XMKMF(1)

📦
version 1.0.11 · 3 versions
, in alpine 3.24, arch rolling, nixos 26.05, nixpkgs unstable

💅 XMKMF(1) — bestie's guide to making Makefiles 💅

Okay so like, ever downloaded some third-party software and it's just sitting there with an Imakefile and you're like "what do I even DO with this"? That's literally what xmkmf is for, bestie. It's the manual page for the xmkmf command, from the General Commands Manual, and it's about to make your whole build situation make sense. 🫶

✨ NAME ✨

xmkmf — create a Makefile from an Imakefile. That's the whole vibe. ✨

🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

xmkmf [ -a ] [ topdir [ curdir ] ]

Look at those optional square-bracket situations — very "choose your own adventure" of it. 🦋

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

So xmkmf is literally the normal way to create a Makefile from an Imakefile that got shipped with third-party software. Like, this is the standard move, no cap. 👑

When you invoke it with no arguments in a directory that has an Imakefile in it, the imake program runs with arguments appropriate for your system — those were configured into imake back when it was built, iykyk — and it generates a Makefile for you. Easy. 🎀

When you invoke it with the -a option, xmkmf builds the Makefile in the current directory, and then it automatically executes these three for you, like a little assistant who's got your back:

  • make Makefiles — in case there are subdirectories 👀
  • make includes
  • make depend

Obsessed with the efficiency honestly. 🔥

If a topdir is given, xmkmf assumes nothing is installed on your system and looks for files in the build tree instead of using the installed versions. Very "we're building from scratch" of it. Optionally, curdir may be specified as a relative pathname from the top of the build tree to the current directory. ⭐

Real talk though: it is necessary to supply curdir if the current directory has subdirectories, or the Makefile will not be able to build the subdirectories. So like, don't skip it if you've got subdirs, bestie. That's a warning, not a suggestion. 😭

🌸 SEE ALSO 🌸

And that's the whole page, fr fr. This one's from imake 1.0.11, dated 2012-02-10 — vintage but still slaying. 🌈 Go forth and generate those Makefiles, bestie! 💖

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