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When I hit \t to use the Command-T extension in VIM, I get the error

command-t.vim could not load the C extension

I'm not sure how to go about fixing this... any suggestions?


I am using the git-repository installation method. Here's what happens when I "rake make":

~/.vim/bundle/command-t$ rake make
(in /home/petef/.vim/bundle/command-t)
/usr/bin/ruby1.8 extconf.rb
extconf.rb:24:in `require': no such file to load -- mkmf (LoadError)
    from extconf.rb:24
rake aborted!
Command failed with status (1): [/usr/bin/ruby1.8 extconf.rb...]
(See full trace by running task with --trace)
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3 Answers 3

up vote 11 down vote accepted

Pete, you must install ruby-dev package before invoke "rake make" command.

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that did the trick... thanks –  Pete Jan 2 '12 at 1:31

Command-T requires a compiled C extension to work. Here's the relevant section from the Command-T homepage on how to compile the extension:


  cd ~/.vim/ruby/command-t 
  ruby extconf.rb 

Note that Command-T requires a version of VIM with Ruby support enabled, and 
it must be compiled using the same version of Ruby that Vim itself links 
against. For more details see the documentation: 

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I installed it with the git-repository method. In my command-t directory, I don't see any extconf.rb file. When I 'rake make' per the instructions, I have the same problem. –  Pete Jun 20 '11 at 3:32
Did you get it working, Pete? Just wandered thru this field myself -- you're probably missing the ruby-dev package on your system. Shout if you're still stuck; I'll walk you thru it. –  Tom Jun 30 '11 at 5:08

The thing that usually trips people up the most is that their Command-t has been compiled with a different version of Ruby than their Vim's version. In order do install Ruby and match the proper versions, you are going to want to install RVM and Ruby, install the correct version of Ruby, and do a rake make in the ~/.vim/bundle/Command-T plugin directory.

Here is a step-by-step guide to install Command-t.

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