- —always-make
-
- -B
-
Assume every target is out of date and update them all.
- —directory=directory
- -C directory
-
Change to the given directory before
searching for a makefile or performing any work.
This also sets the variable CURDIR to
directory.
- —environment-overrides
- -e
-
Prefer environment variables
to makefile variables when there is a choice.
This command-line option can be overridden in the
makefile for particular variables with the
override directive.
- —file=makefile
- -f makefile
-
Read the given file as the makefile
rather than any of the default names (i.e.,
makefile, Makefile, or
GNUMakefile).
- —help
- -h
-
Print a brief summary of the command-line options.
- —include-dir=directory
- -I directory
-
If an include file does not exist in the
current directory, look in the indicated directories for include
files before searching the compiled-in search path. Any number of
—include-dir options can be given on the
command line.
- —keep-going
- -k
-
Do not terminate the
make process if a command returns an error status.
Instead, skip the remainder of the current target, and continue on
with other targets.
- —just-print
- -n
-
Display the set of commands that would be
executed by make, but do not execute any commands
from command scripts. This is very useful when you want to know what
make will do before actually doing it. Be aware
that this option does not prevent code in shell
functions from executing, just commands in command scripts.
- —old-file=file
- -o file
-
Treat file as if it
were infinitely old, and perform the
appropriate actions to update the goals. This can be very useful if a
file has been accidentally touched or to determine the effect of one
prerequisite on the dependency graph. This is the complement of
—new-file (-W).
- —print-data-base
- -p
-
Print make's internal
database.
- —touch
- -t
-
Execute the touch program on each
out-of-date target to update its
timestamp. This can be useful in bringing the files in a dependency
graph up to date. For instance, editing a comment in a central header
file may cause make to unnecessarily recompile an
immense amount of code. Instead of performing the compile and wasting
machine cycles, you can use the —touch option
to force all files to be up to date.
- —new-file=file
- -W file
-
Assume file is newer than
any target. This can be useful in forcing
an update on targets without having to edit or touch a file. This is
the complement of —old-file.
- —warn-undefined-variables
-
Print a warning message if an undefined variable is
expanded. This is a useful diagnostic tool since undefined variables
quietly collapse into nothing. However, it is also common to include
empty variables in makefiles for customization
purposes. Any unset customization variables will be reported by this
option as well.
