could not determine kind of name for C.*

[LikeTheWindGone]

my env

os: ubuntu 22 amd 64
go version: 1.22
rocksdb version: 9.2.0

the header files is at '/usr/include/rocksdb' and librocksdb.so is at '/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu' ,

get gorocksdb by

CGO_CFLAGS="-I/usr/include" CGO_LDFLAGS="-L/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu -lrocksdb -lstdc++ -lm -lz -lbz2 -lsnappy -llz4 -lzstd"   go get github.com/tecbot/gorocksdb

output:

# github.com/tecbot/gorocksdb
../../../gopath/pkg/mod/github.com/tecbot/gorocksdb@v0.0.0-20191217155057-f0fad39f321c/options.go:948:2: could not determine kind of name for C.rocksdb_options_set_access_hint_on_compaction_start
../../../gopath/pkg/mod/github.com/tecbot/gorocksdb@v0.0.0-20191217155057-f0fad39f321c/options.go:759:2: could not determine kind of name for C.rocksdb_options_set_hard_rate_limit
../../../gopath/pkg/mod/github.com/tecbot/gorocksdb@v0.0.0-20191217155057-f0fad39f321c/options.go:498:2: could not determine kind of name for C.rocksdb_options_set_max_mem_compaction_level
../../../gopath/pkg/mod/github.com/tecbot/gorocksdb@v0.0.0-20191217155057-f0fad39f321c/options.go:871:2: could not determine kind of name for C.rocksdb_options_set_purge_redundant_kvs_while_flush
../../../gopath/pkg/mod/github.com/tecbot/gorocksdb@v0.0.0-20191217155057-f0fad39f321c/options.go:767:2: could not determine kind of name for C.rocksdb_options_set_rate_limit_delay_max_milliseconds
../../../gopath/pkg/mod/github.com/tecbot/gorocksdb@v0.0.0-20191217155057-f0fad39f321c/options.go:910:2: could not determine kind of name for C.rocksdb_options_set_skip_log_error_on_recovery
../../../gopath/pkg/mod/github.com/tecbot/gorocksdb@v0.0.0-20191217155057-f0fad39f321c/options.go:750:2: could not determine kind of name for C.rocksdb_options_set_soft_rate_limit
../../../gopath/pkg/mod/github.com/tecbot/gorocksdb@v0.0.0-20191217155057-f0fad39f321c/options.go:793:2: could not determine kind of name for C.rocksdb_options_set_table_cache_remove_scan_count_limit

help wanted

[Fantasim]

Same error

[Tsan1024]

same error, ubuntu18 is ok

[Tsan1024]

https://github.com/linxGnu/grocksdb.git is ok

[obrr-hhx]

Hi, I encouterde the same error, and i solve it throughing down grade the rocksdb version, which my os is ubuntu 20.04, and go version is 1.21, the rocksdb version is 6.8.1

[theamosburton]

github.com/tecbot/gorocksdb

/root/go/pkg/mod/github.com/tecbot/gorocksdb@v0.0.0-20191217155057-f0fad39f321c/db.go:783:2: could not determine kind of name for C.rocksdb_delete_file

[excho0]

Alright so If you're getting errors like this while using gorocksdb in Go:

# github.com/tecbot/gorocksdb
/root/go/pkg/mod/github.com/tecbot/gorocksdb@v0.0.0-20191217155057-f0fad39f321c/db.go:783:2: could not determine kind of name for C.rocksdb_delete_file and so on...

It's likely because gorocksdb was built to work with RocksDB 6.8.1, but you're using a newer version of RocksDB (like 9.x or 10.x) that gorocksdb isn’t compatible with. The functions and code have changed between versions, and gorocksdb can’t find what it needs in the new versions.

---

What You Need to Do:

1. Downgrade to RocksDB 6.8.1 – This is the version gorocksdb works with.
2. Use the correct build tools – GCC 9, CMake, and Make are needed to build RocksDB from source.
3. Set up your Go environment – Ensure Go can link to RocksDB.

---

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Install Necessary Build Tools

You’ll need the following tools to build RocksDB:

• GCC 9 (compiler for C++)
• CMake (build system)
• Make (to actually build things)

To install these tools, run:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install gcc-9 g++-9 cmake make

2. Switch to GCC 9 (Important)

Even though you’ve installed GCC 9, your system might still be using a newer version by default. You need to make GCC 9 the default compiler.

Run these commands to set GCC 9 as the default:

sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/gcc gcc /usr/bin/gcc-9 50
sudo update-alternatives --install /usr/bin/g++ g++ /usr/bin/g++-9 50

Verify that GCC 9 is now the default:

gcc --version

It should display something like:

gcc (Ubuntu 9.x.x-xubuntuX) 9.x.x

3. Install RocksDB 6.8.1

Now, you need to install RocksDB 6.8.1 (the version that gorocksdb expects).

1. Clone the correct version from GitHub:

git clone --branch v6.8.1 https://github.com/facebook/rocksdb.git

2. Build and install RocksDB:

cd rocksdb
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make -j$(nproc)
sudo make install

This will build RocksDB and install it to the default system directories.

4. Set Up Go and CGO Flags

Once RocksDB is installed, you need to tell Go where to find the RocksDB headers and libraries.

Set up the CGO environment variables:

export CGO_CFLAGS="-I/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu"
export CGO_LDFLAGS="-L/usr/local/lib -lrocksdb -lstdc++ -lm -lz -lbz2 -lsnappy -llz4 -lzstd"

These flags ensure Go links correctly with the RocksDB library.

5. Install gorocksdb

Now that RocksDB is set up, install gorocksdb in your Go project:

go get github.com/tecbot/gorocksdb

6. Build Your Go Project

Finally, build your Go project that uses gorocksdb:

go build -o myproject

If everything is set up correctly, this should compile your project without any errors!

---

Versions We Used:

• RocksDB: 6.8.1 (The version that gorocksdb supports)
• GCC: 9 (To ensure compatibility with older C++ projects not sure if higher versions also work this is just the first version i tried after tons of compiler errors)
• CMake: 3.16 (Used to build RocksDB)
• Go: 1.24.4 (Tested and working with the setup)

---

That should get you up and running! (took me 6 hours to figure it out 😅)