nodejs/node · error · GypError

Error %d running %s

Error message

Error %d running %s

What it means

Raised by GetStdoutQuiet(cmdlist) when a subprocess command returns a non-zero exit code. This wrapper captures stderr separately (discards it) and raises a GypError with the exit code and the command name. It is used internally by XcodeVersion() to invoke `xcodebuild -version`.

Source

Thrown at tools/gyp/pylib/gyp/xcode_emulation.py:1562

            continue

    regex = re.compile(r"Command Line Tools for Xcode\s+(?P<version>\S+)")
    try:
        output = GetStdout(["/usr/sbin/softwareupdate", "--history"])
        if m := re.search(regex, output):
            return m.groupdict()["version"]
    except (GypError, OSError):
        return None


def GetStdoutQuiet(cmdlist):
    """Returns the content of standard output returned by invoking |cmdlist|.
    Ignores the stderr.
    Raises |GypError| if the command return with a non-zero return code."""
    job = subprocess.Popen(cmdlist, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.PIPE)
    out = job.communicate()[0].decode("utf-8")
    if job.returncode != 0:
        raise GypError("Error %d running %s" % (job.returncode, cmdlist[0]))
    return out.rstrip("\n")


def GetStdout(cmdlist):
    """Returns the content of standard output returned by invoking |cmdlist|.
    Raises |GypError| if the command return with a non-zero return code."""
    job = subprocess.Popen(cmdlist, stdout=subprocess.PIPE)
    out = job.communicate()[0].decode("utf-8")
    if job.returncode != 0:
        sys.stderr.write(out + "\n")
        raise GypError("Error %d running %s" % (job.returncode, cmdlist[0]))
    return out.rstrip("\n")


def MergeGlobalXcodeSettingsToSpec(global_dict, spec):
    """Merges the global xcode_settings dictionary into each configuration of the
    target represented by spec. For keys that are both in the global and the local
    xcode_settings dict, the local key gets precedence.

View on GitHub (pinned to 1b2de5e052)

Solutions

1. Run the failing command directly in a terminal to see its stderr: `xcodebuild -version`.
2. Accept the Xcode license: `sudo xcodebuild -license accept`.
3. Reset the developer path: `sudo xcode-select -r` or point to the correct Xcode with `-s`.
4. Reinstall/repair Xcode or Command Line Tools if the binary is missing or crashes.

Example fix

# terminal diagnosis
# before: gyp fails with 'Error <N> running xcodebuild'
xcodebuild -version  # see the actual error
# after
sudo xcodebuild -license accept

from gyp.common import GypError
try:
    out = GetStdoutQuiet(['xcodebuild', '-version'])
except GypError as e:
    print(f'xcodebuild failed: {e}. Accept license or reset path.')
    raise

When it happens

Trigger: subprocess.Popen(cmdlist, ...) completes with job.returncode != 0. For GetStdoutQuiet this is most commonly xcodebuild failing due to a missing or broken Xcode install, an unaccepted license, or an invalid developer path.

Common situations: Xcode license not yet accepted after a fresh install. xcode-select pointing to a non-existent directory. A macOS update broke the active developer directory. xcodebuild crashing or requiring an update.

Related errors

• xcodebuild returned unexpected results
• No Xcode or CLT version detected!
• Multiple toolsets not supported in xcode build (target %s)
• %s while executing command '%s' in %s
• stabs debug format is not supported yet.

AI-assisted analysis of nodejs/node@1b2de5e052 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/167c084220d245b7. Report an issue: GitHub.