Remove a partially built target if the recipe fails.
Section: Special targets and behavior control
Delete target on error
makefile
makefile
.DELETE_ON_ERROR:Explanation
Helpful for avoiding corrupt output files after failures.
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 Special targets and behavior control
One shell per recipe
Run all lines of a recipe in a single shell instance.
Secondary expansion
Allow a second variable expansion for prerequisites.
Disable parallelism
Force serial execution for all or selected targets.
Set explicit default goal
Choose which target runs when the user invokes plain `make`.