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

Category	Templates
generic	help, clean, docker, docker-compose, git-hooks
python	venv, test, lint, format, clean, publish
rust	build, test, fmt, clippy, release, doc
go	build, test, fmt, vet, lint, clean
node	install, build, test, lint, format, dev, clean

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