Provide common non-file maintenance targets.
Section: Portable make basics
Portable clean target
makefile
makefile
clean:
rm -f app *.oExplanation
`.PHONY` is common in modern makes, but some historical portability guidance prefers not to depend on it unless you know the implementation supports it.
Learn the surrounding workflow
Compare similar commands or jump into common fixes when this command is part of a bigger troubleshooting path.
Related commands
Same sheet · prioritizing Portable make basics
POSIX-style portable rule
Write simple, explicit file rules compatible with standard make.
Use standard macros
Honor user-overridable standard compiler variables.
Suffix rule
Use classic suffix rules when targeting very portable make implementations.
Use shell short-circuit safely
Stop on failure explicitly within one recipe line.
Avoid eval for POSIX portability
Prefer explicit rules over GNU metaprogramming.