name: make description: Run make commands, write Makefiles, and automate build tasks with GNU Make. Use when tasks mention make, Makefile, build targets, build automation, or GNU Make.

Make

Intent Router

Quick Start

# Run default target (usually 'all')
make

# Preview what would run (dry run — no changes)
make -n

# Run specific target
make build

# Run with parallel jobs
make -j4

# Clean build artifacts
make clean

Core Command Tracks

• Default target: make — runs the first target or .DEFAULT_GOAL
• Dry run: make -n — prints commands without executing them
• Specific target: make <target> — runs a named target
• Parallel: make -j N — run N jobs in parallel
• Force rebuild: make -B — treat all targets as out of date
• Different file: make -f <file> — use a non-default Makefile
• Change directory: make -C <dir> — run make in another directory
• Verbose: make V=1 — show full compiler commands (when supported)

Safety Guardrails

• Always run make -n before running an unknown Makefile — review the commands it would execute.
• Declare .PHONY targets for any target that is not a real file (e.g., clean, install, all).
• Use $(MAKE) instead of make for recursive invocations — preserves flags and job count.
• Be explicit about target dependencies to avoid incorrect incremental builds.
• Avoid spaces in Makefile recipe lines — recipes must be indented with a tab, not spaces.

# Troubleshoot: list all targets and trace why a target is rebuilding
make -n build          # dry-run to see commands
make --print-data-base | grep "^[a-zA-Z]" | sort

Related Skills

• cmake — cross-platform build system generator that can emit Makefiles
• ci-architecture — integrating Make targets into CI/CD pipelines

References

• references/install-and-setup.md
• references/makefile-syntax.md
• references/command-cookbook.md
• references/patterns-and-functions.md
• Official manual: https://www.gnu.org/software/make/manual/
• GNU Make reference card: https://www.gnu.org/software/make/manual/make.html