{"record":{"id":"2cb8af87947768f8","repo":"voormedia/rails-erd","slug":"unable-to-find-graphviz-s-dot-executable-please","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"Unable to find GraphViz's \"dot\" executable. Please visit https://voormedia.github.io/rails-erd/install.html for installation instructions.","messagePattern":"Unable to find GraphViz's \"dot\" executable\\. Please visit https://voormedia\\.github\\.io/rails-erd/install\\.html for installation instructions\\.","errorType":"exception","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"lib/rails_erd/tasks.rake","lineNumber":14,"sourceCode":"module ErdRakeHelper\n  def say(message)\n    puts message unless Rake.application.options.silent\n  end\nend\n\nnamespace :erd do\n  task :check_dependencies do\n    if RailsERD.options.generator == :graphviz\n      begin\n        require 'graphviz/utils'\n        include GraphViz::Utils\n        unless find_executable(\"dot\", nil)\n          raise \"Unable to find GraphViz's \\\"dot\\\" executable. Please \" \\\n                \"visit https://voormedia.github.io/rails-erd/install.html for installation instructions.\"\n        end\n      rescue LoadError\n        raise \"The ruby-graphviz gem is required for Graphviz output. \" \\\n              \"Add `gem 'ruby-graphviz'` to your Gemfile, or use `generator=mermaid` instead.\"\n      end\n    end\n  end\n\n  task :options do\n    (RailsERD.options.keys.map(&:to_s) & ENV.keys).each do |option|\n      RailsERD.options[option.to_sym] = case ENV[option]\n      when \"true\", \"yes\" then true\n      when \"false\", \"no\" then false\n      when /,/ then ENV[option].split(/\\s*,\\s*/)\n      when /^\\d+$/ then ENV[option].to_i\n      else\n        if option == 'only'","sourceCodeStart":1,"sourceCodeEnd":32,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/voormedia/rails-erd/blob/dae6e52018c94ff6d3e3bb0fdbc2cb0c680ec165/lib/rails_erd/tasks.rake#L1-L32","documentation":"Error \"Unable to find GraphViz's \"dot\" executable. Please visit https://voormedia.github.io/rails-erd/install.html for installation instructions.\" thrown in voormedia/rails-erd.","triggerScenarios":"Raised in the erd:check_dependencies rake task when generator=graphviz (the default) and the GraphViz `dot` executable cannot be found on PATH, i.e. GraphViz is not installed on the system.","commonSituations":"See trigger scenarios.","solutions":["Install GraphViz so the `dot` executable is on your PATH: `brew install graphviz` (macOS), `sudo apt-get install graphviz` (Debian/Ubuntu), or see https://voormedia.github.io/rails-erd/install.html.","If GraphViz is installed but not found, add its bin directory to your PATH and re-run `bundle exec rake erd`.","Skip GraphViz entirely by using the mermaid generator: `bundle exec rake erd generator=mermaid`."],"exampleFix":"sudo apt-get install graphviz  # or: brew install graphviz","handlingStrategy":null,"validationCode":null,"typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":null,"preventionTips":[],"tags":[],"backgroundTag":null,"analyzedSha":"dae6e52018c94ff6d3e3bb0fdbc2cb0c680ec165","analyzedAt":"2026-08-23T02:52:18.679Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-08-23T08:06:27.607Z"}