/configure:makefile

Check and configure project Makefile against project standards.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when...

Use another approach when...

Setting up a new Makefile for a project that requires Make

Project can use Just instead — use

/configure:justfile

(preferred)

Auditing existing Makefile for missing standard targets

Writing complex build rules with dependencies — consult GNU Make documentation

Ensuring Makefile follows team conventions (help target, PHONY, colors)

Project uses a language-native build system (cargo, go build) exclusively

Running CI/CD compliance checks on Makefile structure

Migrating from Makefile to Justfile — use

/configure:justfile

which handles migration

Adding language-specific build/test/lint targets to existing Makefile

Debugging a specific Make target — run

make -n

directly

Context

Project root: !

pwd

Makefile exists: !

find . -maxdepth 1 -name 'Makefile'

Makefile targets: !

grep -E '^[a-zA-Z_-]+:' Makefile

Package files: !

find . -maxdepth 1 ( -name 'package.json' -o -name 'pyproject.toml' -o -name 'Cargo.toml' -o -name 'go.mod' )

Docker files: !

find . -maxdepth 1 ( -name 'Dockerfile' -o -name 'docker-compose.yml' -o -name 'compose.yml' )

Server files: !

find src -maxdepth 1 ( -name 'server.' -o -name 'main.' )

Parameters

Parse from

$ARGUMENTS

:

--check-only

Report Makefile compliance status without modifications

--fix

Apply fixes automatically without prompting

Required Makefile targets

:

help

,

test

,

build

,

clean

,

lint

Execution

Execute this Makefile compliance check:

Step 1: Detect project type

Read the context values and determine project type (in order):

Python

:

pyproject.toml

or

requirements.txt

present

Node

:

package.json

present

Rust

:

Cargo.toml

present

Go

:

go.mod

present

Generic

None of the above

Check for service indicators (start/stop needed):

Has

docker-compose.yml

or

compose.yml

-> Docker Compose service

Has

Dockerfile

+ HTTP server code -> Container service

Has

src/server.*

or

src/main.*

-> Application service

Step 2: Analyze existing Makefile targets

If Makefile exists, check against required targets:

Required targets for all projects:

Target

Purpose

help

Display available targets (default goal)

test

Run test suite

build

Build project artifacts

clean

Remove temporary files and build artifacts

lint

Run linters

Additional targets (context-dependent):

Target

When Required

start

If project has runnable service

stop

If project has background service

format

If project uses auto-formatters

Step 3: Run compliance checks

Check

Standard

Severity

File exists

Makefile present

FAIL if missing

Default goal

.DEFAULT_GOAL := help

WARN if missing

PHONY declarations

All targets marked

.PHONY

WARN if missing

Colored output

Color variables defined

INFO

Help target

Auto-generated from comments

WARN if missing

Language-specific

Commands match project type

FAIL if mismatched

Step 4: Generate compliance report

Print a report showing:

Project type (detected)

Each target with PASS/FAIL status and the command used

Makefile structural checks (default goal, PHONY, colors, help)

Missing targets list

Issue count

If

--check-only

is set, stop here.

Step 5: Create or update Makefile (if --fix or user confirms)

Missing Makefile

Create from standard template using the detected project type

Missing targets

Add targets with appropriate language-specific commands

Missing defaults

Add

.DEFAULT_GOAL

,

.PHONY

, color variables

Missing help

Add auto-generated help target using awk comment parsing Use the language-specific commands below: Python (uv-based): lint : @uv run ruff check . format : @uv run ruff format . test : @uv run pytest build : @docker build -t {{PROJECT_NAME}} . clean : @find . -type f -name "*.pyc" -delete + remove cache dirs Node.js: lint : @npm run lint format : @npm run format test : @npm test build : @npm run build clean : @rm -rf node_modules/ dist/ .next/ .turbo/ Rust: lint : @cargo clippy -- -D warnings format : @cargo fmt test : @cargo nextest run build : @cargo build --release clean : @cargo clean Go: lint : @golangci-lint run format : @gofmt -s -w . test : @go test ./... build : @go build -o bin/{{PROJECT_NAME}} clean : @rm -rf bin/ dist/ + @go clean Step 6: Update standards tracking Update .project-standards.yaml : components : makefile : "2025.1" Step 7: Print final report Print a summary of changes applied, targets added, and suggest running make help to verify. For the universal Makefile template structure, see REFERENCE.md . Agentic Optimizations Context Command Quick compliance check /configure:makefile --check-only Auto-fix all issues /configure:makefile --fix List existing targets grep -E '^[a-zA-Z_-]+:' Makefile Dry-run a target make -n Show default goal make -p | grep '.DEFAULT_GOAL' Flags Flag Description --check-only Report status without offering fixes --fix Apply fixes automatically Examples

Check current Makefile compliance

/configure:makefile --check-only

Create/update Makefile for Python project

/configure:makefile --fix

Check compliance and prompt for fixes

/configure:makefile See Also /configure:all - Run all compliance checks /configure:workflows - GitHub Actions workflows /configure:dockerfile - Docker configuration