Pkg-config script could not be found

macos homebrew pkg-config
Bob Dole picture Bob Dole · Apr 24, 2014 · Viewed 8k times · Source

I am trying to install some software, but I keep receiving the error:

configure: error: The pkg-config script could not be found or is too old.  Make sure it
is in your PATH or set the PKG_CONFIG environment variable to the full
path to pkg-config.

I just installed the brew command, and tried to use it to install pkg-config. It says that it is already installed.

I made sure that it is in the path via export PATH=$PATH:/usr/bin/pkg-config.

Also, trying to install glib, it says I am missing libfft. I used brew install libfft to install this missing package. However, I still get a message stating that it is not there. This is a new mac, so perhaps things are not going in the proper directories?

Any help would be appreciated, as I am beyond lost.

Answer

Steven R. Loomis picture Steven R. Loomis · Jul 15, 2014

I don't know what formula you are trying to install, but the real problem may be that whatever you are trying to install isn't marked as "depending on" pkg-config. It may need this line:

depends_on "pkg-config" => :build

Related questions

How can I start PostgreSQL server on Mac OS X?

Final update: I had forgotten to run the initdb command. By running this command ps auxwww | grep postgres I see that postgres is not running > ps auxwww | grep postgres remcat 1789 0.0 0.0 2434892 480 s000 R+ 11:28PM 0:00.00 grep postgres This raises the question: …

Read More
How do you update Xcode on OSX to the latest version?

What is the easiest way to update Xcode on OSX? I see this in the terminal: $ brew install xxxxxxx Warning: Your Xcode (4.3.3) is outdated Please install Xcode 4.6. But when I go to open up Xcode > Preferences > Downloads, it …

Read More
How to fix homebrew permissions?

I have uninstalled and installed Homebrew 3 times now because it seems to never allow me to install anything as it denies me permissions at the end of most installations. As an example I will post this libjpeg download scenario that …

Read More