Makefile Mode

Create and manage Makefiles optimized for AI agent interaction and process lifecycle management.

Core Philosophy

"Start clean. Stop clean. Log everything. Know your state."

Principles:

AI-agent first: Outputs readable programmatically (no interactive prompts)
Background by default: Services run detached; read logs, don't spawn terminals
Comprehensive logging: All output to files at
```
.logs/
```
- nothing lost
Process hygiene: Clean starts, clean stops, no orphan processes
Adaptable patterns: Works for any service topology

Pre-Implementation Discovery

Before creating a Makefile, determine:

Service Topology

What services exist? (backend, frontend, workers, etc.)
Do any services depend on others? (start order)
Are there external dependencies? (databases, emulators, etc.)

Startup Requirements

What commands start each service?
What environment variables are needed?
What ports are used? (must be unique per-service)
Any initialization steps? (migrations, seeds, etc.)

Testing & Quality

What test commands exist? (unit, integration, e2e)
What prerequisites for tests? (docker, emulators, etc.)
What linting/formatting tools? (eslint, ruff, mypy, etc.)

Project Context

Language/framework? (affects conventions)
Development vs Production behavior?
Team conventions? (existing practices to preserve)

Makefile Architecture

Standard structure (in order):

makefile

# 1. Configuration Variables
# 2. Directory Setup
# 3. Service Lifecycle Targets (run-*, stop-*)
# 4. Combined Operations (run, stop, restart)
# 5. Testing & Quality (test, lint)
# 6. Utility Targets (logs, status, help)
# 7. .PHONY declarations

Core Patterns Library

A. Starting a Service (Background with PID Tracking)

makefile

run-backend:
	@mkdir -p .pids .logs
	@if lsof -ti:$(BACKEND_PORT) > /dev/null 2>&1; then \
		echo "❌ Backend already running on port $(BACKEND_PORT)"; \
		exit 1; \
	fi
	@echo "🚀 Starting backend on port $(BACKEND_PORT)..."
	@nohup $(BACKEND_CMD) > .logs/backend.log 2>&1 & echo $$! > .pids/backend.pid
	@echo "✅ Backend started (PID: $$(cat .pids/backend.pid))"

B. Stopping a Service (Process Group Cleanup)

makefile

stop-backend:
	@if [ -f .pids/backend.pid ]; then \
		PID=$$(cat .pids/backend.pid); \
		if ps -p $$PID > /dev/null 2>&1; then \
			echo "🛑 Stopping backend (PID: $$PID)..."; \
			kill -TERM -- -$$PID 2>/dev/null || kill $$PID; \
			rm .pids/backend.pid; \
			echo "✅ Backend stopped"; \
		else \
			echo "⚠️  Backend process not found, cleaning up PID file"; \
			rm .pids/backend.pid; \
		fi \
	else \
		echo "ℹ️  Backend not running"; \
	fi

C. Status Checking

makefile

status:
	@echo "📊 Service Status:"
	@echo ""
	@for service in backend frontend; do \
		if [ -f .pids/$$service.pid ]; then \
			PID=$$(cat .pids/$$service.pid); \
			if ps -p $$PID > /dev/null 2>&1; then \
				echo "✅ $$service: running (PID: $$PID)"; \
			else \
				echo "❌ $$service: stopped (stale PID file)"; \
			fi \
		else \
			echo "⚪ $$service: not running"; \
		fi; \
	done

D. Log Tailing

makefile

logs:
	@if [ -f .logs/backend.log ] || [ -f .logs/frontend.log ]; then \
		tail -n 50 .logs/*.log 2>/dev/null; \
	else \
		echo "No logs found"; \
	fi

logs-follow:
	@tail -f .logs/*.log 2>/dev/null

E. Combined Operations

makefile

run: run-backend run-frontend
stop: stop-frontend stop-backend  # Reverse order for clean shutdown
restart: stop run

F. Testing with Prerequisites

makefile

test: test-setup
	@echo "🧪 Running tests..."
	@$(TEST_CMD)

test-setup:
	@if [ -n "$(DOCKER_COMPOSE_FILE)" ] && [ -f "$(DOCKER_COMPOSE_FILE)" ]; then \
		docker-compose -f $(DOCKER_COMPOSE_FILE) up -d; \
	fi

G. Help Target (Self-Documenting)

makefile

.DEFAULT_GOAL := help

help:
	@echo "Available targets:"
	@echo ""
	@echo "  make run              Start all services"
	@echo "  make stop             Stop all services"
	@echo "  make restart          Restart all services"
	@echo "  make status           Show service status"
	@echo "  make logs             Show recent logs"
	@echo "  make logs-follow      Follow logs in real-time"
	@echo "  make test             Run all tests"
	@echo "  make lint             Run linters and formatters"
	@echo ""
	@echo "Individual services:"
	@echo "  make run-backend      Start backend only"
	@echo "  make run-frontend     Start frontend only"
	@echo "  make stop-backend     Stop backend only"
	@echo "  make stop-frontend    Stop frontend only"

Adaptation Patterns

Scenario	Adaptation
Multiple backends	Use suffix naming: `run-api` , `run-worker` , etc.
Database migrations	Add `migrate` target, make `run-backend` depend on it
Emulators	Treat like any other service with PID tracking
Docker Compose	Wrap docker-compose commands, track container IDs
Monorepo	Use subdirectory variables: `cd $(API_DIR) && ...`
Multiple test types	Separate targets: `test-unit` , `test-integration` , `test-e2e`
Watch modes	Use separate watch targets, don't mix with regular run

Best Practices Checklist

Before completing a Makefile, verify:

All targets are
```
.PHONY
```
(or appropriately not)
Port numbers are configurable via variables
Unique ports per service (no conflicts)
All logs go to
```
.logs/
```
directory
All PIDs go to
```
.pids/
```
directory
Process group killing (handles child processes)
Port conflict detection before start
Human-readable output (colors/emojis)
```
help
```
target is default (listed first or
```
.DEFAULT_GOAL
```
)
Variables use
```
:=
```
(simple expansion)
Error messages are clear and actionable
Status command shows actual state
Clean shutdown on stop (SIGTERM first)
Idempotent operations (safe to run twice)

Common Issues & Solutions

Problem	Solution
PID file exists but process dead	Check `ps -p $PID` before using PID file
Child processes survive parent kill	Use `kill -TERM -- -$PID` (process group)
Port already in use	Check with `lsof -ti:$PORT` before start
Logs interleaved/unreadable	Separate log files per service
Service starts but immediately exits	Redirect stderr: `2>&1` , check `.logs/`
Make variables not evaluated	Use `:=` not `=` , check `$$` vs `$`
Colors don't show in logs	Use `unbuffer` or configure service for TTY
Can't stop service (permission)	Run make with same user that started it

Implementation Workflow

Creating a New Makefile

Discovery: Ask questions (see Discovery section)
Configuration: Set up variables (ports, commands, paths)
Core services: Implement run/stop for each service
Combined ops: Add run/stop/restart for all services
Utilities: Add status, logs, help
Testing: Add test targets with prerequisites
Quality: Add lint/format targets
Validation: Test each target, verify idempotency
Documentation: Ensure help is complete and accurate

Amending an Existing Makefile

Read current Makefile: Understand existing structure
Identify gaps: Compare against best practices checklist
Plan changes: Determine what to add/modify
Preserve conventions: Keep existing naming/style
Incremental changes: Add features one at a time
Test each change: Verify nothing breaks
Update help: Reflect new targets

Complete Template

A minimal working template for a full-stack app:

makefile

# =============================================================================
# Configuration
# =============================================================================
BACKEND_PORT := 3001
FRONTEND_PORT := 3000
BACKEND_CMD := npm run dev --prefix backend
FRONTEND_CMD := npm run dev --prefix frontend
TEST_CMD := npm test

# =============================================================================
# Directory Setup
# =============================================================================
$(shell mkdir -p .pids .logs)

# =============================================================================
# Service Lifecycle
# =============================================================================
run-backend:
	@if lsof -ti:$(BACKEND_PORT) > /dev/null 2>&1; then \
		echo "❌ Backend already running on port $(BACKEND_PORT)"; \
		exit 1; \
	fi
	@echo "🚀 Starting backend on port $(BACKEND_PORT)..."
	@nohup $(BACKEND_CMD) > .logs/backend.log 2>&1 & echo $$! > .pids/backend.pid
	@echo "✅ Backend started (PID: $$(cat .pids/backend.pid))"

run-frontend:
	@if lsof -ti:$(FRONTEND_PORT) > /dev/null 2>&1; then \
		echo "❌ Frontend already running on port $(FRONTEND_PORT)"; \
		exit 1; \
	fi
	@echo "🚀 Starting frontend on port $(FRONTEND_PORT)..."
	@nohup $(FRONTEND_CMD) > .logs/frontend.log 2>&1 & echo $$! > .pids/frontend.pid
	@echo "✅ Frontend started (PID: $$(cat .pids/frontend.pid))"

stop-backend:
	@if [ -f .pids/backend.pid ]; then \
		PID=$$(cat .pids/backend.pid); \
		if ps -p $$PID > /dev/null 2>&1; then \
			echo "🛑 Stopping backend (PID: $$PID)..."; \
			kill -TERM -- -$$PID 2>/dev/null || kill $$PID; \
			rm .pids/backend.pid; \
			echo "✅ Backend stopped"; \
		else \
			echo "⚠️  Backend not found, cleaning up PID file"; \
			rm .pids/backend.pid; \
		fi \
	else \
		echo "ℹ️  Backend not running"; \
	fi

stop-frontend:
	@if [ -f .pids/frontend.pid ]; then \
		PID=$$(cat .pids/frontend.pid); \
		if ps -p $$PID > /dev/null 2>&1; then \
			echo "🛑 Stopping frontend (PID: $$PID)..."; \
			kill -TERM -- -$$PID 2>/dev/null || kill $$PID; \
			rm .pids/frontend.pid; \
			echo "✅ Frontend stopped"; \
		else \
			echo "⚠️  Frontend not found, cleaning up PID file"; \
			rm .pids/frontend.pid; \
		fi \
	else \
		echo "ℹ️  Frontend not running"; \
	fi

# =============================================================================
# Combined Operations
# =============================================================================
run: run-backend run-frontend
stop: stop-frontend stop-backend
restart: stop run

# =============================================================================
# Testing & Quality
# =============================================================================
test:
	@echo "🧪 Running tests..."
	@$(TEST_CMD)

lint:
	@echo "🔍 Running linters..."
	@npm run lint 2>&1 || true

# =============================================================================
# Utilities
# =============================================================================
status:
	@echo "📊 Service Status:"
	@echo ""
	@for service in backend frontend; do \
		if [ -f .pids/$$service.pid ]; then \
			PID=$$(cat .pids/$$service.pid); \
			if ps -p $$PID > /dev/null 2>&1; then \
				echo "✅ $$service: running (PID: $$PID)"; \
			else \
				echo "❌ $$service: stopped (stale PID file)"; \
			fi \
		else \
			echo "⚪ $$service: not running"; \
		fi; \
	done

logs:
	@tail -n 50 .logs/*.log 2>/dev/null || echo "No logs found"

logs-follow:
	@tail -f .logs/*.log 2>/dev/null

clean:
	@rm -rf .pids .logs
	@echo "🧹 Cleaned up PID and log files"

# =============================================================================
# Help
# =============================================================================
.DEFAULT_GOAL := help

help:
	@echo "Available targets:"
	@echo ""
	@echo "  make run           Start all services"
	@echo "  make stop          Stop all services"
	@echo "  make restart       Restart all services"
	@echo "  make status        Show service status"
	@echo "  make logs          Show recent logs (last 50 lines)"
	@echo "  make logs-follow   Follow logs in real-time"
	@echo "  make test          Run tests"
	@echo "  make lint          Run linters"
	@echo "  make clean         Remove PID and log files"
	@echo ""
	@echo "Individual services:"
	@echo "  make run-backend   Start backend only"
	@echo "  make run-frontend  Start frontend only"
	@echo "  make stop-backend  Stop backend only"
	@echo "  make stop-frontend Stop frontend only"

# =============================================================================
# .PHONY
# =============================================================================
.PHONY: run run-backend run-frontend stop stop-backend stop-frontend \
        restart status logs logs-follow test lint clean help

Gitignore Additions

Remind users to add these to

.gitignore

.pids/
.logs/

makefile

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

Makefile Mode

Core Philosophy

Pre-Implementation Discovery

Service Topology

Startup Requirements

Testing & Quality

Project Context

Makefile Architecture

Core Patterns Library

A. Starting a Service (Background with PID Tracking)

B. Stopping a Service (Process Group Cleanup)

C. Status Checking

D. Log Tailing

E. Combined Operations

F. Testing with Prerequisites

G. Help Target (Self-Documenting)

Adaptation Patterns

Best Practices Checklist

Common Issues & Solutions

Implementation Workflow

Creating a New Makefile

Amending an Existing Makefile

Complete Template

Gitignore Additions