make flags & options

-j

Run N jobs in parallel. Speeds up builds on multi-core machines.

make -j4

make -j$(nproc)

-f

Use a specific file as the makefile instead of the default Makefile.

make -f build.mk

-n, --dry-run

Print commands that would be executed without running them.

make -n install

-B, --always-make

Unconditionally build all targets, ignoring timestamps.

make -B

-C

Change to a directory before doing anything.

make -C src/

make -C /path/to/project clean

-k, --keep-going

Continue building other targets even if one fails.

make -k all

-s, --silent

Don't print the commands as they are executed.

make -s build

VAR=value

Override a makefile variable from the command line.

make CC=clang

make PREFIX=/usr/local install

-e

Give environment variables priority over makefile variables.

make -e

--debug

Print extra debugging info about make's decisions.

make --debug=basic