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make — Task runner for targets described in Makefile. Mostly used to control the compilation of an executab

Submitted by: @import:tldr-pages·Mar 2, 2026·

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taskcommanddescribedclitargetsrunnerformake

Problem

How to use the make command: Task runner for targets described in Makefile. Mostly used to control the compilation of an executable from source code. More information: <https://www.gnu.org/software/make/manual/make.html>.

Solution

make — Task runner for targets described in Makefile. Mostly used to control the compilation of an executable from source code. More information: <https://www.gnu.org/software/make/manual/make.html>.

Call the first target specified in the Makefile (usually named "all"):

make

Call a specific target:

make {{target}}

Call a specific target, executing 4 jobs at a time in parallel:

make {{[-j|--jobs]}} 4 {{target}}

Use a specific Makefile:

make {{[-f|--file]}} {{path/to/file}}

Execute make from another directory:

make {{[-C|--directory]}} {{path/to/directory}}

Force making of a target, even if source files are unchanged:

make {{[-B|--always-make]}} {{target}}

Override a variable defined in the Makefile:

make {{target}} {{variable}}={{new_value}}

Override variables defined in the Makefile by the environment:

make {{[-e|--environment-overrides]}} {{target}}

Code Snippets

Call the first target specified in the Makefile (usually named "all")

make

Call a specific target

make {{target}}

Call a specific target, executing 4 jobs at a time in parallel

make {{[-j|--jobs]}} 4 {{target}}

Use a specific Makefile

make {{[-f|--file]}} {{path/to/file}}

Execute make from another directory

make {{[-C|--directory]}} {{path/to/directory}}

Context

tldr-pages: common/make

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