# Dependencies of Makie.jl including SpecialFunctions, Distributions, and StatsFuns fail to install

**URL:** <https://discourse.julialang.org/t/dependencies-of-makie-jl-including-specialfunctions-distributions-and-statsfuns-fail-to-install/134995>\
**Category:** Visualization\
**Created:** [January 12, 2026, 2:06am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/dependencies-of-makie-jl-including-specialfunctions-distributions-and-statsfuns-fail-to-install/134995 "2026-01-12T02:06:59Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ProvocaTeach](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/provocateach/32/30788_2.png) [@ProvocaTeach](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/ProvocaTeach)\
**Post date:** [January 12, 2026, 2:07am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/dependencies-of-makie-jl-including-specialfunctions-distributions-and-statsfuns-fail-to-install/134995/1 "2026-01-12T02:07:00Z")

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I tried to install `Makie` and multiple dependencies failed to install, including `SpecialFunctions`, `Distributions`, and `StatsFuns`.

I put the full output and error logs in this GitLab snippet: [Makie attempted install log 2026-01-11](https://gitlab.com/-/snippets/4923497)

I’m running NixOS 25.11 (Xantusia), my CPU is an Intel(R) Core™ Ultra 7 258V (8) @ 4.80 GHz, and I am using the `nixos.julia` package. (Unfortunately, `juliaup` is not available on NixOS.)

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**Author:** ![asinghvi17](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/julialang/user_avatar/discourse.julialang.org/asinghvi17/32/8272_2.png) [@asinghvi17](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/asinghvi17)\
**Post date:** [January 13, 2026, 8:16am UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/dependencies-of-makie-jl-including-specialfunctions-distributions-and-statsfuns-fail-to-install/134995/2 "2026-01-13T08:16:54Z")

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I think there have been known problems with NixOS’s Julia build. Would recommend that you install Julia via the official install script from [Installing Julia](https://julialang.org/downloads/). That should get you the right build…

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**Author:** ![locnide](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/22d042/32.png) [@locnide](https://discourse.julialang.org/u/locnide)\
**Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 5:54pm UTC](https://discourse.julialang.org/t/dependencies-of-makie-jl-including-specialfunctions-distributions-and-statsfuns-fail-to-install/134995/3 "2026-01-18T17:54:01Z")

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You can try using the `julia-bin` package.

The current `julia-bin` version is newer than the `julia` package which is built from source. And `julia-bin 1.12.3` works for me for the dependencies you mentioned. (the current `julia` doesn’t)