Makefile Cheat Sheet

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Comprehensive GNU make and Makefile reference covering targets, prerequisites, recipes, variables, includes, conditionals, pattern rules, and command-line usage.

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Core make commands

Run make, choose files, select targets, and control execution.

Run default target

Run make using the default makefile and first target.

↗#

bashANYclidefaultbuild

bash

make

Reads `GNUmakefile`, `makefile`, or `Makefile` and builds the default goal.

Build a specific target

Run a named target from the makefile.

↗#

bashANYclitarget

bash

make test

Builds or executes the recipe for target `test`.

Use a specific makefile

Choose a file other than the default makefile names.

↗#

bashANYclimakefilefile

bash

make -f build/Makefile deploy

Use `-f` to point make at a specific file.

Run make in another directory

Change directory before reading the makefile.

↗#

bashANYclidirectory

bash

make -C services/api test

Useful in monorepos and wrapper scripts.

Parallel build

Build using multiple jobs.

↗#

bashANYcliparalleljobs

bash

make -j8

Allows multiple recipes to run in parallel when dependencies permit.

Dry run

Print commands without executing them.

↗#

bashANYclidry-rundebug

bash

make -n deploy

Great for inspecting what a target would do.

Touch targets only

Mark targets as updated without running recipes.

↗#

bashANYclitouch

bash

make -t

Useful for recovery and dependency graph alignment.

Question mode

Exit status indicates whether anything is out of date.

↗#

bashANYcliquestionci

bash

make -q

Handy in CI checks or wrapper scripts.

Trace recursive directories

Show enter/leave directory messages.

↗#

bashANYclirecursivedebug

bash

make --print-directory -C app test

Useful when debugging recursive make.

Enable debug output

Print internal decision-making details.

↗#

bashANYclidebugdiagnostics

bash

make --debug=b

GNU make supports several debug modes such as `a`, `b`, `v`, `i`, `j`, and `m`.

Warn on undefined variables

Emit warnings when undefined variables are expanded.

↗#

bashANYclivariablesdebug

bash

make --warn-undefined-variables

Very useful in large makefiles with many variables.

Print database

Dump parsed rules and variables.

↗#

bashANYclidatabasedebug

bash

make -p -n

Shows built-in rules, variables, and parsed state.

Targets, prerequisites, and recipes

Core makefile structure and everyday patterns.

Basic rule

Define a target, prerequisites, and recipe.

↗#

makefileANYrulestargetrecipe

makefile

build/app: main.o util.o
  cc -o build/app main.o util.o

A rule maps a target to prerequisites and the commands needed to update it.

Rule with multiple prerequisites

Rebuild target when any listed prerequisite changes.

↗#

makefileANYrulesprerequisitesautomatic-variables

makefile

bundle.js: app.js ui.js api.js
  cat $^ > $@

`$^` expands to all prerequisites and `$@` to the target name within the recipe.

Phony target

Create a target that does not represent a file.

↗#

makefileANYphonytarget

makefile

.PHONY: test

test:
  pytest -q

Use phony targets for commands like `test`, `clean`, and `deploy`.

Multiple targets one recipe

Attach the same recipe to multiple targets.

↗#

makefileANYrulesmultiple-targets

makefile

.PHONY: lint fmt
lint fmt:
  pnpm biome check .

Useful when several targets truly run the same command.

Order-only prerequisite

Require creation order without forcing rebuilds when the prerequisite timestamp changes.

↗#

makefileANYprerequisitesorder-onlydirectories

makefile

dist/app.js: src/app.js | dist
  cp $< $@

dist:
  mkdir -p dist

Prerequisites after `|` enforce order only.

Stamp file target

Track completion of a step using a timestamp file.

↗#

makefileANYstampdependenciesci

makefile

node_modules/.stamp: package-lock.json
  npm ci
  touch $@

A stamp file is often cleaner than making a phony install target rerun every time.

Clean target

Remove build artifacts.

↗#

makefileANYcleanphony

makefile

.PHONY: clean
clean:
  rm -rf dist build *.o

Classic maintenance target.

Set explicit default goal

Choose which target runs when the user invokes plain `make`.

↗#

makefileANYdefault-goalspecial-targets

makefile

.DEFAULT_GOAL := help

Clearer than relying on the first target in the file.

Variables and assignment

Recursive, simple, conditional, and shell-expanded variables.

Recursive variable

Expand later when used.

↗#

makefileANYvariablesassignment

makefile

SRC = $(wildcard src/*.c)

`=` creates a recursively expanded variable.

Simple variable

Expand immediately at assignment time.

↗#

makefileANYvariablesassignmentsimple

makefile

CURDIR_ABS := $(shell pwd)

`:=` is useful when you want shell commands or functions evaluated once.

Append to variable

Add text to an existing variable.

↗#

makefileANYvariablesappend

makefile

CFLAGS += -Wall -Wextra

Works with both recursive and simple variables.

Set if undefined

Assign only if variable is not already set.

↗#

makefileANYvariablesconditional

makefile

ENV ?= dev

Often used with environment overrides like `make ENV=prod deploy`.

Override from command line

Pass variable values when invoking make.

↗#

bashANYvariablesclioverride

bash

make IMAGE_TAG=2026.03.06 deploy

Command-line variables override normal makefile assignments.

Force override in makefile

Override even a command-line assignment.

↗#

makefileANYvariablesoverride

makefile

override CFLAGS += -g

Use sparingly when the makefile must enforce a setting.

Export variable to recipes

Pass a variable into the shell environment of recipe commands.

↗#

makefileANYvariablesexportenvironment

makefile

export AWS_PROFILE := prod-admin

Exported variables are inherited by recipe shells and recursive make invocations.

Stop exporting a variable

Prevent a variable from propagating to recipes and sub-makes.

↗#

makefileANYvariablesunexportenvironment

makefile

unexport DEBUG

Useful when a parent environment leaks unwanted values.

Inspect variable origin

See where a variable value came from.

↗#

makefileANYvariablesdiagnostics

makefile

$(info CC came from $(origin CC))

Origins include `default`, `environment`, `file`, `command line`, and more.

Inspect variable flavor

Check whether a variable is recursive or simple.

↗#

makefileANYvariablesdiagnostics

makefile

$(info CFLAGS flavor: $(flavor CFLAGS))

Useful when debugging unexpected expansions.

Includes and conditionals

Split makefiles and branch on environment or platform.

Include another makefile

Read another file while parsing.

↗#

makefileANYincludemodularity

makefile

include config.mk rules/*.mk

`include` is excellent for shared project fragments.

Optional include

Ignore missing include files.

↗#

makefileANYincludeoptional

makefile

-include .env.mk

Common for generated dependency files and local overrides.

ifeq conditional

Branch based on string equality.

↗#

makefileANYconditionalsifeq

makefile

ifeq ($(ENV),prod)
  API_URL := https://api.example.com
else
  API_URL := https://api.dev.example.com
endif

GNU make conditionals run during parsing, not execution.

ifdef conditional

Check whether a variable is defined.

↗#

makefileANYconditionalsifdef

makefile

ifdef CI
  TEST_FLAGS += --maxfail=1
endif

Useful for CI-vs-local behavior.

OS-specific include

Branch based on operating system or shell-provided variables.

↗#

makefileANYconditionalsplatform

makefile

ifeq ($(OS),Windows_NT)
  RM := del /Q
else
  RM := rm -f
endif

Portable projects often branch on Windows vs Unix-like behavior.

Special targets and behavior control

Targets that alter how make interprets rules and files.

Declare multiple phony targets

Mark non-file targets explicitly.

↗#

makefileANYspecial-targetsphony

makefile

.PHONY: all clean test lint format help

Prevents file name collisions and speeds make slightly by skipping implicit rule search.

Silent recipes

Suppress command echoing globally or per line.

↗#

makefileANYspecial-targetssilent

makefile

.SILENT:
# or prefix a line with @

Silence all recipes or use `@command` for individual lines.

Delete target on error

Remove a partially built target if the recipe fails.

↗#

makefileANYspecial-targetserrors

makefile

.DELETE_ON_ERROR:

Helpful for avoiding corrupt output files after failures.

One shell per recipe

Run all lines of a recipe in a single shell instance.

↗#

makefileANYspecial-targetsshell

makefile

.ONESHELL:

deploy:
  set -eu
  cd infra
  terraform apply -auto-approve

Without `.ONESHELL`, each recipe line runs in a separate shell.

Secondary expansion

Allow a second variable expansion for prerequisites.

↗#

makefileANYspecial-targetsexpansionadvanced

makefile

.SECONDEXPANSION:

$(OUT_DIR)/%.o: $$(SRC_DIR)/%.c
  cc -c $< -o $@

Advanced GNU make feature used with dynamic prerequisite lists.

Disable parallelism

Force serial execution for all or selected targets.

↗#

makefileANYspecial-targetsparallel

makefile

.NOTPARALLEL:

Useful for non-parallel-safe recipes.

More in Makefile

Makefile Recipes for Real Projects

Production-oriented Makefile targets for apps, Docker, Terraform, Python, Node, Go, and deployment workflows.

Makefile Debugging, Parallelism & CI

Debug make behavior, inspect variables, run parallel builds safely, and build reliable CI targets.

Makefile Portable POSIX Patterns

Portable makefile patterns that work across POSIX make environments, avoiding GNU-only features when needed.

Makefile Functions & Text Processing

GNU make text, path, conditional, shell, and metaprogramming functions with practical examples.

Makefile Pattern Rules & Dependency Generation

Pattern rules, wildcarding, implicit rules, static pattern rules, and generated dependency files in GNU make.

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