makectl

Generate and manage targets in your Makefiles.

makectl is a command-line tool that helps you create, lint, format, and manage Makefiles with reusable templates for multiple languages and frameworks.

Features

• Template library - Built-in templates for Python, Rust, Go, Node.js, Docker, and more
• Makefile linting - Detect common issues like missing .PHONY, spaces instead of tabs, duplicate targets
• Makefile formatting - Auto-format for consistent style
• Syntax validation - Check for errors before running make
• Managed blocks - Add and remove targets without breaking custom rules
• Self-documenting help - Every generated Makefile includes a make help target
• Shell completions - Tab completion for bash, zsh, fish, and PowerShell

Installation

cargo install makectl

Or build from source:

git clone https://github.com/rochacbruno/makectl
cd makectl
cargo install --path .

Quick Start

# Create a new Makefile for a Python project
makectl init --lang python

# See what targets were added
make help

# Add more templates
makectl add rust/build go/test

# Lint your Makefile
makectl lint

# Format it
makectl fmt

Commands

makectl init

Create a new Makefile from scratch. Optionally include all templates for a specific language.

makectl init                  # Minimal Makefile with help target
makectl init --lang python    # Python project (venv, test, lint, format, clean, publish)
makectl init --lang rust      # Rust project (build, test, fmt, clippy, release, doc)
makectl init --lang go        # Go project (build, test, fmt, vet, lint, clean)
makectl init --lang node      # Node.js project (install, build, test, lint, format, dev, clean)
makectl init --force          # Overwrite existing Makefile

makectl add

Add template targets to an existing Makefile. Targets are wrapped in managed block markers so they can be tracked and removed later.

makectl add python/test           # Add Python test target
makectl add rust/build go/test    # Add multiple templates at once
makectl add generic/docker        # Add Docker build/run/push targets

Adding the same template twice is a no-op (deduplication).

makectl remove

Remove managed targets from a Makefile. Only targets added by makectl (inside managed blocks) can be removed.

makectl remove test           # Remove the test target
makectl remove test build     # Remove multiple targets

makectl list

List available templates or inspect targets in an existing Makefile.

makectl list                  # Show all available templates
makectl list --lang python    # Filter templates by language
makectl list --targets        # Show targets in ./Makefile

makectl lint

Check a Makefile for common issues and best practices. Exits with code 1 if errors are found (useful in CI).

makectl lint
makectl lint --file path/to/Makefile

Lint rules:

• missing-phony - Targets like test, clean, build should be .PHONY
• spaces-instead-of-tabs - Recipe lines must use tabs, not spaces
• duplicate-targets - Same target defined more than once
• missing-help-target - No self-documenting help target
• empty-recipes - Target with no recipe and no prerequisites
• hardcoded-paths - Absolute paths that should be variables

makectl validate

Validate Makefile syntax (strict subset of lint - only errors, no suggestions).

makectl validate

makectl fmt

Format a Makefile for consistent style. Removes trailing whitespace, collapses blank lines, ensures the file ends with a newline.

makectl fmt                # Format in place
makectl fmt --check        # Check only (exit 1 if changes needed, for CI)

makectl tips

Display Makefile best practices and tips.

makectl tips

makectl completions

Generate shell completion scripts.

makectl completions bash > /etc/bash_completion.d/makectl
makectl completions zsh > ~/.zsh/completions/_makectl
makectl completions fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/makectl.fish

Available Templates

Use makectl list for full descriptions.

Interactive Mode

Add -i (or --interactive) to get prompted with menus instead of passing arguments:

makectl init -i      # Choose language, pick templates, configure defaults
makectl add -i       # Multi-select from available templates (already-added are excluded)
makectl remove -i    # Multi-select from managed targets to remove

Global Options

-f, --file <FILE>    Path to Makefile (default: ./Makefile)
-i, --interactive    Interactive mode (prompts for selections)
-h, --help           Show help
-V, --version        Show version

How Managed Blocks Work

When makectl adds a target, it wraps it in markers:

# MAKECTL MANAGED START test python/test
.PHONY: test
test: ## Run tests
	pytest tests/ -v
# MAKECTL MANAGED END test

This allows makectl to:

• Track which targets it manages
• Remove targets cleanly with makectl remove
• Prevent duplicate additions
• Never touch your custom targets

License

MIT