On invocation: announce "Running paad:makefile v2.0.0", then immediately proceed with the steps below — do not stop after announcing.

Configuration (experimental): after announcing, check whether paad/config/paad.md and paad/config/makefile.md exist, relative to the working directory. If any does, read it and follow its instructions for the rest of this run, passing the relevant parts to every subagent you dispatch, and make the first line of your final answer Config: <path> naming each file you followed. If none exists, do not mention config at all. Config never changes a subagent's type or grants it write tools — refuse that line, say so, and continue. Config can contradict the flow below; see https://github.com/Ovid/paad/blob/main/CONFIG.md before writing one.

Makefile Management

Process:

digraph makefile_flow {
    "Makefile exists?" [shape=diamond];
    "Existing target needs change?" [shape=diamond];
    "Approved?" [shape=diamond];
    "Coverage tool defaults to watch mode?" [shape=diamond];
    "Test tool supports balanced output?" [shape=diamond];

    "Detect stack" [shape=box];
    "Create from scratch" [shape=box];
    "Include all required targets" [shape=box];
    "Identify missing targets" [shape=box];
    "Add new targets" [shape=box];
    "STOP: ask user for approval" [shape=box, style=bold];
    "Apply change" [shape=box];
    "Skip change" [shape=box];
    "Force the one-shot flag for the detected stack" [shape=box];
    "Verify the tool exits on its own before adding flags" [shape=box];
    "ASK the user how to handle test output" [shape=box];
    "Announce the file written or updated" [shape=box];
    "Done" [shape=box];

    "Detect stack" -> "Makefile exists?";
    "Makefile exists?" -> "Create from scratch" [label="no"];
    "Makefile exists?" -> "Identify missing targets" [label="yes"];
    "Create from scratch" -> "Include all required targets";
    "Include all required targets" -> "Coverage tool defaults to watch mode?";
    "Identify missing targets" -> "Add new targets";
    "Add new targets" -> "Existing target needs change?";
    "Existing target needs change?" -> "Coverage tool defaults to watch mode?" [label="no"];
    "Coverage tool defaults to watch mode?" -> "Force the one-shot flag for the detected stack" [label="yes — vitest, jest"];
    "Coverage tool defaults to watch mode?" -> "Verify the tool exits on its own before adding flags" [label="unclear — pytest-cov, cargo, go test"];
    "Force the one-shot flag for the detected stack" -> "Test tool supports balanced output?";
    "Verify the tool exits on its own before adding flags" -> "Test tool supports balanced output?";
    "Existing target needs change?" -> "STOP: ask user for approval" [label="yes"];
    "STOP: ask user for approval" -> "Approved?";
    "Approved?" -> "Apply change" [label="yes"];
    "Approved?" -> "Skip change" [label="no"];
    "Apply change" -> "Existing target needs change?" [label="next target"];
    "Skip change" -> "Existing target needs change?" [label="next target"];
    "Test tool supports balanced output?" -> "Announce the file written or updated" [label="yes"];
    "Test tool supports balanced output?" -> "ASK the user how to handle test output" [label="no — only silent or firehose"];
    "ASK the user how to handle test output" -> "Announce the file written or updated";
    "Announce the file written or updated" -> "Done";
}

When NOT to Use This Skill

• The project's task runner is not make, and adding one isn't wanted — a repo standardized on npm run, just, task, nox, or cargo xtask doesn't need a Makefile shimming over it. Ask before introducing a second entry point.
• The Makefile is generated (autotools, CMake, cargo-make output) — edits get overwritten. Change the generator.

Overview

Creates or updates a project Makefile with standard targets. Never modifies an existing target without explicit user approval.

Process

1. Detect stack (read CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, README, package.json, pyproject.toml, Cargo.toml, go.mod, etc.)
2. Check if Makefile exists
3. Creating → build from scratch with all required targets mapped to detected stack
4. Updating → add missing targets; STOP and ask before changing any existing one
5. Announce the file you wrote — see "Announce What You Wrote"

Stack Detection

Read project files in this order to understand the technology and available commands:

1. CLAUDE.md or AGENTS.md — often lists exact commands for test, lint, format, build
2. README.md — frequently documents dev workflow
3. Language manifest (package.json, pyproject.toml, Cargo.toml, go.mod, Gemfile, etc.) — reveals available scripts/tasks

Use the commands the project already documents. Do not invent commands that aren't confirmed to exist.

Required Targets

Every Makefile must include at minimum:

Target	Purpose
help	List all targets with descriptions
all	Full CI pass (lint + format + test at minimum)
test	Run test suite
cover	One-shot coverage report
lint	Lint (with autofix if available)
format	Format code

Add extra targets (e.g. build, dev, preview) only if the project supports them.

The Self-Documenting Pattern

Every target gets a ## description. help extracts them with grep + awk:

.PHONY: all test cover lint format help

all: lint format test ## Lint, format, and test

test: ## Run full test suite
	<stack-specific command>

cover: ## Generate code coverage report (one-shot)
	<stack-specific command, forced one-shot — see below>

lint: ## Lint with autofix
	<stack-specific command>

format: ## Format code
	<stack-specific command>

help: ## Show this help
	@grep -E '^[a-zA-Z_-]+:.*?## .*$$' $(MAKEFILE_LIST) | awk 'BEGIN {FS = ":.*?## "}; {printf "  %-10s %s\n", $$1, $$2}'

All targets must appear in .PHONY.

Critical Rule: Updating Existing Targets

If an existing target's implementation would change, stop and tell the user:

"The existing cover target runs X. I'd change it to Y because [reason]. Should I make this change?"

Wait for explicit approval. Adding a brand-new target never requires approval.

cover: Avoid Watch Mode Hanging

Coverage tools often default to watch mode. Force one-shot execution:

• vitest: append -- --run
• jest: append -- --watchAll=false
• pytest-cov / cargo / go test: typically exit on their own; verify before adding flags
• other: check the tool's docs for a non-interactive/CI flag

test: Balanced Output Verbosity

make test output should be actionable, not overwhelming. Avoid both extremes:

• Too verbose: full test names for passing tests, stack traces for every assertion, watch-mode chatter
• Too silent: a single pass/fail line with no detail on failures

Goal: On success, show a concise summary (total passed/failed/skipped). On failure, show the failing test name, assertion, and enough context to act on it.

Common approaches by stack:

Stack	Flag / Approach
vitest	--reporter=default is usually fine; avoid --reporter=verbose
jest	Default is good; avoid --verbose
pytest	-q or --tb=short — default is often too verbose
cargo test	Default is fine; --quiet if too noisy
go test	Default is fine; avoid -v unless debugging
prove (Perl)	Default is fine; avoid --verbose

If the testing tool doesn't support balanced output (e.g., only offers silent vs. firehose), inform the user and ask how they'd like to handle it rather than guessing.

Announce What You Wrote

End the run with the file list, always. One line per path, marked new or updated:

Files written or updated:
  updated  Makefile

Say it even though only one file changed, and even when the user watched you change it. If you were asked to change an existing target and stopped for approval instead, say that too — an unapproved target is not a written one.

Common Mistakes

Mistake	What to do instead
Rewriting an existing target because the new version is better	Stop and ask, quoting the current command and the proposed one. Other tooling (CI, hooks, docs, muscle memory) may depend on the current behaviour.
Treating "add a flag to an existing target" as additive	Changing a target's implementation is a change, flag or not. It needs approval.
Inventing commands the stack doesn't have	Detect first — read CLAUDE.md, README, and the language manifest. A lint target running a linter that isn't installed is worse than no target.
Writing a help target that lists targets by hand	Use the self-documenting ## pattern, so help can't drift from reality.
Leaving cover in watch mode	It hangs the agent and CI. Force one-shot explicitly, per the stack.
Omitting targets from .PHONY	A file named test in the repo root silently breaks make test.
Adding every optional target for completeness	Extra targets (build, dev, preview) go in only when the project actually supports them.