Compiler error - msgfmt command not found

Question

I'm trying to update Git from my shared hosting. For that I'm following these steps:

Download latest Git version
Unpack and place it on the server
Configure and create the Makefile -> ./configure --prefix=$HOME/dev/git/src --without-tcltk
Build the package -> make then make install
Update PATH .bash_profile

I'm stuck at point 4. When I run the make command, I get the following:

user@ssh1:~/dev/git/src$ make
SUBDIR gitweb
SUBDIR ../
make[2]: ? GIT-VERSION-FILE ? est ? jour.
GEN git-instaweb
SUBDIR perl
SUBDIR git_remote_helpers
SUBDIR templates
MSGFMT po/build/locale/is/LC_MESSAGES/git.mo
/bin/sh: msgfmt: command not found
make: *** [po/build/locale/is/LC_MESSAGES/git.mo] Erreur 127

Compiler throws a msgfmt command not found error.

I Googled it and it seems to be related to the gettext package.

Any idea how to fix that error on a shared hosting?

Quick hack: try "make -k" or "make -i" to skip compiling this, may be you will get Git, but without localization and/or documents. — Vi., Feb 29 '12 at 16:18
You're right msgfmt is not vital to run Git. "make -i" worked thanks. — John, Mar 04 '12 at 03:27
For OSX you can find the answer here https://stackoverflow.com/a/32821791/1257959 — cgl, Apr 13 '19 at 14:41

score 276 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 15 '12 at 14:59

276

I had the same issue. Thanks to your work on finding it was related to gettext, a simple apt-get install gettext fixed it for me.

answered Mar 15 '12 at 14:59

Bob F.

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8

This should be acceped answer ;) – Dennis Jul 29 '13 at 15:33
1

This certainly seems like the best answer, however, on cygwin, installing gettext did not help. Perhaps a version issue there? – Lucas Oct 24 '13 at 16:44
7

This is not the right answer on shared hosting, where you don't have sudo access. – Erik Kristensen Jan 17 '14 at 13:40
2

@Lucas on cygwin you need gettext-devel for msgfmt (see [this helpful answer](http://stackoverflow.com/a/22159893/602119)) – Boris Jun 17 '14 at 17:08
When installing from source/on a system without root access, run `./configure && make && make install` in the `gettext-tools` subdirectory below the `gettext` source root. – Kalle Richter Mar 10 '17 at 13:18
Thank you! Me: in centos: yum install gettext – Erlang Parasu Apr 20 '20 at 00:07
how do i install it in windows 10? I didn't find any reliable guide for windows setup of gettext. – Anee Mes Jan 25 '23 at 04:27

score 19 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 16 '12 at 20:52

19

While building Git with Xcode (using Makefile), I had to define NO_GETTEXT = YesPlease in the Makefile to resolve this issue.

answered Jun 16 '12 at 20:52

Max Leske

5,007
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17

Preferred this, as I couldn’t install gettext, and -i (ignore errors) is just daft! `make NO_GETTEXT=1` did the trick. – adurdin Aug 12 '13 at 09:35

score 18 · Answer 3 · edited Jan 28 '16 at 04:57

18

msgfmt is included in the gettext-devel cygwin package. Install that (via setup.exe or apt-cyg) and the error should go away.

edited Jan 28 '16 at 04:57

answered Mar 03 '14 at 23:37

Manbeardo

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The question is not about Cygwin – Jonathan Wakely Mar 09 '15 at 11:46
gettext-devel is also the package for centos 6 – buckaroo1177125 Nov 13 '17 at 23:00

score 8 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 24 '19 at 11:30

8

On Mac Os, this worked for me:

brew install gettext

brew link gettext --force

answered Oct 24 '19 at 11:30

ludovico

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score 4 · Answer 5 · answered Dec 27 '12 at 12:40

4

make -i
make -i install

..worked flawlessy for this problem. Also if anyone's having trouble with http/https helper, during configure do not forget to add the following thing

./configure --with-curl --with-expat

answered Dec 27 '12 at 12:40

Vijay Kumar Kanta

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6

It should be noted that "-i" is short for "--ignore-errors", so any other error will be ignored too and may be overlooked because of the many gettext-related errors. So -i should be the last resort if nothing else works. – Boris Jun 17 '14 at 17:11
@Boris Yes, it's a wrong work-around, but not everyone's a hacker. You obviously need gettext lib for the error to go. – Vijay Kumar Kanta Nov 26 '14 at 08:14

score 4 · Answer 6 · answered Feb 13 '14 at 16:53

4

On cygwin, you need to install the gettext-devel package as well. The gettext package alone is not enough to resolve this problem.

answered Feb 13 '14 at 16:53

ads1690

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score 2 · Answer 7 · answered May 27 '19 at 14:24

You can install gettext in the same way you are installing git. By downloading, extracting, building and installing it to a given location in your home folder:

curl -O https://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/gettext/gettext-0.20.1.tar.gz
tar xvf gettext-0.20.1.tar.gz
cd gettext-0.20.1/
./configure --prefix=/home/$HOME/opt
make
make install

Set the prefix to the location you want for the installation.

score 2 · Answer 8 · answered Mar 13 '21 at 15:40

2

In Debian 10 to me was missing package gettext. Solved as follow:

$ sudo apt install gettext

Then make commando worked fine.

answered Mar 13 '21 at 15:40

Enrique René

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score 1 · Answer 9 · answered Jun 07 '19 at 06:19

1

xgettext, msgfmt and etc. belong to GNU gettext toolset. On macOS, you could use MacPort's port command to install these tools on your system:

port install gettext

answered Jun 07 '19 at 06:19

YaOzI

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score 0 · Answer 10 · answered Jan 29 '22 at 19:18

0

There's one more option to obtain the software:

ipkg install gettext

answered Jan 29 '22 at 19:18

grantgw

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score -1 · Answer 11 · answered Nov 15 '12 at 12:44

-1

Try to add -i to your make command.

> make -i ...

answered Nov 15 '12 at 12:44

Umair A.

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Compiler error - msgfmt command not found

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