Mark non-file targets explicitly.
Section: Special targets and behavior control
Declare multiple phony targets
makefile
makefile
.PHONY: all clean test lint format helpExplanation
Prevents file name collisions and speeds make slightly by skipping implicit rule search.
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
Delete target on error
Remove a partially built target if the recipe fails.
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.