# Minor misleading configure error-msg around PCRE

**URL:** <https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/minor-misleading-configure-error-msg-around-pcre/237194>\
**Category:** NGINX\
**Created:** [October 29, 2013, 11:28am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/minor-misleading-configure-error-msg-around-pcre/237194 "2013-10-29T11:28:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![musicdenotation](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@musicdenotation](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/musicdenotation)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 11:28am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/minor-misleading-configure-error-msg-around-pcre/237194/1 "2013-10-29T11:28:55Z")

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Hi,

./configure: error: the HTTP rewrite module requires the PCRE library.  
You can either disable the module by using  
–without-http\_rewrite\_module  
option, or install the PCRE library into the system, or build the PCRE  
library  
statically from the source with nginx by using --with-pcre=  
option.

This happens when not having pcre, using --without-http\_rewrite\_module  
BUT  
also --with-pcre as an option, like:  
./configure --without-http\_rewrite\_module --with-pcre

For sure that’s a stupid combination, but just happened in a very long,  
generated  
configure line here. FWIW, this was on OpenBSD 5.1.

---

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**Author:** ![unknown](https://www.ruby-forum.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/u/4bbf92/32.png) [@unknown](https://www.ruby-forum.com/u/unknown)\
**Post date:** [October 29, 2013, 11:48am UTC](https://www.ruby-forum.com/t/minor-misleading-configure-error-msg-around-pcre/237194/2 "2013-10-29T11:48:48Z")

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Hello!

On Tue, Oct 29, 2013 at 11:27:48AM +0100,  
removed\_email\_address@domain.invalid wrote:

> This happens when not having pcre, using  
> –without-http\_rewrite\_module BUT  
> also --with-pcre as an option, like:  
> ./configure --without-http\_rewrite\_module --with-pcre
> 
> For sure that’s a stupid combination, but just happened in a very  
> long, generated  
> configure line here. FWIW, this was on OpenBSD 5.1.

Actually, this is _valid_ configuration. It will compile nginx  
with PCRE support in various places like location matching, but  
without the rewrite module.

The error message provided is a bit misleading as it refers to a  
module already disabled, but generating proper error messages for  
this and similar non-trivial cases is tricky and was considered to  
be an overkill.

–  
Maxim D.  
[http://nginx.org/en/donation.html](http://nginx.org/en/donation.html)