BUILD.COMMON.MK(5)

📦 version 3.1, in nixos 26.05, nixpkgs unstable

🎀 build.common.mk(5) — the bsdbuild common defines, explained by your favorite Unix bestie 💖

okay so before we even start: this is a File Formats Manual page, and it's lowkey the blueprint for the whole BSDBuild system. it's giving "shared brain cell" energy for all the other modules. let's get into it ✨

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

.include <bsd.common.mk>

that's literally it. one line and you're in. slay 🫶

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

okay so build.common.mk defines the common variables that all the different BSDBuild modules use. you can reference them from your Makefiles, but bestie listen: they're almost always treated read-only and get overridden by a Makefile.config that a configure script generates. details live in mkconfigure(1), iykyk 💜

⭐ TARGETS ⭐

not a single one. this module defines no target. it's a vibe-only module, no cap 💀

👑 VARIABLES 👑

these are the main characters. every single one, no skips:

  • PREFIX — the base target installation directory. defaults to /usr/local. 🏠
  • DESTDIR — optional prefix for all the installation directories. this one is typically passed as an argument to a make install command. defaults to an empty string (yes, literally empty, that's the default fr fr).
  • STATEDIR — installation directory for writeable machine-wide data files. defaults to PREFIX/var.
  • SYSCONFDIR — the system-wide configuration directory. defaults to PREFIX/etc.
  • DATADIR — installation directory for read-only machine-wide data files. 🍓
  • BINDIR — installation directory for executables. defaults to PREFIX/bin.
  • LIBDIR — installation directory for library files. defaults to PREFIX/lib.
  • MODULEDIR — installation directory for dynamically-loaded modules. defaults to PREFIX/lib, but heads up: this default is almost always overridden by the application's configure script. 🙈
  • INCLDIR — installation directory for library header files. defaults to PREFIX/include.
  • MANDIR — installation directory for manual pages. defaults to PREFIX/man. (hi, that's where this page lives 💖)
  • SUDO — optional path to sudo(8). if it's set, all modules will use it for privileged commands. use responsibly bestie 🔥
  • SH — path to the Bourne shell. defaults to sh.
  • FIND — path to the find 1 command. not used by BSDBuild itself, but it's super useful for maintainer scripts and such. 🦋
  • AWK — path to the awk interpreter. also not used by BSDBuild itself, but again: maintainer scripts, etc.
  • INSTALL_PROG — the command to execute for installing an executable file. defaults to install -c -m 755.
  • INSTALL_LIB — the command to execute for installing a library file. defaults to install -c -m 644.
  • INSTALL_DATA — the command to execute for installing a data file. defaults to install -c -m 644.
  • INSTALL_INCL — the command to execute for installing a library header file. defaults to install -c -m 644.
  • DEINSTALL_PROG — the command to execute for uninstalling an executable.
  • DEINSTALL_LIB — the command to execute for uninstalling a library.
  • DEINSTALL_DATA — the command to execute for uninstalling a data file.
  • DEINSTALL_INCL — the command to execute for uninstalling a library header file.
ngl the INSTALL_*/DEINSTALL_* pairs are such a mood — one for putting things in, one for taking them back out. balance. 🧚

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

go read those next, bestie, they're the sequels ✨

🦋 HISTORY 🦋

build.common.mk first appeared in BSDBuild 1.0. iconic behavior honestly 👑

and fun fact: BSDBuild is based on the 4.4BSD build system. the lore is deep 📜

okay that's the whole page, no cap. 💅

sign-off time: this one came from the Debian crew, dated July 18, 2007, page BUILD.COMMON.MK(5) — mwah, love that for them 🫶🎀

📦 where this page comes from