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Library not loaded: libmysqlclient.16.dylib error when trying to run 'rails server' on OS X 10.6 with mysql2 gem

Asked 2010-12-28T14:17:59.343
208

I've been struggling with this for some time.

I've installed Rails 3, gem, mysql on my Snow Leopard machine. All was going well until I created my first project and tried to run 

rails server

Upon running this I get:

jontybrook$ rails server
/Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems/mysql2-0.2.6/lib/mysql2/mysql2.bundle: dlopen(/Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems/mysql2-0.2.6/lib/mysql2/mysql2.bundle, 9): Library not loaded: libmysqlclient.16.dylib (LoadError)
  Referenced from: /Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems/mysql2-0.2.6/lib/mysql2/mysql2.bundle
  Reason: image not found - /Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems/mysql2-0.2.6/lib/mysql2/mysql2.bundle
    from /Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems/mysql2-0.2.6/lib/mysql2.rb:7
    from /Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems/bundler-1.0.7/lib/bundler/runtime.rb:64:in `require'
    from /Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems/bundler-1.0.7/lib/bundler/runtime.rb:64:in `require'
    from /Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems/bundler-1.0.7/lib/bundler/runtime.rb:62:in `each'
    from /Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems/bundler-1.0.7/lib/bundler/runtime.rb:62:in `require'
    from /Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems/bundler-1.0.7/lib/bundler/runtime.rb:51:in `each'
    from /Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems/bundler-1.0.7/lib/bundler/runtime.rb:51:in `require'
    from /Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems/bundler-1.0.7/lib/bundler.rb:112:in `require'
    from /Users/jontybrook/Dropbox/CODING/simple_cms/config/application.rb:7
    from /Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems/railties-3.0.3/lib/rails/commands.rb:28:in `require'
    from /Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems/railties-3.0.3/lib/rails/commands.rb:28
    from /Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems/railties-3.0.3/lib/rails/commands.rb:27:in `tap'
    from /Library/Ruby/Gems/1.8/gems/railties-3.0.3/lib/rails/commands.rb:27
    from script/rails:6:in `require'
    from script/rails:6
jontybrook$

As far as I can tell the problem is with the mysql2 gem. MySQL seems to be running fine and my Gemfile references mysql2, my database.y

mysql ruby-on-rails rubygems webrick
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3 Answers

27

I have the same issue. It looks like it's unable to find the libmysqlclient library. A temporary fix that has worked for me is the following:

export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH=/usr/local/mysql/lib/

I am not sure where the config is specifying the load path or what it's set to but my mysql install did not appear to be in it. I'll post again if I find a more permanent solution.

Edit: Actually this fix appears to more accurately address the problem.

answered 2010-12-28T21:52:29.953
3

I had this issue when working with Django, I use brew to install a lot of my Open Source programs and I needed to do the following since I used brew to install mysql:

sudo ln -s /usr/local/Cellar/mysql/5.5.20/lib/libmysqlclient.18.dylib /usr/lib/libmysqlclient.18.dylib

Be sure to replace with your version of the libraries!

answered 2012-04-16T05:04:32.633
2

I've had this exact same problem a few days ago. I eventually managed to solve it. I'm not quite sure how, but I'll tell you what I did anyway. Maybe it'll help you.

I started by downloading RVM. If you aren't using it yet, I highly recommend doing so. It basically creates a sandbox for a new separate installation of Ruby, RoR and RubyGems. In fact, you can have multiple installations simultaneously and instantly switch to one other. It works like a charm.

Why is this useful? Because you shouldn't mess with the default Ruby installation in OS X. The system depends on it. It's best to just leave the default Ruby and RoR installation alone and create a new one using RVM that you can use for your own development.

Once I created my separate Ruby installation, I just installed RoR, RubyGems and mysql, and it worked. For the exact steps I took, see my question: Installing Rails, MySQL, etc. everything goes wrong

Again: I don't know for certain this will solve your problem. But it certainly did the trick for me, and in any case using RVM is highly recommendable.

answered 2010-12-28T14:30:55.810

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