Skip to content

How to fix an issue installing Node `canvas` on macOS

New Course Coming Soon:

Get Really Good at Git

How to fix a node-pre-gyp install issue installing the Node.js canvas library on macOS

I wanted to use the Node.js canvas NPM package but running npm install canvas failed with messages like this:

npm ERR! code 1
npm ERR! path /Users/flaviocopes/dev/old/generate-images-posts/node_modules/canvas
npm ERR! command failed
npm ERR! command sh -c node-pre-gyp install --fallback-to-build
npm ERR! Failed to execute '/opt/homebrew/Cellar/node@16/16.14.2/bin/node /opt/homebrew/Cellar/node@16/16.14.2/lib/node_modules/npm/node_modules/node-gyp/bin/node-gyp.js configure --fallback-to-build --module=/Users/flaviocopes/dev/old/generate-images-posts/node_modules/canvas/build/Release/canvas.node --module_name=canvas --module_path=/Users/flaviocopes/dev/old/generate-images-posts/node_modules/canvas/build/Release --napi_version=8 --node_abi_napi=napi --napi_build_version=0 --node_napi_label=node-v93' (1)
npm ERR! node-pre-gyp info it worked if it ends with ok
npm ERR! node-pre-gyp info using [email protected]
npm ERR! node-pre-gyp info using [email protected] | darwin | arm64
npm ERR! node-pre-gyp WARN Using request for node-pre-gyp https download 
npm ERR! node-pre-gyp info check checked for "/Users/flaviocopes/dev/old/generate-images-posts/node_modules/canvas/build/Release/canvas.node" (not found)
npm ERR! node-pre-gyp http GET https://github.com/node-gfx/node-canvas-prebuilt/releases/download/v2.6.1/canvas-v2.6.1-node-v93-darwin-unknown-arm64.tar.gz
npm ERR! node-pre-gyp http 404 https://github.com/node-gfx/node-canvas-prebuilt/releases/download/v2.6.1/canvas-v2.6.1-node-v93-darwin-unknown-arm64.tar.gz
npm ERR! node-pre-gyp WARN Tried to download(404): https://github.com/node-gfx/node-canvas-prebuilt/releases/download/v2.6.1/canvas-v2.6.1-node-v93-darwin-unknown-arm64.tar.gz 
npm ERR! node-pre-gyp WARN Pre-built binaries not found for [email protected] and [email protected] (node-v93 ABI, unknown) (falling back to source compile with node-gyp) 
npm ERR! node-pre-gyp http 404 status code downloading tarball https://github.com/node-gfx/node-canvas-prebuilt/releases/download/v2.6.1/canvas-v2.6.1-node-v93-darwin-unknown-arm64.tar.gz 
npm ERR! gyp info it worked if it ends with ok
npm ERR! gyp info using [email protected]
npm ERR! gyp info using [email protected] | darwin | arm64

To fix this, I ran:

brew install pkg-config cairo pango libpng jpeg giflib librsvg

and npm install canvas worked fine!

Are you intimidated by Git? Can’t figure out merge vs rebase? Are you afraid of screwing up something any time you have to do something in Git? Do you rely on ChatGPT or random people’s answer on StackOverflow to fix your problems? Your coworkers are tired of explaining Git to you all the time? Git is something we all need to use, but few of us really master it. I created this course to improve your Git (and GitHub) knowledge at a radical level. A course that helps you feel less frustrated with Git. Launching Summer 2024. Join the waiting list!
→ Get my JavaScript Beginner's Handbook
→ Read my JavaScript Tutorials on The Valley of Code
→ Read my TypeScript Tutorial on The Valley of Code

Here is how can I help you: