- name
- makefile-linter
- description
- Lint Makefiles for common issues — tabs, .PHONY, unused vars, portability, and best practices.
- version
- 1.0.0
makefile-linter
A pure-Python 3 (stdlib only) Makefile linter. Detects common issues including tab/space errors, missing .PHONY declarations, unused/undefined variables, hardcoded paths, shell portability problems, and more.
Commands
lint FILE
Lint a Makefile and report issues.
python3 scripts/makefile-linter.py lint Makefile
python3 scripts/makefile-linter.py lint /path/to/Makefile
echo -e "all:\
\ echo hello" | python3 scripts/makefile-linter.py lint /dev/stdintargets FILE
List all targets with line numbers, phony status, prerequisites, and inline comment descriptions.
python3 scripts/makefile-linter.py targets Makefile
python3 scripts/makefile-linter.py targets Makefile --format jsonvars FILE
List all variable definitions with line numbers and values.
python3 scripts/makefile-linter.py vars Makefile
python3 scripts/makefile-linter.py vars Makefile --format markdownaudit FILE
Full audit combining lint results, targets list, and variables summary.
python3 scripts/makefile-linter.py audit Makefile
python3 scripts/makefile-linter.py audit Makefile --format jsonOptions
| Flag | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| `--format text\ | json\ | markdown` | Output format (default: text) |
--strict | Exit code 1 on any reported issue | ||
--ignore RULE | Ignore a specific rule (repeatable) | ||
| `--min-severity error\ | warning\ | info` | Minimum severity to report (default: info) |
Lint Rules
| Rule | Severity | Description |
|---|---|---|
spaces-not-tabs | error | Recipe lines must use tabs, not spaces |
duplicate-targets | error | Same target defined more than once |
missing-phony | warning | Common phony target not in .PHONY |
unused-variables | warning | Variable defined but never referenced |
undefined-variables | warning | Variable referenced but never defined |
hardcoded-paths | warning | Absolute paths in recipes |
trailing-whitespace | warning | Lines ending with spaces or tabs |
shell-portability | warning | Bash-specific syntax without SHELL := /bin/bash |
recursive-make | info | $(MAKE) -C or make -C detected |
missing-default-target | info | No all target defined |
long-lines | info | Lines over 120 characters |
missing-clean | info | No clean target defined |
Examples
# Report only errors and warnings
python3 scripts/makefile-linter.py lint Makefile --min-severity warning
# JSON output for CI integration
python3 scripts/makefile-linter.py lint Makefile --format json
# Fail CI on any issue
python3 scripts/makefile-linter.py lint Makefile --strict
# Ignore specific rules
python3 scripts/makefile-linter.py lint Makefile --ignore recursive-make --ignore missing-clean
# Full audit in Markdown (for PR comments)
python3 scripts/makefile-linter.py audit Makefile --format markdown
# Pipe from stdin
cat Makefile | python3 scripts/makefile-linter.py lint /dev/stdin