Node Sass Could Not Find a Binding for Your Current Environment

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Waqar Aslam Dec 28, 2022
Node.js Node.js Error
  1. What Is Node Sass could not find a binding for your current environment
  2. Causes of Node Sass could not find a binding for your current environment
  3. Solutions to Node Sass could not find a binding for your current environment
Node Sass Could Not Find a Binding for Your Current Environment

In this lesson, we will learn the solution to the Node Sass could not find a binding for your current environment issue. But before we can begin, we need to identify the nature of the problem.

What Is Node Sass could not find a binding for your current environment

When you use a node version manager like nvm, it may occasionally screw with some of the npm module paths, which causes them to attempt to use a version different from the one currently being used.

Causes of Node Sass could not find a binding for your current environment

The following are examples of possible reasons for the error:

  1. This is because a single computer might have not one but two different versions of Node installed, a global and a project-specific version. When the Gulp build is being executed while using the Node.js 4.x version, the Sass file will be appropriately compiled.

    Go to C:Program Files (x86)\nodejs and check to see whether you have a version of node.js in addition to the VS default installation. We may have two different versions of Node.js installed.

  2. This problem manifests itself when node-sass does not have the appropriate binding for the operating system that is currently being used. This problem often occurs when we use Docker and add node modules directly to the container filesystem in our Dockerfile or mount them using a Docker volume.

    Both of these methods are described in the previous sentence. It is quite likely that the architecture of the container is different from that of our existing operating system.

    For instance, node-sass is installed on macOS, but the machine container’s operating system is Ubuntu.

  3. The version of Node that the node-sass Node module uses is determined by the darwin binary file it uses. This problem arises either because the binary file is not downloaded or because the incorrect binary file is downloaded.

  4. If you haven’t deleted the /.npm and /.node-gyp folder from your computer, you may have this issue. This is since the Node version contained inside the /.node-gyp folder may be different from the version of the Node that is installed elsewhere on your computer.

  5. In other instances, the Task Runner Explorer is to blame for causing this problem, since it aims to solve our project’s problem. If we go to the project using the drop-down list, the button labeled refresh next to the Task Runner Explorer will display the applicable tasks.

Solutions to Node Sass could not find a binding for your current environment

The following are possible solutions for the given error:

for MacOS

  • CMD+SHIFT+G
  • /usr/local/lib/node-sass
  • Right-click and rename (should still be the same node-sass).
  • Then run this command: npm install node-sass -g.

for Microsoft Visual Studio

  1. Visual Studio 2015:

    Follow these steps: Tools > Options > Projects and Solutions > External Web Tools

  2. Visual Studio 2017, 2019, and 2022

    • Tools > Options > Projects and Solutions > Web Package Management > External Web Tools
    • Reorder path $(DevEnvDir)\Extensions\Microsoft\Web Tools\External.
    • Delete the folder named node modules, then run npm rebuild node-sass.

for Windows

After reinstalling the Node modules, the anticipated binary of node-sass will be downloaded. For some users, you must ensure that the Node version is compatible with the node-sass version.

rmdir node_modules
npm cache clean --force
npm i
npm rebuild node-sass --force

for Docker

  • Add a .dockerignore, and inside add node_modules.
  • The bindings for the docker environment will be installed during an npm install rather than the bindings for the environment of your local computer.

When 2 Versions Installed

  • Go to Tools > Options > Projects & solutions > Web package management > External web tools
  • To add a new entry, use the button located in the top-right corner of the block of buttons.
  • Enter C:\Program Files (x86)\nodejs and validate by pressing Enter.
  • Put it at the very top of the priority list.

for Missing Bindings

Here is how to resolve it:

  • Download the missing binding file.
  • Rename the file binding.node.
  • Create the node_modules/node-sass/vendor/darwin-x64-11 (path from the error message) directory if it doesn’t exist.
  • Add the binding file to node_modules/node-sass/vendor/darwin-x64-11.
Author: Waqar Aslam
Waqar Aslam avatar Waqar Aslam avatar

I am Waqar having 5+ years of software engineering experience. I have been in the industry as a javascript web and mobile developer for 3 years working with multiple frameworks such as nodejs, react js, react native, Ionic, and angular js. After which I Switched to flutter mobile development. I have 2 years of experience building android and ios apps with flutter. For the backend, I have experience with rest APIs, Aws, and firebase. I have also written articles related to problem-solving and best practices in C, C++, Javascript, C#, and power shell.

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