gem install compass - Failed to build gem native extension - compass-sass

Question

gem install compass - Failed to build gem native extension, as shown below within Terminal:
johnlove% gem install compass
ERROR: Error installing compass:
ERROR: Failed to build gem native extension.
[THE BASICS]
[Macintosh:~] johnlove% which ruby
/usr/bin/ruby
[Macintosh:~] johnlove% which sass
/usr/local/bin/sass
[Macintosh:~] johnlove% which scss
/usr/local/bin/scss
[Macintosh:~] johnlove% which compass
compass: Command not found.
[MORE BASICS]
[Macintosh:~] johnlove% sass -v
Sass 3.5.5 (Bleeding Edge)
[Macintosh:~] johnlove% scss -v
Sass 3.5.5 (Bleeding Edge)
[Macintosh:~] johnlove% ruby -v
ruby 2.3.7p456 (2018-03-28 revision 63024) [universal.x86_64-darwin18]
[Macintosh:~] johnlove% compass -v
compass: Command not found.
[UPDATE 2]
did this in Terminal:
sudo gem install -n /usr/local/bin compass
GOT THIS BACK
current directory: /Library/Ruby/Gems/2.3.0/gems/ffi-1.9.21/ext/ffi_c
/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.3/usr/bin/ruby -I /Library/Ruby/Site/2.3.0 -r ./siteconf20190130-2612-nh9d7t.rb extconf.rb
/System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.3/usr/lib/ruby/2.3.0/universal-darwin18/rbconfig.rb:215: warning: Insecure world writable dir /usr/local/bin in PATH, mode 040757
checking for ffi.h... no
checking for ffi.h in /usr/local/include,/usr/include/ffi... no
checking for shlwapi.h... no
checking for rb_thread_blocking_region()... no
checking for rb_thread_call_with_gvl()... yes
checking for rb_thread_call_without_gvl()... yes
creating extconf.h
creating Makefile
current directory: /Library/Ruby/Gems/2.3.0/gems/ffi-1.9.21/ext/ffi_c
make "DESTDIR=" clean
current directory: /Library/Ruby/Gems/2.3.0/gems/ffi-1.9.21/ext/ffi_c
make "DESTDIR="
Running autoreconf for libffi
/Library/Ruby/Gems/2.3.0/gems/ffi-1.9.21/ext/ffi_c/libffi/autogen.sh: line 2: exec: autoreconf: not found
make: *** ["/Library/Ruby/Gems/2.3.0/gems/ffi-1.9.21/ext/ffi_c/libffi-universal-darwin18"/.libs/libffi_convenience.a] Error 127
make failed, exit code 2
end [UPDATE 2]
=====
[UPDATE 1]
I read that my PATHS may not be set up correctly, so I ran:
gem env
and got back:
RubyGems Environment:
- RUBYGEMS VERSION: 3.0.2
- RUBY VERSION: 2.3.7 (2018-03-28 patchlevel 456) [universal.x86_64-darwin18]
- INSTALLATION DIRECTORY: /Library/Ruby/Gems/2.3.0
- USER INSTALLATION DIRECTORY: /Users/johnlove/.gem/ruby/2.3.0
- RUBY EXECUTABLE: /System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.3/usr/bin/ruby
- GIT EXECUTABLE: /usr/bin/git
- EXECUTABLE DIRECTORY: /usr/bin
- SPEC CACHE DIRECTORY: /Users/johnlove/.gem/specs
- SYSTEM CONFIGURATION DIRECTORY: /Library/Ruby/Site
- RUBYGEMS PLATFORMS:
- ruby
- universal-darwin-18
- GEM PATHS:
- /Library/Ruby/Gems/2.3.0
- /Users/johnlove/.gem/ruby/2.3.0
- /System/Library/Frameworks/Ruby.framework/Versions/2.3/usr/lib/ruby/gems/2.3.0
- GEM CONFIGURATION:
- :update_sources => true
- :verbose => true
- :backtrace => false
- :bulk_threshold => 1000
- REMOTE SOURCES:
- https://rubygems.org/
- SHELL PATH:
- /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/Current/bin
- /usr/local/bin
- /usr/bin
- /bin
- /usr/sbin
- /sbin
What am I supposed to be looking for if my PATHS are messed up?
Another mystery?
sudo gem install compass
Got back?
ERROR: While executing gem ... (Gem::FilePermissionError)
You don't have write permissions for the /usr/bin directory.
I tried to create a LOCAL usr/local/bin directory with full Read and Write permissions.
FAILED!
end [UPDATE 1]
=====
after getting the native extension error, I followed with
compass -v compass: Command not found.
I downloaded and installed the compass.app which now appears in the menubar. I have even created a Compass Project for one of my non-sass projects.
So, how does the Compass.app get successfully installed without the gem compass?
Tried his ...
sudo gem update --system
Got this back ...
Latest version already installed. Done.
Then, I tried this:
sudo apt-get install ruby-dev
Got this:
apt-get: command not found
I did do this:
xcode-select --install
got back:
command line tools are already installed
I guess I cannot blame it on Xcode.
Thanks in advance for saving my mind ...

Answer 1

The two main reasons for the errors in the original post are:
Trying to install compass using the system Ruby (the version of Ruby that comes preinstalled on a Mac).
Using sudo to install compass.
Learn why you shouldn't use the system Ruby to install gems on a Mac.
Learn why you should never use sudo to install gems.
Instead, you need to install a separate version of Ruby.
At a high level, setting up a proper Ruby development environment on a Mac involves six steps:
Install Homebrew (which also installs the prerequisite Apple command line tools)
Install a Ruby version manager (such as chruby, rbenv, asdf, RVM) - most of these can be installed with Homebrew
Configure the Ruby manager by adding the appropriate lines to your shell file (~/.bash_profile or ~/.zshrc) - each manager will have instructions for doing this, and this is a typical step that people miss
Restart the terminal (or open a new tab) for the shell changes to take effect - another step that is often overlooked
Install a specific version of Ruby using the Ruby manager
Switch to that version of Ruby using the Ruby manager
My personal preference is chruby with ruby-install. For more details and a script that can automate this whole process, check out my answer here:
https://stackoverflow.com/a/54873916/928191

Answer 2

I'm not sure, but did you install build-essential before try to install this gem? It's a commom issue for linux users
Try to install it before install this gem, for example:
sudo apt-get install build-essential
and then, install gem
sudo gem install compass
I made a simple test using docker and it only works when I install it, example:
Didn't work
docker run -it bash ubuntu:16.04 bash
apt-get update
apt-get install ruby2.3 ruby2.3-dev -y
gem install compass
It works
docker run -it bash ubuntu:16.04 bash
apt-get update
apt-get install build-essential ruby2.3 ruby2.3-devel
gem install compass
Why build-essentials?
The build-essentials package is a reference for all the packages needed to compile a Debian package. It generally includes the GCC/g++ compilers and libraries and some other utilities. Check the documentation: Here!