a requirements list for the gems. When I try to install the json gem  
| using “gem install json” I  
| am getting an error saying,

[http://json.rubyforge.org/](http://json.rubyforge.org/) if that’s the gem you are using.

In a nutshell:  
c:\gem install json\_pure

That installs a pure Ruby implementation of JSON.

The error you get is because you don’t a way to compile extensions (long  
story short: You’ll need Visual C 6.0, but you can’t buy it easily).

| I have manually installed the gem to but this hasn’t seem to help

That’s because the install process is identical: The json gem will  
always need to compile the extension. The only (feasible) solution would  
be to get a Linux distribution installed, if you absolutely have to use  
the C based gem.

| Sorry if this is very basic but like i say im new to ROR so all help is  
| greatly appreciated

You’ve landed on the Ruby mailing list / forum, which is concerned  
(mostly), with the Ruby part of Ruby on Rails.

(Ruby is the language used to make Rails possible.)

For Rails specific issues, look at one of these resources:

> **[Community](https://rubyonrails.org/community)**
>
> A web-app framework that includes everything needed to create database-backed web applications according to the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern.

- – Phillip G.

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