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| Filter | Status | Condition | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| HTTP status | PASS | download_http_code = 200 | HTTP 200 |
| Age cutoff | PASS | download_stamp > now() - 6 MONTH | 0.2 months ago (distributed domain, exempt) |
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| Canonical | PASS | meta_canonical IS NULL OR = '' OR = src_unparsed | Not set |
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| URL | https://github.com/casey/just |
| Last Crawled | 2026-04-02 09:16:32 (4 days ago) |
| First Indexed | 2016-07-14 16:09:52 (9 years ago) |
| HTTP Status Code | 200 |
| Meta Title | GitHub - casey/just: š¤ Just a command runner Ā· GitHub |
| Meta Description | š¤ Just a command runner. Contribute to casey/just development by creating an account on GitHub. |
| Meta Canonical | null |
| Boilerpipe Text | Table of Contents
āļø
just
is a handy way to save and run project-specific commands.
This readme is also available as a
book
. The
book reflects the latest release, whereas the
readme on GitHub
reflects latest master.
(äøęę攣åØ
čæé
,
åæ«ēčæę„!)
Commands, called recipes, are stored in a file called
justfile
with syntax
inspired by
make
:
You can then run them with
just RECIPE
:
$
just test-all
cc *.c -o main
./test --all
Yay, all your tests passed!
just
has a ton of useful features, and many improvements over
make
:
just
is a command runner, not a build system, so it avoids much of
make
's complexity and idiosyncrasies
.
No need for
.PHONY
recipes!
Linux, MacOS, Windows, and other reasonable unices are supported with no
additional dependencies. (Although if your system doesn't have an
sh
,
you'll need to
choose a different shell
.)
Errors are specific and informative, and syntax errors are reported along
with their source context.
Recipes can accept
command line arguments
.
Wherever possible, errors are resolved statically. Unknown recipes and
circular dependencies are reported before anything runs.
just
loads
.env
files
, making it easy to populate
environment variables.
Recipes can be
listed from the command line
.
Command line completion scripts are
available for most popular shells
.
Recipes can be written in
arbitrary languages
, like Python or NodeJS.
just
can be invoked from any subdirectory, not just the directory that
contains the
justfile
.
And
much more
!
If you need help with
just
please feel free to open an issue or ping me on
Discord
. Feature requests and bug reports are
always welcome!
Installation
Prerequisites
just
should run on any system with a reasonable
sh
, including Linux, MacOS,
and the BSDs.
Windows
On Windows,
just
works with the
sh
provided by
Git for Windows
,
GitHub Desktop
, or
Cygwin
. After installation,
sh
must be available in
the
PATH
of the shell you want to invoke
just
from.
If you'd rather not install
sh
, you can use the
shell
setting to use the
shell of your choice.
Like PowerShell:
# use PowerShell instead of sh:
set
shell
:=
[
"
powershell.exe"
,
"
-c"
]
hello
:
Write-Host
"
Hello, world!"
ā¦or
cmd.exe
:
# use cmd.exe instead of sh:
set
shell
:=
[
"
cmd.exe"
,
"
/c"
]
list
:
dir
You can also set the shell using command-line arguments. For example, to use
PowerShell, launch
just
with
--shell powershell.exe --shell-arg -c
.
(PowerShell is installed by default on Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2
S1 and later, and
cmd.exe
is quite fiddly, so PowerShell is recommended for
most Windows users.)
Packages
Cross-platform
Package Manager
Package
Command
arkade
just
arkade get just
asdf
just
asdf plugin add just
asdf install just <version>
Cargo
just
cargo install just
Cargo Binstall
just
cargo binstall just
Conda
just
conda install -c conda-forge just
Homebrew
just
brew install just
Nix
just
nix-env -iA nixpkgs.just
npm
rust-just
npm install -g rust-just
pipx
rust-just
pipx install rust-just
Snap
just
snap install --edge --classic just
uv
rust-just
uv tool install rust-just
BSD
Operating System
Package Manager
Package
Command
FreeBSD
pkg
just
pkg install just
OpenBSD
pkg_*
just
pkg_add just
Linux
Operating System
Package Manager
Package
Command
Alpine
apk-tools
just
apk add just
Arch
pacman
just
pacman -S just
Debian 13
and
Ubuntu 24.04
derivatives
apt
just
apt install just
Fedora
DNF
just
dnf install just
Gentoo
Portage
dev-build/just
emerge -av dev-build/just
NixOS
Nix
just
nix-env -iA nixos.just
openSUSE
Zypper
just
zypper in just
Solus
eopkg
just
eopkg install just
Void
XBPS
just
xbps-install -S just
Windows
Package Manager
Package
Command
Chocolatey
just
choco install just
Scoop
just
scoop install just
Windows Package Manager
Casey/Just
winget install --id Casey.Just --exact
macOS
Package Manager
Package
Command
MacPorts
just
port install just
Pre-Built Binaries
Pre-built binaries for Linux, MacOS, and Windows can be found on
the releases page
.
You can use the following command on Linux, MacOS, or Windows to download the
latest release, just replace
DEST
with the directory where you'd like to put
just
:
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://just.systems/install.sh | bash -s -- --to DEST
For example, to install
just
to
~/bin
:
#
create
~
/bin
mkdir -p ~/bin
#
download and extract just to
~
/bin/just
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://just.systems/install.sh | bash -s -- --to ~/bin
#
add
`
~/bin
`
to the paths that your shell searches
for
executables
#
this line should be added to your shells initialization file,
#
e.g.
`
~/.bashrc
`
or
`
~/.zshrc
`
export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/bin"
#
just should now be executable
just --help
Note that
install.sh
may fail on GitHub Actions, or in other environments
where many machines share IP addresses.
install.sh
calls GitHub APIs in order
to determine the latest version of
just
to install, and those API calls are
rate-limited on a per-IP basis. To make
install.sh
more reliable in such
circumstances, pass a specific tag to install with
--tag
.
Another way to avoid rate-limiting is to pass a GitHub authentication token to
install.sh
as an environment variable named
GITHUB_TOKEN
, allowing it to
authenticate its requests.
Releases
include a
SHA256SUM
file
which can be used to verify the integrity of pre-built binary archives.
To verify a release, download the pre-built binary archive along with the
SHA256SUM
file and run:
shasum --algorithm 256 --ignore-missing --check SHA256SUMS
GitHub Actions
just
can be installed on GitHub Actions in a few ways.
Using package managers pre-installed on GitHub Actions runners on MacOS with
brew install just
, and on Windows with
choco install just
.
With
extractions/setup-just
:
-
uses
:
extractions/setup-just@v3
with
:
just-version
:
1.5.0
#
optional semver specification, otherwise latest
Or with
taiki-e/install-action
:
-
uses
:
taiki-e/install-action@just
Docker
just
is available as a Docker image from
the GitHub Container Registry
.
To copy
just
into a Docker image, add the following line to your
Dockerfile
:
COPY
--from=ghcr.io/casey/just:latest /just /usr/local/bin/
After copying,
just
may also be used as part of a docker build:
RUN
just
Release RSS Feed
An
RSS feed
of
just
releases is
available
here
.
Node.js Installation
just-install
can be used to automate
installation of
just
in Node.js applications.
just
is a great, more robust alternative to npm scripts. If you want to
include
just
in the dependencies of a Node.js application,
just-install
will install a local, platform-specific binary as part of the
npm install
command. This removes the need for every developer to install
just
independently using one of the processes mentioned above. After installation,
the
just
command will work in npm scripts or with npx. It's great for teams
who want to make the set up process for their project as easy as possible.
For more information, see the
just-install README file
.
Nix Flake
The
just
repository includes a
flake.nix
that defines
a
nix flake
, allowing you to use
just
as an input to another flake:
{
inputs
=
{
just
.
url
=
"github:casey/just"
;
}
outputs
=
{
self
,
nixpkgs
,
just
}
:
{
}
}
Backwards Compatibility
With the release of version 1.0,
just
features a strong commitment to
backwards compatibility and stability.
Future releases will not introduce backwards incompatible changes that make
existing
justfile
s stop working, or break working invocations of the
command-line interface.
This does not, however, preclude fixing outright bugs, even if doing so might
break
justfiles
that rely on their behavior.
There will never be a
just
2.0. Any desirable backwards-incompatible changes
will be opt-in on a per-
justfile
basis, so users may migrate at their
leisure.
Features that aren't yet ready for stabilization are marked as unstable and may
be changed or removed at any time. Using unstable features produces an error by
default, which can be suppressed by passing the
--unstable
flag,
set unstable
, or setting the environment variable
JUST_UNSTABLE
, to any
value other than
false
,
0
, or the empty string.
Editor Support
justfile
syntax is close enough to
make
that you may want to tell your
editor to use
make
syntax highlighting for
just
.
Vim and Neovim
Vim version 9.1.1042 or better and Neovim version 0.11 or better support
Justfile syntax highlighting out of the box, thanks to
pbnj
.
vim-just
The
vim-just
plugin provides syntax
highlighting for
justfile
s.
Install it with your favorite package manager, like
Plug
:
call
plug#begin
()
Plug
'
NoahTheDuke/vim-just
'
call
plug#end
()
Or with Vim's built-in package support:
mkdir -p ~/.vim/pack/vendor/start
cd ~/.vim/pack/vendor/start
git clone https://github.com/NoahTheDuke/vim-just.git
tree-sitter-just
tree-sitter-just
is an
Nvim Treesitter
plugin
for Neovim.
Emacs
just-mode
provides syntax
highlighting and automatic indentation of
justfile
s. It is available on
MELPA
as
just-mode
.
justl
provides commands for executing and
listing recipes.
You can add the following to an individual
justfile
to enable
make
mode on
a per-file basis:
# Local Variables:
# mode: makefile
# End:
Visual Studio Code
An extension for VS Code is
available here
.
Unmaintained VS Code extensions include
skellock/vscode-just
and
sclu1034/vscode-just
.
JetBrains IDEs
A plugin for JetBrains IDEs by
linux_china
is
available here
.
Kakoune
Kakoune supports
justfile
syntax highlighting out of the box, thanks to
TeddyDD.
Helix
Helix
supports
justfile
syntax highlighting
out-of-the-box since version 23.05.
Sublime Text
The
Just package
by
nk9
with
just
syntax and some other tools is
available on
PackageControl
.
Micro
Micro
supports Justfile syntax highlighting
out of the box, thanks to
tomodachi94
.
Zed
The
zed-just
extension by
jackTabsCode
is available on the
Zed extensions page
.
Other Editors
Feel free to send me the commands necessary to get syntax highlighting working
in your editor of choice so that I may include them here.
Language Server Protocol
just-lsp
provides a
language server
protocol
implementation, enabling features such as go-to-definition, inline diagnostics,
and code completion.
Model Context Protocol
just-mcp
provides a
model context protocol
adapter to allow LLMs to query the contents of
justfiles
and run recipes.
Quick Start
See the installation section for how to install
just
on your computer. Try
running
just --version
to make sure that it's installed correctly.
For an overview of the syntax, check out
this cheatsheet
.
Once
just
is installed and working, create a file named
justfile
in the
root of your project with the following contents:
recipe-name
:
echo
'
This is a recipe!'
# this is a comment
another-recipe
:
@
echo
'
This is another recipe.'
When you invoke
just
it looks for file
justfile
in the current directory
and upwards, so you can invoke it from any subdirectory of your project.
The search for a
justfile
is case insensitive, so any case, like
Justfile
,
JUSTFILE
, or
JuStFiLe
, will work.
just
will also look for files with the
name
.justfile
, in case you'd like to hide a
justfile
.
Running
just
with no arguments runs the first recipe in the
justfile
:
$
just
echo 'This is a recipe!'
This is a recipe!
One or more arguments specify the recipe(s) to run:
$
just another-recipe
This is another recipe.
just
prints each command to standard error before running it, which is why
echo 'This is a recipe!'
was printed. This is suppressed for lines starting
with
@
, which is why
echo 'This is another recipe.'
was not printed.
Recipes stop running if a command fails. Here
cargo publish
will only run if
cargo test
succeeds:
publish
:
cargo test
# tests passed, time to publish!
cargo publish
Recipes can depend on other recipes. Here the
test
recipe depends on the
build
recipe, so
build
will run before
test
:
build
:
cc main.c foo.c bar.c -o main
test
:
build
.
/
test
sloc
:
@
echo
"
`wc -l *.c` lines of code"
$
just
test
cc main.c foo.c bar.c -o main
./test
testing⦠all tests passed!
Recipes without dependencies will run in the order they're given on the command
line:
$
just build sloc
cc main.c foo.c bar.c -o main
1337 lines of code
Dependencies will always run first, even if they are passed after a recipe that
depends on them:
$
just
test
build
cc main.c foo.c bar.c -o main
./test
testing⦠all tests passed!
Recipes may depend on recipes in submodules:
mod
foo
baz
:
foo
::
bar
Examples
A variety of
justfile
s can be found in the
examples directory
and on
GitHub
.
Features
The Default Recipe
When
just
is invoked without a recipe, it runs the recipe with the
[default]
attribute, or the first recipe in the
justfile
if no recipe has
the
[default]
attribute.
This recipe might be the most frequently run command in the project, like
running the tests:
test
:
cargo test
You can also use dependencies to run multiple recipes by default:
default
:
lint
build
test
build
:
echo Buildingā¦
test
:
echo Testingā¦
lint
:
echo Lintingā¦
If no recipe makes sense as the default recipe, you can add a recipe to the
beginning of your
justfile
that lists the available recipes:
default
:
just --list
Listing Available Recipes
Recipes can be listed in alphabetical order with
just --list
:
$
just --list
Available recipes:
build
test
deploy
lint
Recipes in
submodules
can be listed with
just --list PATH
, where
PATH
is a space- or
::
-separated module path:
$ cat justfile
mod foo
$ cat foo.just
mod bar
$ cat bar.just
baz:
$ just --list foo bar
Available recipes:
baz
$ just --list foo::bar
Available recipes:
baz
just --summary
is more concise:
$
just --summary
build test deploy lint
Pass
--unsorted
to print recipes in the order they appear in the
justfile
:
test
:
echo
'
Testing!'
build
:
echo
'
Building!'
$
just --list --unsorted
Available recipes:
test
build
$
just --summary --unsorted
test build
If you'd like
just
to default to listing the recipes in the
justfile
, you
can use this as your default recipe:
default
:
@
just --list
Note that you may need to add
--justfile {{justfile()}}
to the line above.
Without it, if you executed
just -f /some/distant/justfile -d .
or
just -f ./non-standard-justfile
, the plain
just --list
inside the recipe
would not necessarily use the file you provided. It would try to find a
justfile in your current path, maybe even resulting in a
No justfile found
error.
The heading text can be customized with
--list-heading
:
$
just --list --list-heading
$'
Cool stuffā¦
\n
'
Cool stuffā¦
test
build
And the indentation can be customized with
--list-prefix
:
$
just --list --list-prefix Ā·Ā·Ā·Ā·
Available recipes:
Ā·Ā·Ā·Ā·test
Ā·Ā·Ā·Ā·build
The argument to
--list-heading
replaces both the heading and the newline
following it, so it should contain a newline if non-empty. It works this way so
you can suppress the heading line entirely by passing the empty string:
$
just --list --list-heading
'
'
test
build
Invoking Multiple Recipes
Multiple recipes may be invoked on the command line at once:
build
:
make web
serve
:
python3 -m http.server -d out
8000
$
just build serve
make web
python3 -m http.server -d out 8000
Keep in mind that recipes with parameters will swallow arguments, even if they
match the names of other recipes:
build
project
:
make
{{
project
}}
serve
:
python3 -m http.server -d out
8000
$
just build serve
make: *** No rule to make target `serve'. Stop.
The
--one
flag can be used to restrict command-line invocations to a single
recipe:
$
just --one build serve
error: Expected 1 command-line recipe invocation but found 2.
Working Directory
By default, recipes run with the working directory set to the directory that
contains the
justfile
.
The
[no-cd]
attribute can be used to make recipes run with the working
directory set to directory in which
just
was invoked.
@
foo
:
pwd
[
no-cd
]
@
bar
:
pwd
$
cd
subdir
$
just foo
/
$
just bar
/subdir
You can override the working directory for all recipes with
set working-directory := 'ā¦'
:
set
working-directory
:=
'
bar'
@
foo
:
pwd
$
pwd
/home/bob
$
just foo
/home/bob/bar
You can override the working directory for a specific recipe with the
working-directory
attribute
1.38.0
:
[
working-directory
:
'
bar'
]
@
foo
:
pwd
$
pwd
/home/bob
$
just foo
/home/bob/bar
The argument to the
working-directory
setting or
working-directory
attribute may be absolute or relative. If it is relative it is interpreted
relative to the default working directory.
Aliases
Aliases allow recipes to be invoked on the command line with alternative names:
alias
b
:=
build
build
:
echo
'
Building!'
$
just b
echo 'Building!'
Building!
The target of an alias may be a recipe in a submodule:
mod
foo
alias
baz
:=
foo
::bar
Settings
Settings control interpretation and execution. Each setting may be specified at
most once, anywhere in the
justfile
.
For example:
set
shell
:=
[
"
zsh"
,
"
-cu"
]
foo
:
# this line will be run as `zsh -cu 'ls **/*.txt'`
ls **
/
*.txt
Table of Settings
Name
Value
Default
Description
allow-duplicate-recipes
boolean
false
Allow recipes appearing later in a
justfile
to override earlier recipes with the same name.
allow-duplicate-variables
boolean
false
Allow variables appearing later in a
justfile
to override earlier variables with the same name.
dotenv-filename
string
-
Load a
.env
file with a custom name, if present.
dotenv-load
boolean
false
Load a
.env
file, if present.
dotenv-override
boolean
false
Override existing environment variables with values from the
.env
file.
dotenv-path
string
-
Load a
.env
file from a custom path and error if not present. Overrides
dotenv-filename
.
dotenv-required
boolean
false
Error if a
.env
file isn't found.
export
boolean
false
Export all variables as environment variables.
fallback
boolean
false
Search
justfile
in parent directory if the first recipe on the command line is not found.
ignore-comments
boolean
false
Ignore recipe lines beginning with
#
.
lazy
1.47.0
boolean
false
Don't evaluate unused variables.
positional-arguments
boolean
false
Pass positional arguments.
quiet
boolean
false
Disable echoing recipe lines before executing.
script-interpreter
1.33.0
[COMMAND, ARGSā¦]
['sh', '-eu']
Set command used to invoke recipes with empty
[script]
attribute.
shell
[COMMAND, ARGSā¦]
-
Set command used to invoke recipes and evaluate backticks.
tempdir
string
-
Create temporary directories in
tempdir
instead of the system default temporary directory.
unstable
1.31.0
boolean
false
Enable unstable features.
windows-powershell
boolean
false
Use PowerShell on Windows as default shell. (Deprecated. Use
windows-shell
instead.
windows-shell
[COMMAND, ARGSā¦]
-
Set the command used to invoke recipes and evaluate backticks.
working-directory
1.33.0
string
-
Set the working directory for recipes and backticks, relative to the default working directory.
Boolean settings can be written as:
set
NAME
Which is equivalent to:
set
NAME
:=
true
Non-boolean settings can be set to both strings and
expressions.
1.46.0
However, because settings affect the behavior of backticks and many functions,
those expressions may not contain backticks or function calls, directly or
transitively via reference.
Allow Duplicate Recipes
If
allow-duplicate-recipes
is set to
true
, defining multiple recipes with
the same name is not an error and the last definition is used. Defaults to
false
.
set
allow-duplicate-recipes
@
foo
:
echo foo
@
foo
:
echo bar
$
just foo
bar
Allow Duplicate Variables
If
allow-duplicate-variables
is set to
true
, defining multiple variables
with the same name is not an error and the last definition is used. Defaults to
false
.
set
allow-duplicate-variables
a
:=
"
foo"
a
:=
"
bar"
@
foo
:
echo
{{
a
}}
$
just foo
bar
Dotenv Settings
If any of
dotenv-load
,
dotenv-filename
,
dotenv-override
,
dotenv-path
,
or
dotenv-required
are set,
just
will try to load environment variables
from a file.
If
dotenv-path
is set,
just
will look for a file at the given path, which
may be absolute, or relative to the working directory.
The command-line option
--dotenv-path
, short form
-E
, can be used to set or
override
dotenv-path
at runtime.
If
dotenv-filename
is set
just
will look for a file at the given path,
relative to the working directory and each of its ancestors.
If
dotenv-filename
is not set, but
dotenv-load
or
dotenv-required
are
set, just will look for a file named
.env
, relative to the working directory
and each of its ancestors.
dotenv-filename
and
dotenv-path
are similar, but
dotenv-path
is only
checked relative to the working directory, whereas
dotenv-filename
is checked
relative to the working directory and each of its ancestors.
It is not an error if an environment file is not found, unless
dotenv-required
is set.
The loaded variables are environment variables, not
just
variables, and so
must be accessed using
$VARIABLE_NAME
in recipes and backticks.
If
dotenv-override
is set, variables from the environment file will override
existing environment variables.
For example, if your
.env
file contains:
#
a comment, will be ignored
DATABASE_ADDRESS=localhost:6379
SERVER_PORT=1337
And your
justfile
contains:
set
dotenv-load
serve
:
@
echo
"
Starting server with database $DATABASE_ADDRESS on port $SERVER_PORTā¦"
.
/
server --database $DATABASE_ADDRESS --port $SERVER_PORT
just serve
will output:
$
just serve
Starting server with database localhost:6379 on port 1337ā¦
./server --database $DATABASE_ADDRESS --port $SERVER_PORT
Export
The
export
setting causes all
just
variables to be exported as environment
variables. Defaults to
false
.
set
export
a
:=
"
hello"
@
foo
b
:
echo $a
echo $b
$
just foo goodbye
hello
goodbye
Lazy
The
lazy
setting
1.47.0
causes the evaluator to skip evaluating
unused variables. This can be beneficial when a
justfile
contains variables
that are expensive to evaluate but only sometimes used.
In the following
justfile
,
token
will be skipped when only invoking
bar
:
set
lazy
token
:=
`
expensive-script-to-get-credentials
`
foo
:
curl -H
"
Authorization: Bearer
{{
token
}}
"
https:
//
example.com
/
foo
bar
:
cargo test
Because
just
cannot determine when exported variables are used, assignments
with
export
and assignments in a module with
set export
will always be
evaluated.
Positional Arguments
If
positional-arguments
is
true
, recipe arguments will be passed as
positional arguments to commands. For linewise recipes, argument
$0
will be
the name of the recipe.
For example, running this recipe:
set
positional-arguments
@
foo
bar
:
echo $0
echo $
1
Will produce the following output:
$
just foo hello
foo
hello
When using an
sh
-compatible shell, such as
bash
or
zsh
,
$@
expands to
the positional arguments given to the recipe, starting from one. When used
within double quotes as
"$@"
, arguments including whitespace will be passed
on as if they were double-quoted. That is,
"$@"
is equivalent to
"$1" "$2"
ā¦
When there are no positional parameters,
"$@"
and
$@
expand to nothing
(i.e., they are removed).
This example recipe will print arguments one by one on separate lines:
set
positional-arguments
@
test
*
args
=
'
'
:
bash -c
'
while (( "$#" )); do echo - $1; shift; done'
--
"
$@"
Running it with
two
arguments:
$
just
test
foo
"
bar baz
"
- foo
- bar baz
Positional arguments may also be turned on a per-recipe basis with the
[positional-arguments]
attribute
1.29.0
:
[
positional-arguments
]
@
foo
bar
:
echo $0
echo $
1
Note that PowerShell does not handle positional arguments in the same way as
other shells, so turning on positional arguments will likely break recipes that
use PowerShell.
If using PowerShell 7.4 or better, the
-CommandWithArgs
flag will make
positional arguments work as expected:
set
shell
:=
[
'
pwsh.exe'
,
'
-CommandWithArgs'
]
set
positional-arguments
print-args
a
b
c
:
Write-Output @($args[
1.
.($args.Count -
1
)])
Shell
The
shell
setting controls the command used to invoke recipe lines and
backticks. Shebang recipes are unaffected. The default shell is
sh -cu
.
# use python3 to execute recipe lines and backticks
set
shell
:=
[
"
python3"
,
"
-c"
]
# use print to capture result of evaluation
foos
:=
`
print(
"
foo
"
*
4)
`
foo
:
print(
"
Snake snake snake snake."
)
print(
"
{{
foos
}}
"
)
just
passes the command to be executed as an argument. Many shells will need
an additional flag, often
-c
, to make them evaluate the first argument.
Windows Shell
just
uses
sh
on Windows by default. To use a different shell on Windows,
use
windows-shell
:
set
windows-shell
:=
[
"
powershell.exe"
,
"
-NoLogo"
,
"
-Command"
]
hello
:
Write-Host
"
Hello, world!"
See
powershell.just
for a justfile that uses PowerShell on all platforms.
Windows PowerShell
set windows-powershell
uses the legacy
powershell.exe
binary, and is no
longer recommended. See the
windows-shell
setting above for a more flexible
way to control which shell is used on Windows.
just
uses
sh
on Windows by default. To use
powershell.exe
instead, set
windows-powershell
to true.
set
windows-powershell
:=
true
hello
:
Write-Host
"
Hello, world!"
Python 3
set
shell
:=
[
"
python3"
,
"
-c"
]
Bash
set
shell
:=
[
"
bash"
,
"
-uc"
]
Z Shell
set
shell
:=
[
"
zsh"
,
"
-uc"
]
Fish
set
shell
:=
[
"
fish"
,
"
-c"
]
Nushell
set
shell
:=
[
"
nu"
,
"
-c"
]
If you want to change the default table mode to
light
:
set
shell
:=
[
'
nu'
,
'
-m'
,
'
light'
,
'
-c'
]
Nushell
was written in Rust, and
has
cross-platform support for Windows / macOS and Linux
.
Documentation Comments
Comments immediately preceding a recipe will appear in
just --list
:
# build stuff
build
:
.
/
bin
/
build
# test stuff
test
:
.
/
bin
/
test
$
just --list
Available recipes:
build # build stuff
test # test stuff
The
[doc]
attribute can be used to set or suppress a recipe's doc comment:
# This comment won't appear
[
doc
(
'
Build stuff'
)]
build
:
.
/
bin
/
build
# This one won't either
[
doc
]
test
:
.
/
bin
/
test
$
just --list
Available recipes:
build # Build stuff
test
Variables and Assignments
Module-level variables may be created by assigning them a value with
:=
:
foo
:=
"
hello"
bar
:=
"
world"
baz
:
echo
{{
foo
+
"
"
+
bar
}}
All variables in a module may be printed:
$
just --evaluate
bar := "world"
foo := "hello"
Or the value of a single variable:
$
just --evalaute foo
hello
All variables in a submodule or a single variable in a submodule may be printed
with a path to the submodule or variable
master
:
$
just --evaluate bob::bar
x := "world"
y := "hello"
$
just --evaluate bob::bar::y
hello
The format of exported variables may be controlled with
--evaluate-format
master
:
$
just --evaluate --evaluate-format shell
bar="world"
foo="hello"
The default format is
--evaluate-format just
:
$
just --evaluate --evaluate-format just
bar := "world"
foo := "hello"
Expressions and Substitutions
Various operators and function calls are supported in expressions, which may be
used in assignments, default recipe arguments, and inside recipe body
{{ā¦}}
substitutions.
tmpdir
:=
`
mktemp -d
`
version
:=
"
0.2.7"
tardir
:=
tmpdir
/
"
awesomesauce-"
+
version
tarball
:=
tardir
+
"
.tar.gz"
config
:=
quote
(
config_dir
()
/
"
.project-config"
)
publish
:
rm -f
{{
tarball
}}
mkdir
{{
tardir
}}
cp README.md *.c
{{
config
}}
{{
tardir
}}
tar zcvf
{{
tarball
}}
{{
tardir
}}
scp
{{
tarball
}}
me@server.com:release
/
rm -rf
{{
tarball
}}
{{
tardir
}}
Concatenation
The
+
operator returns the left-hand argument concatenated with the
right-hand argument:
foobar
:=
'
foo'
+
'
bar'
Logical Operators
The logical operators
&&
and
||
can be used to coalesce string
values
1.37.0
, similar to Python's
and
and
or
. These operators
consider the empty string
''
to be false, and all other strings to be true.
These operators are currently unstable.
The
&&
operator returns the empty string if the left-hand argument is the
empty string, otherwise it returns the right-hand argument:
foo
:=
'
'
&&
'
goodbye'
# ''
bar
:=
'
hello'
&&
'
goodbye'
# 'goodbye'
The
||
operator returns the left-hand argument if it is non-empty, otherwise
it returns the right-hand argument:
foo
:=
'
'
||
'
goodbye'
# 'goodbye'
bar
:=
'
hello'
||
'
goodbye'
# 'hello'
Joining Paths
The
/
operator can be used to join two strings with a slash:
foo
:=
"
a"
/
"
b"
$ just --evaluate foo
a/b
Note that a
/
is added even if one is already present:
foo
:=
"
a/"
bar
:=
foo
/
"
b"
$ just --evaluate bar
a//b
Absolute paths can also be constructed
1.5.0
:
foo
:=
/
"
b"
$ just --evaluate foo
/b
The
/
operator uses the
/
character, even on Windows. Thus, using the
/
operator should be avoided with paths that use universal naming convention
(UNC), i.e., those that start with
\?
, since forward slashes are not
supported with UNC paths.
Escaping
{{
To write a recipe containing
{{
, use
{{{{
:
braces
:
echo
'
I {{{{LOVE}} curly braces!'
(An unmatched
}}
is ignored, so it doesn't need to be escaped.)
Another option is to put all the text you'd like to escape inside of an
interpolation:
braces
:
echo
'{{'
I
{{
LOVE
}}
curly braces!
'
}}'
Yet another option is to use
{{ "{{" }}
:
braces
:
echo
'
I
{{
"{{"
}}
LOVE}} curly braces!'
Strings
'single'
,
"double"
, and
'''triple'''
quoted string literals are
supported. Unlike in recipe bodies,
{{ā¦}}
interpolations are not supported
inside strings.
Double-quoted strings support escape sequences:
carriage-return
:=
"
\r
"
double-quote
:=
"
\"
"
newline
:=
"
\n
"
no-newline
:=
"
\
"
slash
:=
"
\\
"
tab
:=
"
\t
"
unicode-codepoint
:=
"
\u{1F916}
"
$
just --evaluate
"arriage-return := "
double-quote := """
newline := "
"
no-newline := ""
slash := "\"
tab := " "
unicode-codepoint := "š¤"
The unicode character escape sequence
\u{ā¦}
1.36.0
accepts up to
six hex digits.
Strings may contain line breaks:
single
:=
'
hello
'
double
:=
"
goodbye
"
Single-quoted strings do not recognize escape sequences:
escapes
:=
'
\t\n\r\"\\'
$
just --evaluate
escapes := "\t\n\r\"\\"
Indented versions of both single- and double-quoted strings, delimited by
triple single- or double-quotes, are supported. Indented string lines are
stripped of a leading line break, and leading whitespace common to all
non-blank lines:
# this string will evaluate to `foo\nbar\n`
x
:=
'''
foo
bar
'''
# this string will evaluate to `abc\n wuv\nxyz\n`
y
:=
"""
abc
wuv
xyz
"""
Similar to unindented strings, indented double-quoted strings process escape
sequences, and indented single-quoted strings ignore escape sequences. Escape
sequence processing takes place after unindentation. The unindentation
algorithm does not take escape-sequence produced whitespace or newlines into
account.
Shell-expanded strings
Strings prefixed with
x
are shell expanded
1.27.0
:
foobar
:=
x
'
~/$FOO/${BAR}'
Value
Replacement
$VAR
value of environment variable
VAR
${VAR}
value of environment variable
VAR
${VAR:-DEFAULT}
value of environment variable
VAR
, or
DEFAULT
if
VAR
is not set
Leading
~
path to current user's home directory
Leading
~USER
path to
USER
's home directory
This expansion is performed at compile time, so variables from
.env
files and
exported
just
variables cannot be used. However, this allows shell expanded
strings to be used in places like settings and import paths, which cannot
depend on
just
variables and
.env
files.
Format strings
Strings prefixed with
f
are format strings
1.44.0
:
name
:=
"
world"
message
:=
f
'
Hello,
{{
name
}}
!'
Format strings may contain interpolations delimited with
{{ā¦}}
that contain
expressions. Format strings evaluate to the concatenated string fragments and
evaluated expressions.
Use
{{{{
to include a literal
{{
in a format string:
foo
:=
f
'
I {{{{LOVE} curly braces!'
Sigils
Commands in linewise recipes may be prefixed with any combination of the sigils
-
,
@
, and
?
.
The
@
sigil toggles command echoing:
foo
:
@
echo
"
This line won't be echoed!"
echo
"
This line will be echoed!"
@
bar
:
@
echo
"
This line will be echoed!"
echo
"
This line won't be echoed!"
The
-
sigil cause recipe execution to continue even if the command returns a
nonzero exit status:
# execution will continue, even if bar doesn't exist
foo
:
-
rmdir bar
mkdir bar
echo
'
so much good stuff'
> bar
/
stuff.txt
The
?
sigil
1.47.0
causes the current recipe to stop executing if
the command exits with status code
1
, however execution of other recipes will
continue. Exit status
0
causes the current recipe to continue execution as
normal. All other exit codes are reserved and should not be used, as they may
be given meaning in a future version of
just
.
If the
guards
setting is unset or false,
?
sigils are ignored and instead
treated as part of the command.
set
guards
@
foo
:
bar
echo FOO
@
bar
:
?[[ -f baz ]]
echo BAR
$
just foo
FOO
$
touch baz
$
just foo
BAR
FOO
Functions
just
provides many built-in functions for use in expressions, including
recipe body
{{ā¦}}
substitutions, assignments, and default parameter values.
All functions ending in
_directory
can be abbreviated to
_dir
. So
home_directory()
can also be written as
home_dir()
. In addition,
invocation_directory_native()
can be abbreviated to
invocation_dir_native()
.
System Information
arch()
ā Instruction set architecture. Possible values are:
"aarch64"
,
"arm"
,
"asmjs"
,
"hexagon"
,
"mips"
,
"msp430"
,
"powerpc"
,
"powerpc64"
,
"s390x"
,
"sparc"
,
"wasm32"
,
"x86"
,
"x86_64"
, and
"xcore"
.
num_cpus()
1.15.0
- Number of logical CPUs.
os()
ā Operating system. Possible values are:
"android"
,
"bitrig"
,
"dragonfly"
,
"emscripten"
,
"freebsd"
,
"haiku"
,
"ios"
,
"linux"
,
"macos"
,
"netbsd"
,
"openbsd"
,
"solaris"
, and
"windows"
.
os_family()
ā Operating system family; possible values are:
"unix"
and
"windows"
.
For example:
system-info
:
@
echo
"
This is an
{{
arch
()
}}
machine"
.
$
just system-info
This is an x86_64 machine
The
os_family()
function can be used to create cross-platform
justfile
s
that work on various operating systems. For an example, see
cross-platform.just
file.
External Commands
shell(command, args...)
1.27.0
returns the standard output of shell script
command
with zero or more positional arguments
args
. The shell used to
interpret
command
is the same shell that is used to evaluate recipe lines,
and can be changed with
set shell := [ā¦]
.
command
is passed as the first argument, so if the command is
'echo $@'
,
the full command line, with the default shell command
sh -cu
and
args
'foo'
and
'bar'
will be:
'sh' '-cu' 'echo $@' 'echo $@' 'foo' 'bar'
This is so that
$@
works as expected, and
$1
refers to the first
argument.
$@
does not include the first positional argument, which is
expected to be the name of the program being run.
# arguments can be variables or expressions
file
:=
'
/sys/class/power_supply/BAT0/status'
bat0stat
:=
shell
(
'
cat $1'
, file)
# commands can be variables or expressions
command
:=
'
wc -l'
output
:=
shell
(command
+
'
"$1"'
,
'
main.c'
)
# arguments referenced by the shell command must be used
empty
:=
shell
(
'
echo'
,
'
foo'
)
full
:=
shell
(
'
echo $1'
,
'
foo'
)
error
:=
shell
(
'
echo $1'
)
# Using python as the shell. Since `python -c` sets `sys.argv[0]` to `'-c'`,
# the first "real" positional argument will be `sys.argv[2]`.
set
shell
:=
[
"
python3"
,
"
-c"
]
olleh
:=
shell
(
'
import sys; print(sys.argv[2][::-1])'
,
'
hello'
)
Environment Variables
env(key)
1.15.0
ā Retrieves the environment variable with name
key
, aborting
if it is not present.
home_dir
:=
env
(
'
HOME'
)
test
:
echo
"
{{
home_dir
}}
"
$
just
/home/user1
env(key, default)
1.15.0
ā Retrieves the environment variable with
name
key
, returning
default
if it is not present.
env_var(key)
ā Deprecated alias for
env(key)
.
env_var_or_default(key, default)
ā Deprecated alias for
env(key, default)
.
A default can be substituted for an empty environment variable value with the
||
operator, currently unstable:
set
unstable
foo
:=
env
(
'
FOO'
,
'
'
)
||
'
DEFAULT_VALUE'
Executables
require(name)
1.39.0
ā Search directories in the
PATH
environment variable for the executable
name
and return its full path, or
halt with an error if no executable with
name
exists.
bash
:=
require
(
"
bash"
)
@
test
:
echo
"
bash: '
{{
bash
}}
'"
$
just
bash: '/bin/bash'
which(name)
1.39.0
ā Search directories in the
PATH
environment
variable for the executable
name
and return its full path, or the empty
string if no executable with
name
exists. Currently unstable.
set
unstable
bosh
:=
which
(
"
bosh"
)
@
test
:
echo
"
bosh: '
{{
bosh
}}
'"
$
just
bosh: ''
Invocation Information
is_dependency()
- Returns the string
true
if the current recipe is being
run as a dependency of another recipe, rather than being run directly,
otherwise returns the string
false
.
Invocation Directory
invocation_directory()
- Retrieves the absolute path to the current
directory when
just
was invoked, before
just
changed it (chdir'd) prior
to executing commands. On Windows,
invocation_directory()
uses
cygpath
to
convert the invocation directory to a Cygwin-compatible
/
-separated path.
Use
invocation_directory_native()
to return the verbatim invocation
directory on all platforms.
For example, to call
rustfmt
on files just under the "current directory"
(from the user/invoker's perspective), use the following rule:
rustfmt
:
find
{{
invocation_directory
()
}}
-name \*.rs -exec rustfmt {} \;
Alternatively, if your command needs to be run from the current directory, you
could use (e.g.):
build
:
cd
{{
invocation_directory
()
}}
; .
/
some_script_that_needs_to_be_run_from_here
invocation_directory_native()
- Retrieves the absolute path to the current
directory when
just
was invoked, before
just
changed it (chdir'd) prior
to executing commands.
Justfile and Justfile Directory
justfile()
- Retrieves the path of the current
justfile
.
justfile_directory()
- Retrieves the path of the parent directory of the
current
justfile
.
For example, to run a command relative to the location of the current
justfile
:
script
:
{{
justfile_directory
()
}}
/
scripts
/
some_script
Source and Source Directory
source_file()
1.27.0
- Retrieves the path of the current source file.
source_directory()
1.27.0
- Retrieves the path of the parent directory of the
current source file.
source_file()
and
source_directory()
behave the same as
justfile()
and
justfile_directory()
in the root
justfile
, but will return the path and
directory, respectively, of the current
import
or
mod
source file when
called from within an import or submodule.
Module and Module Directory
module_file()
- Retrieves the path of the current module file.
module_directory()
- Retrieves the path of the parent directory of the
current module file.
module_file()
and
module_directory()
behave the same as
justfile()
and
justfile_directory()
in the root
justfile
, but will return the path and
directory, respectively, of the current
mod
source file when called from
within submodule.
Just Executable
just_executable()
- Absolute path to the
just
executable.
For example:
executable
:
@
echo The executable is at:
{{
just_executable
()
}}
$
just
The executable is at: /bin/just
Just Process ID
just_pid()
- Process ID of the
just
executable.
For example:
pid
:
@
echo The process ID is:
{{
just_pid
()
}}
$
just
The process ID is: 420
String Manipulation
append(suffix, s)
1.27.0
Append
suffix
to whitespace-separated
strings in
s
.
append('/src', 'foo bar baz')
ā
'foo/src bar/src baz/src'
prepend(prefix, s)
1.27.0
Prepend
prefix
to
whitespace-separated strings in
s
.
prepend('src/', 'foo bar baz')
ā
'src/foo src/bar src/baz'
encode_uri_component(s)
1.27.0
- Percent-encode characters in
s
except
[A-Za-z0-9_.!~*'()-]
, matching the behavior of the
JavaScript
encodeURIComponent
function
.
quote(s)
- Replace all single quotes with
'\''
and prepend and append
single quotes to
s
. This is sufficient to escape special characters for
many shells, including most Bourne shell descendants.
replace(s, from, to)
- Replace all occurrences of
from
in
s
with
to
.
replace_regex(s, regex, replacement)
- Replace all occurrences of
regex
in
s
with
replacement
. Regular expressions are provided by the
Rust
regex
crate
. See the
syntax documentation
for usage
examples. Capture groups are supported. The
replacement
string uses
Replacement string syntax
.
trim(s)
- Remove leading and trailing whitespace from
s
.
trim_end(s)
- Remove trailing whitespace from
s
.
trim_end_match(s, substring)
- Remove suffix of
s
matching
substring
.
trim_end_matches(s, substring)
- Repeatedly remove suffixes of
s
matching
substring
.
trim_start(s)
- Remove leading whitespace from
s
.
trim_start_match(s, substring)
- Remove prefix of
s
matching
substring
.
trim_start_matches(s, substring)
- Repeatedly remove prefixes of
s
matching
substring
.
Case Conversion
capitalize(s)
1.7.0
- Convert first character of
s
to uppercase
and the rest to lowercase.
kebabcase(s)
1.7.0
- Convert
s
to
kebab-case
.
lowercamelcase(s)
1.7.0
- Convert
s
to
lowerCamelCase
.
lowercase(s)
- Convert
s
to lowercase.
shoutykebabcase(s)
1.7.0
- Convert
s
to
SHOUTY-KEBAB-CASE
.
shoutysnakecase(s)
1.7.0
- Convert
s
to
SHOUTY_SNAKE_CASE
.
snakecase(s)
1.7.0
- Convert
s
to
snake_case
.
titlecase(s)
1.7.0
- Convert
s
to
Title Case
.
uppercamelcase(s)
1.7.0
- Convert
s
to
UpperCamelCase
.
uppercase(s)
- Convert
s
to uppercase.
Path Manipulation
Fallible
absolute_path(path)
- Absolute path to relative
path
in the working
directory.
absolute_path("./bar.txt")
in directory
/foo
is
/foo/bar.txt
.
canonicalize(path)
1.24.0
- Canonicalize
path
by resolving symlinks and removing
.
,
..
, and extra
/
s where possible.
extension(path)
- Extension of
path
.
extension("/foo/bar.txt")
is
txt
.
file_name(path)
- File name of
path
with any leading directory components
removed.
file_name("/foo/bar.txt")
is
bar.txt
.
file_stem(path)
- File name of
path
without extension.
file_stem("/foo/bar.txt")
is
bar
.
parent_directory(path)
- Parent directory of
path
.
parent_directory("/foo/bar.txt")
is
/foo
.
without_extension(path)
-
path
without extension.
without_extension("/foo/bar.txt")
is
/foo/bar
.
These functions can fail, for example if a path does not have an extension,
which will halt execution.
Infallible
clean(path)
- Simplify
path
by removing extra path separators,
intermediate
.
components, and
..
where possible.
clean("foo//bar")
is
foo/bar
,
clean("foo/..")
is
.
,
clean("foo/./bar")
is
foo/bar
.
join(a, bā¦)
-
This function uses
/
on Unix and
\
on Windows, which can
be lead to unwanted behavior. The
/
operator, e.g.,
a / b
, which always
uses
/
, should be considered as a replacement unless
\
s are specifically
desired on Windows.
Join path
a
with path
b
.
join("foo/bar", "baz")
is
foo/bar/baz
. Accepts two or more arguments.
Filesystem Access
path_exists(path)
- Returns the string
true
if the path points at an
existing entity and the string
false
otherwise. Traverses symbolic links,
and returns the string
false
if the path is inaccessible or points to a
broken symlink.
read(path)
1.39.0
- Returns the content of file at
path
as
string.
Error Reporting
error(message)
- Abort execution and report error
message
to user.
UUID and Hash Generation
blake3(string)
1.25.0
- Return
BLAKE3
hash of
string
as hexadecimal string.
blake3_file(path)
1.25.0
- Return
BLAKE3
hash of file at
path
as hexadecimal
string.
sha256(string)
- Return the SHA-256 hash of
string
as hexadecimal string.
sha256_file(path)
- Return SHA-256 hash of file at
path
as hexadecimal
string.
uuid()
- Generate a random version 4 UUID.
Random
choose(n, alphabet)
1.27.0
- Generate a string of
n
randomly
selected characters from
alphabet
, which may not contain repeated
characters. For example,
choose('64', HEX)
will generate a random
64-character lowercase hex string.
Datetime
datetime(format)
1.30.0
- Return local time with
format
.
datetime_utc(format)
1.30.0
- Return UTC time with
format
.
The arguments to
datetime
and
datetime_utc
are
strftime
-style format
strings, see the
chrono
library docs
for details.
Semantic Versions
semver_matches(version, requirement)
1.16.0
- Check whether a
semantic
version
, e.g.,
"0.1.0"
matches a
requirement
, e.g.,
">=0.1.0"
, returning the string
"true"
if so and the
string
"false"
otherwise.
Style
style(name)
1.37.0
- Return a named terminal display attribute
escape sequence used by
just
. Unlike terminal display attribute escape
sequence constants, which contain standard colors and styles,
style(name)
returns an escape sequence used by
just
itself, and can be used to make
recipe output match
just
's own output.
Recognized values for
name
are
'command'
, for echoed recipe lines,
error
, and
warning
.
For example, to style an error message:
scary
:
@
echo
'
{{
style
(
"
error"
)
}}
OH NO
{{
NORMAL
}}
'
User Directories
These functions
1.23.0
return paths to user-specific directories for
things like configuration, data, caches, executables, and the user's home
directory.
On Unix, these functions follow the
XDG Base Directory Specification
.
On MacOS and Windows, these functions return the system-specified user-specific
directories. For example,
cache_directory()
returns
~/Library/Caches
on
MacOS and
{FOLDERID_LocalAppData}
on Windows.
See the
dirs
crate for more
details.
cache_directory()
- The user-specific cache directory.
config_directory()
- The user-specific configuration directory.
config_local_directory()
- The local user-specific configuration directory.
data_directory()
- The user-specific data directory.
data_local_directory()
- The local user-specific data directory.
executable_directory()
- The user-specific executable directory.
home_directory()
- The user's home directory.
If you would like to use XDG base directories on all platforms you can use the
env(ā¦)
function with the appropriate environment variable and fallback,
although note that the XDG specification requires ignoring non-absolute paths,
so for full compatibility with spec-compliant applications, you would need to
do:
xdg_config_dir
:=
if
env
(
'
XDG_CONFIG_HOME'
,
'
'
)
=~
'
^/'
{
env
(
'
XDG_CONFIG_HOME'
)
}
else
{
home_directory
()
/
'
.config'
}
Constants
A number of constants are predefined:
Name
Value
Value on Windows
HEX
1.27.0
"0123456789abcdef"
HEXLOWER
1.27.0
"0123456789abcdef"
HEXUPPER
1.27.0
"0123456789ABCDEF"
PATH_SEP
1.41.0
"/"
"\"
PATH_VAR_SEP
1.41.0
":"
";"
CLEAR
1.37.0
"\ec"
NORMAL
1.37.0
"\e[0m"
BOLD
1.37.0
"\e[1m"
ITALIC
1.37.0
"\e[3m"
UNDERLINE
1.37.0
"\e[4m"
INVERT
1.37.0
"\e[7m"
HIDE
1.37.0
"\e[8m"
STRIKETHROUGH
1.37.0
"\e[9m"
BLACK
1.37.0
"\e[30m"
RED
1.37.0
"\e[31m"
GREEN
1.37.0
"\e[32m"
YELLOW
1.37.0
"\e[33m"
BLUE
1.37.0
"\e[34m"
MAGENTA
1.37.0
"\e[35m"
CYAN
1.37.0
"\e[36m"
WHITE
1.37.0
"\e[37m"
BG_BLACK
1.37.0
"\e[40m"
BG_RED
1.37.0
"\e[41m"
BG_GREEN
1.37.0
"\e[42m"
BG_YELLOW
1.37.0
"\e[43m"
BG_BLUE
1.37.0
"\e[44m"
BG_MAGENTA
1.37.0
"\e[45m"
BG_CYAN
1.37.0
"\e[46m"
BG_WHITE
1.37.0
"\e[47m"
@
foo
:
echo
{{
HEX
}}
$
just foo
0123456789abcdef
Constants starting with
\e
are
ANSI escape sequences
.
CLEAR
clears the screen, similar to the
clear
command. The rest are of the
form
\e[Nm
, where
N
is an integer, and set terminal display attributes.
Terminal display attribute escape sequences can be combined, for example text
weight
BOLD
, text style
STRIKETHROUGH
, foreground color
CYAN
, and
background color
BG_BLUE
. They should be followed by
NORMAL
, to reset the
terminal back to normal.
Escape sequences should be quoted, since
[
is treated as a special character
by some shells.
@
foo
:
echo
'
{{
BOLD
+
STRIKETHROUGH
+
CYAN
+
BG_BLUE
}}
Hi!
{{
NORMAL
}}
'
Attributes
Recipes,
mod
statements, and aliases may be annotated with attributes that
change their behavior.
Name
Type
Description
[arg(ARG, help="HELP")]
1.46.0
recipe
Print help string
HELP
for
ARG
in usage messages.
[arg(ARG, long="LONG")]
1.46.0
recipe
Require values of argument
ARG
to be passed as
--LONG
option.
[arg(ARG, pattern="PATTERN")]
1.45.0
recipe
Require values of argument
ARG
to match regular expression
PATTERN
.
[arg(ARG, short="S")]
1.46.0
recipe
Require values of argument
ARG
to be passed as short
-S
option.
[arg(ARG, value="VALUE")]
1.46.0
recipe
Makes option
ARG
a flag which does not take a value.
[confirm(PROMPT)]
1.23.0
recipe
Require confirmation prior to executing recipe with a custom prompt.
[confirm]
1.17.0
recipe
Require confirmation prior to executing recipe.
[default]
1.43.0
recipe
Use recipe as module's default recipe.
[doc(DOC)]
1.27.0
module, recipe
Set recipe or module's
documentation comment
to
DOC
.
[dragonfly]
1.47.0
recipe
Enable recipe on DragonFly BSD.
[env(ENV_VAR, VALUE)]
1.47.0
recipe
Set environment variables for recipe.
[extension(EXT)]
1.32.0
recipe
Set shebang recipe script's file extension to
EXT
.
EXT
should include a period if one is desired.
[freebsd]
1.47.0
recipe
Enable recipe on FreeBSD.
[group(NAME)]
1.27.0
module, recipe
Put recipe or module in
group
NAME
.
[linux]
1.8.0
recipe
Enable recipe on Linux.
[macos]
1.8.0
recipe
Enable recipe on MacOS.
[metadata(METADATA)]
1.42.0
recipe
Attach
METADATA
to recipe.
[netbsd]
1.47.0
recipe
Enable recipe on NetBSD.
[no-cd]
1.9.0
recipe
Don't change directory before executing recipe.
[no-exit-message]
1.7.0
recipe
Don't print an error message if recipe fails.
[no-quiet]
1.23.0
recipe
Override globally quiet recipes and always echo out the recipe.
[openbsd]
1.38.0
recipe
Enable recipe on OpenBSD.
[parallel]
1.42.0
recipe
Run this recipe's dependencies in parallel.
[positional-arguments]
1.29.0
recipe
Turn on
positional arguments
for this recipe.
[private]
1.10.0
alias, recipe
Make recipe, alias, or variable private. See
Private Recipes
.
[script(COMMAND)]
1.32.0
recipe
Execute recipe as a script interpreted by
COMMAND
. See
script recipes
for more details.
[script]
1.33.0
recipe
Execute recipe as script. See
script recipes
for more details.
[unix]
1.8.0
recipe
Enable recipe on Unixes. (Includes MacOS).
[windows]
1.8.0
recipe
Enable recipe on Windows.
[working-directory(PATH)]
1.38.0
recipe
Set recipe working directory.
PATH
may be relative or absolute. If relative, it is interpreted relative to the default working directory.
A recipe can have multiple attributes, either on multiple lines:
[
no-cd
]
[
private
]
foo
:
echo
"
foo"
Or separated by commas on a single line
1.14.0
:
[
no-cd
,
private
]
foo
:
echo
"
foo"
Attributes with a single argument may be written with a colon:
[
group
:
'
bar'
]
foo
:
Enabling and Disabling Recipes
The
[linux]
,
[macos]
,
[unix]
, and
[windows]
attributes
1.8.0
are configuration attributes. By default, recipes are always enabled. A recipe
with one or more configuration attributes will only be enabled when one or more
of those configurations is active.
This can be used to write
justfile
s that behave differently depending on
which operating system they run on. The
run
recipe in this
justfile
will
compile and run
main.c
, using a different C compiler and using the correct
output binary name for that compiler depending on the operating system:
[
unix
]
run
:
cc main.c
.
/
a.out
[
windows
]
run
:
cl main.c
main.exe
Disabling Changing Directory
just
normally executes recipes with the current directory set to the
directory that contains the
justfile
. This can be disabled using the
[no-cd]
attribute
1.9.0
. This can be used to create recipes which
use paths relative to the invocation directory, or which operate on the current
directory.
For example, this
commit
recipe:
[
no-cd
]
commit
file
:
git add
{{
file
}}
git commit
Can be used with paths that are relative to the current directory, because
[no-cd]
prevents
just
from changing the current directory when executing
commit
.
Requiring Confirmation for Recipes
just
normally executes all recipes unless there is an error. The
[confirm]
attribute
1.17.0
allows recipes require confirmation in the terminal
prior to running. This can be overridden by passing
--yes
to
just
, which
will automatically confirm any recipes marked by this attribute.
Recipes dependent on a recipe that requires confirmation will not be run if the
relied upon recipe is not confirmed, as well as recipes passed after any recipe
that requires confirmation.
[
confirm
]
delete-all
:
rm -rf *
Custom Confirmation Prompt
The default confirmation prompt can be overridden with
[confirm(PROMPT)]
1.23.0
:
[
confirm
(
"
Are you sure you want to delete everything?"
)]
delete-everything
:
rm -rf *
Metadata
Metadata in the form of lists of strings may be attached to recipes with the
[metadata(METADATA)]
attribute
1.42.0
:
[
metadata
(
"
hello"
,
"
goodbye"
)]
foo
:
Metadata can be read using
just --dump --dump-format json
.
Groups
Recipes and modules may be annotated with one or more group names:
[
group
(
'
lint'
)]
js-lint
:
echo
'
Running JS linterā¦'
[
group
(
'
rust recipes'
)]
[
group
(
'
lint'
)]
rust-lint
:
echo
'
Running Rust linterā¦'
[
group
(
'
lint'
)]
cpp-lint
:
echo
'
Running C++ linterā¦'
# not in any group
email-everyone
:
echo
'
Sending mass emailā¦'
Recipes are listed by group:
$ just --list
Available recipes:
email-everyone # not in any group
[lint]
cpp-lint
js-lint
rust-lint
[rust recipes]
rust-lint
just --list --unsorted
prints recipes in their justfile order within each group:
$ just --list --unsorted
Available recipes:
(no group)
email-everyone # not in any group
[lint]
js-lint
rust-lint
cpp-lint
[rust recipes]
rust-lint
Groups can be listed with
--groups
:
$ just --groups
Recipe groups:
lint
rust recipes
Use
just --groups --unsorted
to print groups in their justfile order.
Command Evaluation Using Backticks
Backticks can be used to store the result of commands:
localhost
:=
`
dumpinterfaces
|
cut -d: -f2
|
sed
'
s/\/.*//
'
|
sed
'
s/ //g
'
`
serve
:
.
/
serve
{{
localhost
}}
8080
Indented backticks, delimited by three backticks, are de-indented in the same
manner as indented strings:
# This backtick evaluates the command `echo foo\necho bar\n`, which produces the value `foo\nbar\n`.
stuff
:=
```
echo
foo
echo
bar
```
See the
Strings
section for details on unindenting.
Backticks may not start with
#!
. This syntax is reserved for a future
upgrade.
The
shell(ā¦)
function
provides a more general mechanism
to invoke external commands, including the ability to execute the contents of a
variable as a command, and to pass arguments to a command.
Conditional Expressions
if
/
else
expressions evaluate different branches depending on if two
expressions evaluate to the same value:
foo
:=
if
"
2"
==
"
2"
{
"
Good!"
}
else
{
"
1984"
}
bar
:
@
echo
"
{{
foo
}}
"
$
just bar
Good!
It is also possible to test for inequality:
foo
:=
if
"
hello"
!=
"
goodbye"
{
"
xyz"
}
else
{
"
abc"
}
bar
:
@
echo
{{
foo
}}
$
just bar
xyz
And match against regular expressions:
foo
:=
if
"
hello"
=~
'
hel+o'
{
"
match"
}
else
{
"
mismatch"
}
bar
:
@
echo
{{
foo
}}
$
just bar
match
Regular expressions are provided by the
regex crate
, whose syntax is documented on
docs.rs
. Since regular expressions
commonly use backslash escape sequences, consider using single-quoted string
literals, which will pass slashes to the regex parser unmolested.
Conditional expressions short-circuit, which means they only evaluate one of
their branches. This can be used to make sure that backtick expressions don't
run when they shouldn't.
foo
:=
if
env_var
(
"
RELEASE"
)
==
"
true"
{
`
get-something-from-release-database
`
}
else
{
"
dummy-value"
}
Conditionals can be used inside of recipes:
bar
foo
:
echo
{{
if
foo
==
"
bar"
{
"
hello"
}
else
{
"
goodbye"
}
}}
Multiple conditionals can be chained:
foo
:=
if
"
hello"
==
"
goodbye"
{
"
xyz"
}
else
if
"
a"
==
"
a"
{
"
abc"
}
else
{
"
123"
}
bar
:
@
echo
{{
foo
}}
$
just bar
abc
Stopping execution with error
Execution can be halted with the
error
function. For example:
foo
:=
if
"
hello"
==
"
goodbye"
{
"
xyz"
}
else
if
"
a"
==
"
b"
{
"
abc"
}
else
{
error
(
"
123"
)
}
Which produce the following error when run:
error: Call to function `error` failed: 123
|
16 | error("123")
Setting Variables from the Command Line
Variables can be overridden from the command line.
os
:=
"
linux"
test
:
build
.
/
test --test
{{
os
}}
build
:
.
/
build
{{
os
}}
$
just
./build linux
./test --test linux
Any number of arguments of the form
NAME=VALUE
can be passed before recipes:
$
just os=plan9
./build plan9
./test --test plan9
Or you can use the
--set
flag:
$
just --set os bsd
./build bsd
./test --test bsd
Variables in submodules can be overridden using the
::
-separated path to the
variable. A variable named
bar
in a submodule named
foo
may be overridden
with
foo::bar=VALUE
or
--set foo::bar VALUE
.
Getting and Setting Environment Variables
Exporting
just
Variables
Assignments prefixed with the
export
keyword will be exported to recipes as
environment variables:
export
RUST_BACKTRACE
:=
"
1"
test
:
# will print a stack trace if it crashes
cargo test
Parameters prefixed with a
$
will be exported as environment variables:
test
$
RUST_BACKTRACE
=
"
1"
:
# will print a stack trace if it crashes
cargo test
You can also use the
[env(NAME, VALUE)]
attribute to export environment
variables to a specific recipe:
[
env
(
"
RUST_BACKTRACE"
,
"
1"
)]
test
:
# will print a stack trace if it crashes
cargo test
Exported variables and parameters are not exported to backticks in the same scope.
export
WORLD
:=
"
world"
# This backtick will fail with "WORLD: unbound variable"
BAR
:=
`
echo hello
$WORLD
`
# Running `just a foo` will fail with "A: unbound variable"
a
$
A
$
B
=
`
echo
$A
`
:
echo $A $B
When
export
is set, all
just
variables are exported as environment
variables.
Unexporting Environment Variables
Environment variables can be unexported with the
unexport keyword
1.29.0
:
unexport
FOO
@
foo
:
echo $FOO
$ export FOO=bar
$ just foo
sh: FOO: unbound variable
Getting Environment Variables from the environment
Environment variables from the environment are passed automatically to the
recipes.
print_home_folder
:
echo
"
HOME is: '${HOME}'"
$
just
HOME is '/home/myuser'
Setting
just
Variables from Environment Variables
Environment variables can be propagated to
just
variables using the
env()
function.
See
environment-variables
.
Recipe Parameters
Recipes may have parameters. Here recipe
build
has a parameter called
target
:
build
target
:
@
echo
'
Building
{{
target
}}
ā¦'
cd
{{
target
}}
&&
make
To pass arguments on the command line, put them after the recipe name:
$
just build my-awesome-project
Building my-awesome-projectā¦
cd my-awesome-project && make
To pass arguments to a dependency, put the dependency in parentheses along with
the arguments:
default
:
(
build
"
main"
)
build
target
:
@
echo
'
Building
{{
target
}}
ā¦'
cd
{{
target
}}
&&
make
Variables can also be passed as arguments to dependencies:
target
:=
"
main"
_
build
version
:
@
echo
'
Building
{{
version
}}
ā¦'
cd
{{
version
}}
&&
make
build
:
(
_build
target)
A command's arguments can be passed to dependency by putting the dependency in
parentheses along with the arguments:
build
target
:
@
echo
"
Building
{{
target
}}
ā¦"
push
target
:
(
build
target)
@
echo
'
Pushing
{{
target
}}
ā¦'
Parameters may have default values:
default
:=
'
all'
test
target
tests
=
default
:
@
echo
'
Testing
{{
target
}}
:
{{
tests
}}
ā¦'
.
/
test --tests
{{
tests
}}
{{
target
}}
Parameters with default values may be omitted:
$
just
test
server
Testing server:allā¦
./test --tests all server
Or supplied:
$
just
test
server unit
Testing server:unitā¦
./test --tests unit server
Default values may be arbitrary expressions, but expressions containing the
+
,
&&
,
||
, or
/
operators must be parenthesized:
arch
:=
"
wasm"
test
triple
=
(
arch
+
"
-unknown-unknown"
)
input
=
(
arch
/
"
input.dat"
)
:
.
/
test
{{
triple
}}
The last parameter of a recipe may be variadic, indicated with either a
+
or
a
*
before the argument name:
backup
+
FILES
:
scp
{{
FILES
}}
me@server.com:
Variadic parameters prefixed with
+
accept
one or more
arguments and expand
to a string containing those arguments separated by spaces:
$
just backup FAQ.md GRAMMAR.md
scp FAQ.md GRAMMAR.md me@server.com:
FAQ.md 100% 1831 1.8KB/s 00:00
GRAMMAR.md 100% 1666 1.6KB/s 00:00
Variadic parameters prefixed with
*
accept
zero or more
arguments and
expand to a string containing those arguments separated by spaces, or an empty
string if no arguments are present:
commit
MESSAGE
*
FLAGS
:
git commit
{{
FLAGS
}}
-m
"
{{
MESSAGE
}}
"
Variadic parameters can be assigned default values. These are overridden by
arguments passed on the command line:
test
+
FLAGS
=
'
-q'
:
cargo test
{{
FLAGS
}}
{{ā¦}}
substitutions may need to be quoted if they contain spaces. For
example, if you have the following recipe:
search
QUERY
:
lynx https:
//
www.google.com
/
?q=
{{
QUERY
}}
And you type:
$
just search
"
cat toupee
"
just
will run the command
lynx https://www.google.com/?q=cat toupee
, which
will get parsed by
sh
as
lynx
,
https://www.google.com/?q=cat
, and
toupee
, and not the intended
lynx
and
https://www.google.com/?q=cat toupee
.
You can fix this by adding quotes:
search
QUERY
:
lynx
'
https://www.google.com/?q=
{{
QUERY
}}
'
Parameters prefixed with a
$
will be exported as environment variables:
foo
$
bar
:
echo $bar
Parameters may be constrained to match regular expression patterns using the
[arg("name", pattern="pattern")]
attribute
1.45.0
:
[
arg
(
'
n'
, pattern=
'
\d+'
)]
double
n
:
echo $(({{n}} *
2
))
A leading
^
and trailing
$
are added to the pattern, so it must match the
entire argument value.
You may constrain the pattern to a number of alternatives using the
|
operator:
[
arg
(
'
flag'
, pattern=
'
--help|--version'
)]
info
flag
:
just
{{
flag
}}
Regular expressions are provided by the
Rust
regex
crate
. See the
syntax documentation
for usage
examples.
Usage information for a recipe may be printed with the
--usage
subcommand
1.46.0
:
$
just --usage foo
Usage: just foo [OPTIONS] bar
Arguments:
bar
Help strings may be added to arguments using the
[arg(ARG, help=HELP)]
attribute:
[
arg
(
"
bar"
, help=
"
hello"
)]
foo
bar
:
$
just --usage foo
Usage: just foo bar
Arguments:
bar hello
Recipe Flags and Options
Recipe parameters are positional by default.
In this
justfile
:
@
foo
bar
:
echo bar=
{{
bar
}}
The parameter
bar
is positional:
$
just foo hello
bar=hello
The
[arg(ARG, long=OPTION)]
1.46.0
attribute can be used to make a
parameter a long option.
In this
justfile
:
[
arg
(
"
bar"
, long=
"
bar"
)]
foo
bar
:
The parameter
bar
is given with the
--bar
option:
$
just foo --bar hello
bar=hello
Options may also be passed with
--name=value
syntax:
$
just foo --bar=hello
bar=hello
The value of
long
can be omitted, in which case the option defaults to the
name of the parameter:
[
arg
(
"
bar"
, long)]
foo
bar
:
The
[arg(ARG, short=OPTION)]
1.46.0
attribute can be used to make a
parameter a short option.
In this
justfile
:
[
arg
(
"
bar"
, short=
"
b"
)]
foo
bar
:
The parameter
bar
is given with the
-b
option:
$
just foo -b hello
bar=hello
If a parameter has both a long and short option, it may be passed using either.
Variadic
*
and
+
parameters cannot be options.
The
[arg(ARG, value=VALUE, ā¦)]
1.46.0
attribute can be used with
long
or
short
to make a parameter a flag which does not take a value.
In this
justfile
:
[
arg
(
"
bar"
, long=
"
bar"
, value=
"
hello"
)]
foo
bar
:
The parameter
bar
is given with the
--bar
option, but does not take a
value, and instead takes the value given in the
[arg]
attribute:
$
just foo --bar
bar=hello
This is useful for unconditionally requiring a flag like
--force
on dangerous
commands.
A flag is optional if its parameter has a default:
[
arg
(
"
bar"
, long=
"
bar"
, value=
"
hello"
)]
foo
bar
=
"
goodbye"
:
Causing it to receive the default when not passed in the invocation:
$
just foo
bar=goodbye
Dependencies
Dependencies run before recipes that depend on them:
a
:
b
@
echo A
b
:
@
echo B
$ just a
B
A
In a given invocation of
just
, a recipe with the same arguments will only run
once, regardless of how many times it appears in the command-line invocation,
or how many times it appears as a dependency:
a
:
@
echo A
b
:
a
@
echo B
c
:
a
@
echo C
$ just a a a a a
A
$ just b c
A
B
C
Multiple recipes may depend on a recipe that performs some kind of setup, and
when those recipes run, that setup will only be performed once:
build
:
cc main.c
test-foo
:
build
.
/
a.out --test foo
test-bar
:
build
.
/
a.out --test bar
$ just test-foo test-bar
cc main.c
./a.out --test foo
./a.out --test bar
Recipes in a given run are only skipped when they receive the same arguments:
build
:
cc main.c
test
TEST
:
build
.
/
a.out --test
{{
TEST
}}
$ just test foo test bar
cc main.c
./a.out --test foo
./a.out --test bar
Running Recipes at the End of a Recipe
Normal dependencies of a recipes always run before a recipe starts. That is to
say, the dependee always runs before the depender. These dependencies are
called "prior dependencies".
A recipe can also have subsequent dependencies, which run immediately after the
recipe and are introduced with an
&&
:
a
:
echo
'
A!'
b
:
a
&&
c
d
echo
'
B!'
c
:
echo
'
C!'
d
:
echo
'
D!'
ā¦running
b
prints:
$
just b
echo 'A!'
A!
echo 'B!'
B!
echo 'C!'
C!
echo 'D!'
D!
Running Recipes in the Middle of a Recipe
just
doesn't support running recipes in the middle of another recipe, but you
can call
just
recursively in the middle of a recipe. Given the following
justfile
:
a
:
echo
'
A!'
b
:
a
echo
'
B start!'
just c
echo
'
B end!'
c
:
echo
'
C!'
ā¦running
b
prints:
$
just b
echo 'A!'
A!
echo 'B start!'
B start!
echo 'C!'
C!
echo 'B end!'
B end!
This has limitations, since recipe
c
is run with an entirely new invocation
of
just
: Assignments will be recalculated, dependencies might run twice, and
command line arguments will not be propagated to the child
just
process.
Shebang Recipes
Recipes that start with
#!
are called shebang recipes, and are executed by
saving the recipe body to a file and running it. This lets you write recipes in
different languages:
polyglot
:
python
js
perl
sh
ruby
nu
python
:
#!/usr/bin/env python3
print(
'
Hello from python!'
)
js
:
#!/usr/bin/env node
console.log(
'
Greetings from JavaScript!'
)
perl
:
#!/usr/bin/env perl
print
"
Larry Wall says Hi!
\n
"
;
sh
:
#!/usr/bin/env sh
hello=
'
Yo'
echo
"
$hello from a shell script!"
nu
:
#!
/
usr
/
bin
/
env
nu
let hello =
'
Hola'
echo $
"
($hello) from a nushell script!"
ruby
:
#!/usr/bin/env ruby
puts
"
Hello from ruby!"
$
just polyglot
Hello from python!
Greetings from JavaScript!
Larry Wall says Hi!
Yo from a shell script!
Hola from a nushell script!
Hello from ruby!
On Unix-like operating systems, including Linux and MacOS, shebang recipes are
executed by saving the recipe body to a file in a temporary directory, marking
the file as executable, and executing it. The OS then parses the shebang line
into a command line and invokes it, including the path to the file. For
example, if a recipe starts with
#!/usr/bin/env bash
, the final command that
the OS runs will be something like
/usr/bin/env bash /tmp/PATH_TO_SAVED_RECIPE_BODY
.
Shebang line splitting is operating system dependent. When passing a command
with arguments, you may need to tell
env
to split them explicitly by using
the
-S
flag:
run
:
#!/usr/bin/env -S bash -x
ls
Windows does not support shebang lines. On Windows,
just
splits the shebang
line into a command and arguments, saves the recipe body to a file, and invokes
the split command and arguments, adding the path to the saved recipe body as
the final argument. For example, on Windows, if a recipe starts with
#! py
,
the final command the OS runs will be something like
py C:\Temp\PATH_TO_SAVED_RECIPE_BODY
.
Script Recipes
Recipes with a
[script(COMMAND)]
1.32.0
attribute are run as
scripts interpreted by
COMMAND
. This avoids some of the issues with shebang
recipes, such as the use of
cygpath
on Windows, the need to use
/usr/bin/env
, inconsistencies in shebang line splitting across Unix OSs, and
requiring a temporary directory from which files can be executed.
Recipes with an empty
[script]
attribute are executed with the value of
set script-interpreter := [ā¦]
1.33.0
, defaulting to
sh -eu
, and
not
the value of
set shell
.
The body of the recipe is evaluated, written to disk in the temporary
directory, and run by passing its path as an argument to
COMMAND
.
Script and Shebang Recipe Temporary Files
Both script and shebang recipes write the recipe body to a temporary file for
execution. Script recipes execute that file by passing it to a command, while
shebang recipes execute the file directly. Shebang recipe execution will fail
if the filesystem containing the temporary file is mounted with
noexec
or is
otherwise non-executable.
The directory that
just
writes temporary files to may be configured in a
number of ways, from highest to lowest precedence:
Globally with the
--tempdir
command-line option or the
JUST_TEMPDIR
environment variable
1.41.0
.
On a per-module basis with the
tempdir
setting.
Globally on Linux with the
XDG_RUNTIME_DIR
environment variable.
Falling back to the directory returned by
std::env::temp_dir
.
Python Recipes with
uv
uv
is an excellent cross-platform python
project manager, written in Rust.
Using the
[script]
attribute and
script-interpreter
setting,
just
can
easily be configured to run Python recipes with
uv
:
set
script-interpreter
:=
[
'
uv'
,
'
run'
,
'
--script'
]
[
script
]
hello
:
print(
"
Hello from Python!"
)
[
script
]
goodbye
:
# /// script
# requires-python = ">=3.11"
# dependencies=["sh"]
# ///
import sh
print(sh.echo(
"
Goodbye from Python!"
), end=
'
'
)
Of course, a shebang also works:
hello
:
#!
/
usr
/
bin
/
env
-S uv run --script
print(
"
Hello from Python!"
)
Safer Bash Shebang Recipes
If you're writing a
bash
shebang recipe, consider adding
set -euxo pipefail
:
foo
:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euxo pipefail
hello=
'
Yo'
echo
"
$hello from Bash!"
It isn't strictly necessary, but
set -euxo pipefail
turns on a few useful
features that make
bash
shebang recipes behave more like normal, linewise
just
recipe:
set -e
makes
bash
exit if a command fails.
set -u
makes
bash
exit if a variable is undefined.
set -x
makes
bash
print each script line before it's run.
set -o pipefail
makes
bash
exit if a command in a pipeline fails. This is
bash
-specific, so isn't turned on in normal linewise
just
recipes.
Together, these avoid a lot of shell scripting gotchas.
Shebang Recipe Execution on Windows
On Windows, shebang interpreter paths containing a
/
are translated from
Unix-style paths to Windows-style paths using
cygpath
, a utility that ships
with
Cygwin
.
For example, to execute this recipe on Windows:
echo
:
#!
/
bin
/
sh
echo
"
Hello!"
The interpreter path
/bin/sh
will be translated to a Windows-style path using
cygpath
before being executed.
If the interpreter path does not contain a
/
it will be executed without
being translated. This is useful if
cygpath
is not available, or you wish to
pass a Windows-style path to the interpreter.
Setting Variables in a Recipe
Recipe lines are interpreted by the shell, not
just
, so it's not possible to
set
just
variables in the middle of a recipe:
foo
:
x :=
"
hello"
# This doesn't work!
echo
{{
x
}}
It is possible to use shell variables, but there's another problem. Every
recipe line is run by a new shell instance, so variables set in one line won't
be set in the next:
foo
:
x=hello
&&
echo $x
# This works!
y=bye
echo $y
# This doesn't, `y` is undefined here!
The best way to work around this is to use a shebang recipe. Shebang recipe
bodies are extracted and run as scripts, so a single shell instance will run
the whole thing:
foo
:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euxo pipefail
x=hello
echo $x
Sharing Environment Variables Between Recipes
Each line of each recipe is executed by a fresh shell, so it is not possible to
share environment variables between recipes.
Using Python Virtual Environments
Some tools, like
Python's venv
,
require loading environment variables in order to work, making them challenging
to use with
just
. As a workaround, you can execute the virtual environment
binaries directly:
venv
:
[ -d foo ]
||
python3 -m venv foo
run
:
venv
.
/
foo
/
bin
/
python3 main.py
Changing the Working Directory in a Recipe
Each recipe line is executed by a new shell, so if you change the working
directory on one line, it won't have an effect on later lines:
foo
:
pwd
# This `pwd` will print the same directoryā¦
cd bar
pwd
# ā¦as this `pwd`!
There are a couple ways around this. One is to call
cd
on the same line as
the command you want to run:
foo
:
cd bar
&&
pwd
The other is to use a shebang recipe. Shebang recipe bodies are extracted and
run as scripts, so a single shell instance will run the whole thing, and thus a
cd
on one line will affect later lines, just like a shell script:
foo
:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euxo pipefail
cd bar
pwd
Indentation
Recipe lines can be indented with spaces or tabs, but not a mix of both. All of
a recipe's lines must have the same type of indentation, but different recipes
in the same
justfile
may use different indentation.
Each recipe must be indented at least one level from the
recipe-name
but
after that may be further indented.
Here's a justfile with a recipe indented with spaces, represented as
Ā·
, and
tabs, represented as
ā
.
set
windows-shell
:=
[
"
pwsh"
,
"
-NoLogo"
,
"
-NoProfileLoadTime"
,
"
-Command"
]
set
ignore-comments
list-space
directory
:
Ā·Ā·#!pwsh
Ā·Ā·foreach ($item in $(Get-ChildItem {{directory}} )) {
Ā·Ā·Ā·Ā·echo $item.Name
Ā·Ā·}
Ā·Ā·echo
"
"
# indentation nesting works even when newlines are escaped
list-tab
directory
:
ā @foreach ($item in $(Get-ChildItem {{directory}} )) { \
ā ā echo $item.Name \
ā }
ā @echo
"
"
PS
>
just list
-
space ~
Desktop
Documents
Downloads
PS
>
just list
-
tab ~
Desktop
Documents
Downloads
Multi-Line Constructs
Recipes without an initial shebang are evaluated and run line-by-line, which
means that multi-line constructs probably won't do what you want.
For example, with the following
justfile
:
conditional
:
if
true
; then
echo
'
True!'
fi
The extra leading whitespace before the second line of the
conditional
recipe
will produce a parse error:
$
just conditional
error: Recipe line has extra leading whitespace
|
3 | echo 'True!'
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
To work around this, you can write conditionals on one line, escape newlines
with slashes, or add a shebang to your recipe. Some examples of multi-line
constructs are provided for reference.
if
statements
conditional
:
if
true
; then echo
'
True!'
; fi
conditional
:
if
true
; then \
echo
'
True!'
; \
fi
conditional
:
#!/usr/bin/env sh
if
true
; then
echo
'
True!'
fi
for
loops
for
:
for file in
`
ls
.
`
; do echo $file; done
for
:
for file in
`
ls
.
`
; do \
echo $file; \
done
for
:
#!/usr/bin/env sh
for file in
`
ls
.
`
; do
echo $file
done
while
loops
while
:
while
`
server-is-dead
`
; do ping -c
1
server; done
while
:
while
`
server-is-dead
`
; do \
ping -c
1
server; \
done
while
:
#!/usr/bin/env sh
while
`
server-is-dead
`
; do
ping -c
1
server
done
Outside Recipe Bodies
Parenthesized expressions can span multiple lines:
abc
:=
(
'
a'
+
'
b'
+
'
c'
)
abc2
:=
(
'
a'
+
'
b'
+
'
c'
)
foo param=(
'
foo'
+
'
bar'
):
echo
{{
param
}}
bar
:
(
foo
'
Foo'
)
echo
'
Bar!'
Lines ending with a backslash continue on to the next line as if the lines were
joined by whitespace
1.15.0
:
a
:=
'
foo'
+
\
'
bar'
foo param1 \
param2=
'
foo'
\
*varparam=
'
'
: dep1 \
(dep2
'
foo'
)
echo
{{
param1
}}
{{
param2
}}
{{
varparam
}}
dep1
:
\
# this comment is not part of the recipe body
echo
'
dep1'
dep2 \
param:
echo
'
Dependency with parameter
{{
param
}}
'
Backslash line continuations can also be used in interpolations. The line
following the backslash must be indented.
recipe
:
echo
'
{{ \
"This interpolation " + \
"has a lot of text." \
}}'
echo
'
back to recipe body'
Command-line Options
just
supports a number of useful command-line options for listing, dumping,
and debugging recipes and variables:
$
just --list
Available recipes:
js
perl
polyglot
python
ruby
$
just --show perl
perl:
#!/usr/bin/env perl
print "Larry Wall says Hi!\n";
$
just --show polyglot
polyglot: python js perl sh ruby
Setting Command-line Options with Environment Variables
Some command-line options can be set with environment variables
For example, unstable features can be enabled either with the
--unstable
flag:
$
just --unstable
Or by setting the
JUST_UNSTABLE
environment variable:
$
export
JUST_UNSTABLE=1
$
just
Since environment variables are inherited by child processes, command-line
options set with environment variables are inherited by recursive invocations
of
just
, where as command line options set with arguments are not.
Consult
just --help
for which options can be set with environment variables.
Private Recipes
Recipes and aliases whose name starts with a
_
are omitted from
just --list
:
test
:
_test-helper
.
/
bin
/
test
_
test-helper
:
.
/
bin
/
super-secret-test-helper-stuff
$
just --list
Available recipes:
test
And from
just --summary
:
$
just --summary
test
The
[private]
attribute
1.10.0
may also be used to hide recipes or
aliases without needing to change the name:
[
private
]
foo
:
[
private
]
alias
b
:=
bar
bar
:
$
just --list
Available recipes:
bar
This is useful for helper recipes which are only meant to be used as
dependencies of other recipes.
Quiet Recipes
A recipe name may be prefixed with
@
to invert the meaning of
@
before each
line:
@
quiet
:
echo hello
echo goodbye
@
# all done!
Now only the lines starting with
@
will be echoed:
$
just quiet
hello
goodbye
#
all done
!
All recipes in a Justfile can be made quiet with
set quiet
:
set
quiet
foo
:
echo
"
This is quiet"
@
foo2
:
echo
"
This is also quiet"
The
[no-quiet]
attribute overrides this setting:
set
quiet
foo
:
echo
"
This is quiet"
[
no-quiet
]
foo2
:
echo
"
This is not quiet"
Shebang recipes are quiet by default:
foo
:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
echo
'
Foo!'
$
just foo
Foo!
Adding
@
to a shebang recipe name makes
just
print the recipe before
executing it:
@
bar
:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
echo
'
Bar!'
$
just bar
#!/usr/bin/env bash
echo 'Bar!'
Bar!
just
normally prints error messages when a recipe line fails. These error
messages can be suppressed using the
[no-exit-message]
1.7.0
attribute. You may find this especially useful with a recipe that wraps a tool:
git
*
args
:
@
git
{{
args
}}
$
just git status
fatal: not a git repository (or any of the parent directories): .git
error: Recipe `git` failed on line 2 with exit code 128
Add the attribute to suppress the exit error message when the tool exits with a
non-zero code:
[
no-exit-message
]
git
*
args
:
@
git
{{
args
}}
$
just git status
fatal: not a git repository (or any of the parent directories): .git
Selecting Recipes to Run With an Interactive Chooser
The
--choose
subcommand makes
just
invoke a chooser to select which recipes
to run. Choosers should read lines containing recipe names from standard input
and print one or more of those names separated by spaces to standard output.
Because there is currently no way to run a recipe that requires arguments with
--choose
, such recipes will not be given to the chooser. Private recipes and
aliases are also skipped.
The chooser can be overridden with the
--chooser
flag. If
--chooser
is not
given, then
just
first checks if
$JUST_CHOOSER
is set. If it isn't, then
the chooser defaults to
fzf
, a popular fuzzy finder.
Arguments can be included in the chooser, i.e.
fzf --exact
.
The chooser is invoked in the same way as recipe lines. For example, if the
chooser is
fzf
, it will be invoked with
sh -cu 'fzf'
, and if the shell, or
the shell arguments are overridden, the chooser invocation will respect those
overrides.
If you'd like
just
to default to selecting recipes with a chooser, you can
use this as your default recipe:
default
:
@
just --
choose
Invoking
justfile
s in Other Directories
If the first argument passed to
just
contains a
/
, then the following
occurs:
The argument is split at the last
/
.
The part before the last
/
is treated as a directory.
just
will start
its search for the
justfile
there, instead of in the current directory.
The part after the last slash is treated as a normal argument, or ignored
if it is empty.
This may seem a little strange, but it's useful if you wish to run a command in
a
justfile
that is in a subdirectory.
For example, if you are in a directory which contains a subdirectory named
foo
, which contains a
justfile
with the recipe
build
, which is also the
default recipe, the following are all equivalent:
$
(cd foo
&&
just build)
$
just foo/build
$
just foo/
Additional recipes after the first are sought in the same
justfile
. For
example, the following are both equivalent:
$
just foo/a b
$
(cd foo
&&
just a b)
And will both invoke recipes
a
and
b
in
foo/justfile
.
Imports
One
justfile
can include the contents of another using
import
statements.
If you have the following
justfile
:
import
'
foo/bar.just'
a
:
b
@
echo A
And the following text in
foo/bar.just
:
b
:
@
echo B
foo/bar.just
will be included in
justfile
and recipe
b
will be defined:
$
just b
B
$
just a
B
A
The
import
path can be absolute or relative to the location of the justfile
containing it. A leading
~/
in the import path is replaced with the current
users home directory.
Justfiles are insensitive to order, so included files can reference variables
and recipes defined after the
import
statement.
Imported files can themselves contain
import
s, which are processed
recursively.
allow-duplicate-recipes
and
allow-duplicate-variables
allow duplicate
recipes and variables, respectively, to override each other, instead of
producing an error.
Within a module, later definitions override earlier definitions:
set
allow-duplicate-recipes
foo
:
foo
:
echo
'
yes'
When
import
s are involved, things unfortunately get much more complicated and
hard to explain.
Shallower definitions always override deeper definitions, so recipes at the top
level will override recipes in imports, and recipes in an import will override
recipes in an import which itself imports those recipes.
When two duplicate definitions are imported and are at the same depth, the one
from the earlier import will override the one from the later import.
This is because
just
uses a stack when processing imports, pushing imports
onto the stack in source-order, and always processing the top of the stack
next, so earlier imports are actually handled later by the compiler.
This is definitely a bug, but since
just
has very strong backwards
compatibility guarantees and we take enormous pains not to break anyone's
justfile
, we have created issue #2540 to discuss whether or not we can
actually fix it.
Imports may be made optional by putting a
?
after the
import
keyword:
import
?
'
foo/bar.just'
Importing the same source file multiple times is not an error
1.37.0
.
This allows importing multiple justfiles, for example
foo.just
and
bar.just
, which both import a third justfile containing shared recipes, for
example
baz.just
, without the duplicate import of
baz.just
being an error:
# justfile
import
'
foo.just'
import
'
bar.just'
# foo.just
import
'
baz.just'
foo
:
baz
# bar.just
import
'
baz.just'
bar
:
baz
# baz
baz
:
Modules
A
justfile
can declare modules using
mod
statements
1.19.0
.
mod
statements were stabilized in
just
1.31.0
.
If you have the following
justfile
:
mod
bar
a
:
@
echo A
And the following text in
bar.just
:
b
:
@
echo B
bar.just
will be included in
justfile
as a submodule. Recipes, aliases, and
variables defined in one submodule cannot be used in another, and each module
uses its own settings.
Recipes in submodules can be invoked as subcommands:
$
just bar b
B
Or with path syntax:
$
just bar::b
B
If a module is named
foo
, just will search for the module file in
foo.just
,
foo/mod.just
,
foo/justfile
, and
foo/.justfile
. In the latter two cases,
the module file may have any capitalization.
Module statements may be of the form:
mod
foo
'
PATH'
Which loads the module's source file from
PATH
, instead of from the usual
locations. A leading
~/
in
PATH
is replaced with the current user's home
directory.
PATH
may point to the module source file itself, or to a directory
containing the module source file with the name
mod.just
,
justfile
, or
.justfile
. In the latter two cases, the module file may have any
capitalization.
Environment files are only loaded for the root justfile, and loaded environment
variables are available in submodules. Settings in submodules that affect
environment file loading are ignored.
Recipes in submodules without the
[no-cd]
attribute run with the working
directory set to the directory containing the submodule source file.
justfile()
and
justfile_directory()
always return the path to the root
justfile and the directory that contains it, even when called from submodule
recipes.
Modules may be made optional by putting a
?
after the
mod
keyword:
mod
?
foo
Missing source files for optional modules do not produce an error.
Optional modules with no source file do not conflict, so you can have multiple
mod statements with the same name, but with different source file paths, as
long as at most one source file exists:
mod
?
foo
'
bar.just'
mod
?
foo
'
baz.just'
Modules may be given doc comments which appear in
--list
output
1.30.0
:
# foo is a great module!
mod
foo
$
just --list
Available recipes:
foo ... # foo is a great module!
Modules are still missing a lot of features, for example, the ability to refer
to variables in other modules. See the
module improvement tracking
issue
for more information.
Hiding
justfile
s
just
looks for
justfile
s named
justfile
and
.justfile
, which can be
used to keep a
justfile
hidden.
Just Scripts
By adding a shebang line to the top of a
justfile
and making it executable,
just
can be used as an interpreter for scripts:
$
cat
>
script
<<
EOF
#!/usr/bin/env just --justfile
foo:
echo foo
EOF
$
chmod +x script
$
./script foo
echo foo
foo
When a script with a shebang is executed, the system supplies the path to the
script as an argument to the command in the shebang. So, with a shebang of
#!/usr/bin/env just --justfile
, the command will be
/usr/bin/env just --justfile PATH_TO_SCRIPT
.
With the above shebang,
just
will change its working directory to the
location of the script. If you'd rather leave the working directory unchanged,
use
#!/usr/bin/env just --working-directory . --justfile
.
Note: Shebang line splitting is not consistent across operating systems. The
previous examples have only been tested on macOS. On Linux, you may need to
pass the
-S
flag to
env
:
#!
/
usr
/
bin
/
env
-S just --
justfile
default
:
echo foo
Formatting and dumping
justfile
s
Each
justfile
has a canonical formatting with respect to whitespace and
newlines.
You can overwrite the current justfile with a canonically-formatted version
using the currently-unstable
--fmt
flag:
$
cat justfile
#
A lot of blank lines
some-recipe:
echo "foo"
$
just --fmt --unstable
$
cat justfile
#
A lot of blank lines
some-recipe:
echo "foo"
Invoking
just --fmt --check --unstable
runs
--fmt
in check mode. Instead of
overwriting the
justfile
,
just
will exit with an exit code of 0 if it is
formatted correctly, and will exit with 1 and print a diff if it is not.
You can use the
--dump
command to output a formatted version of the
justfile
to stdout:
$
just --dump
>
formatted-justfile
The
--dump
command can be used with
--dump-format json
to print a JSON
representation of a
justfile
.
Fallback to parent
justfile
s
If a recipe is not found in a
justfile
and the
fallback
setting is set,
just
will look for
justfile
s in the parent directory and up, until it
reaches the root directory.
just
will stop after it reaches a
justfile
in
which the
fallback
setting is
false
or unset.
As an example, suppose the current directory contains this
justfile
:
set
fallback
foo
:
echo foo
And the parent directory contains this
justfile
:
bar
:
echo bar
$
just bar
Trying ../justfile
echo bar
bar
Avoiding Argument Splitting
Given this
justfile
:
foo
argument
:
touch
{{
argument
}}
The following command will create two files,
some
and
argument.txt
:
$
just foo
"
some argument.txt
"
The user's shell will parse
"some argument.txt"
as a single argument, but
when
just
replaces
touch {{argument}}
with
touch some argument.txt
, the
quotes are not preserved, and
touch
will receive two arguments.
There are a few ways to avoid this: quoting, positional arguments, and exported
arguments.
Quoting
Quotes can be added around the
{{argument}}
interpolation:
foo
argument
:
touch
'
{{
argument
}}
'
This preserves
just
's ability to catch variable name typos before running,
for example if you were to write
{{argument}}
, but will not do what you want
if the value of
argument
contains single quotes.
Positional Arguments
The
positional-arguments
setting causes all arguments to be passed as
positional arguments, allowing them to be accessed with
$1
,
$2
, ā¦, and
$@
, which can be then double-quoted to avoid further splitting by the shell:
set
positional-arguments
foo
argument
:
touch
"
$1"
This defeats
just
's ability to catch typos, for example if you type
$2
instead of
$1
, but works for all possible values of
argument
, including
those with double quotes.
Exported Arguments
All arguments are exported when the
export
setting is set:
set
export
foo
argument
:
touch
"
$argument"
Or individual arguments may be exported by prefixing them with
$
:
foo
$
argument
:
touch
"
$argument"
This defeats
just
's ability to catch typos, for example if you type
$argument
, but works for all possible values of
argument
, including those
with double quotes.
Configuring the Shell
There are a number of ways to configure the shell for linewise recipes, which
are the default when a recipe does not start with a
#!
shebang. Their
precedence, from highest to lowest, is:
The
--shell
and
--shell-arg
command line options. Passing either of
these will cause
just
to ignore any settings in the current justfile.
set windows-shell := [...]
set windows-powershell
(deprecated)
set shell := [...]
Since
set windows-shell
has higher precedence than
set shell
, you can use
set windows-shell
to pick a shell on Windows, and
set shell
to pick a shell
for all other platforms.
Timestamps
just
can print timestamps before each recipe commands:
recipe
:
echo one
sleep
2
echo two
$ just --timestamp recipe
[07:28:46] echo one
one
[07:28:46] sleep 2
[07:28:48] echo two
two
By default, timestamps are formatted as
HH:MM:SS
. The format can be changed
with
--timestamp-format
:
$ just --timestamp recipe --timestamp-format '%H:%M:%S%.3f %Z'
[07:32:11:.349 UTC] echo one
one
[07:32:11:.350 UTC] sleep 2
[07:32:13:.352 UTC] echo two
two
The argument to
--timestamp-format
is a
strftime
-style format string, see
the
chrono
library docs
for details.
Signal Handling
Signals
are messages sent to
running programs to trigger specific behavior. For example,
SIGINT
is sent to
all processes in the terminal foreground process group when
CTRL-C
is pressed.
just
tries to exit when requested by a signal, but it also tries to avoid
leaving behind running child processes, two goals which are somewhat in
conflict.
If
just
exits leaving behind child processes, the user will have no recourse
but to
ps aux | grep
for the children and manually
kill
them, a tedious
endeavor.
Fatal Signals
SIGHUP
,
SIGINT
, and
SIGQUIT
are generated when the user closes the
terminal, types
ctrl-c
, or types
ctrl-\
, respectively, and are sent to all
processes in the foreground process group.
SIGTERM
is the default signal sent by the
kill
command, and is delivered
only to its intended victim.
When a child process is not running,
just
will exit immediately on receipt of
any of the above signals.
When a child process
is
running,
just
will wait until it terminates, to
avoid leaving it behind.
Additionally, on receipt of
SIGTERM
,
just
will forward
SIGTERM
to any
running children
1.41.0
, since unlike other fatal signals,
SIGTERM
,
was likely sent to
just
alone.
Regardless of whether a child process terminates successfully after
just
receives a fatal signal,
just
halts execution.
SIGINFO
SIGINFO
is sent to all processes in the foreground process group when the
user types
ctrl-t
on
BSD
-derived
operating systems, including MacOS, but not Linux.
just
responds by printing a list of all child process IDs and
commands
1.41.0
.
Windows
On Windows,
just
behaves as if it had received
SIGINT
when the user types
ctrl-c
. Other signals are unsupported.
Changelog
A changelog for the latest release is available in
CHANGELOG.md
.
Changelogs for previous releases are available on
the releases page
.
just --changelog
can also be used to make a
just
binary print its changelog.
Miscellanea
Re-running recipes when files change
watchexec
can re-run any command
when files change.
To re-run the recipe
foo
when any file changes:
watchexec just foo
See
watchexec --help
for more info, including how to specify which files
should be watched for changes.
Parallelism
Dependencies may be run in parallel with the
[parallel]
attribute.
In this
justfile
,
foo
,
bar
, and
baz
will execute in parallel when
main
is run:
[
parallel
]
main
:
foo
bar
baz
foo
:
sleep
1
bar
:
sleep
1
baz
:
sleep
1
GNU
parallel
may be used to run recipe lines concurrently:
parallel
:
#!
/
usr
/
bin
/
env
-S parallel --shebang --ungroup --jobs
{{
num_cpus
()
}}
echo task
1
start; sleep
3
; echo task
1
done
echo task
2
start; sleep
3
; echo task
2
done
echo task
3
start; sleep
3
; echo task
3
done
echo task
4
start; sleep
3
; echo task
4
done
Shell Alias
For lightning-fast command running, put
alias j=just
in your shell's
configuration file.
Shell Completion Scripts
Shell completion scripts for Bash, Elvish, Fish, Nushell, PowerShell, and Zsh
are available in
release archives
.
The
just
binary can also generate the same completion scripts at runtime
using
just --completions SHELL
:
$
just --completions bash
>
just
Bash
The recommended approach is to use the
bash-completions
package to lazy-load
the completion script:
mkdir -p
~
/.local/share/bash-completion/completions
just --completions bash
>
~
/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/just
If
bash-completions
is not installed, you can source the completion script in
your
.bashrc
:
source
<(
just --completions bash
)
If you use an alias like
alias j=just
, you should also save the completion
script with the name
j
when lazy-loading:
just --completions bash
>
~
/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/j
Or if not lazy-loading, add this line after sourcing the completion script in
your
.bashrc
:
complete
-F _clap_complete_just -o bashdefault -o default j
Elvish
In your
rc.elv
:
set
edit:completion:arg-completer
[
just
]
=
{
|
@args
|
eval
(
just --completions elvish
|
slurp
)
set
@result =
(
edit:completion:arg-completer
[
just
]
$
@args
)
put
$
@result
}
Fish
Save the completion script to the completions directory to lazy-load it:
mkdir
-p
~/.config/fish/completions
just
--completions
fish
>
~/.config/fish/completions/just.fish
Nushell
First save the completion script:
just
--
completions nushell
|
save
-
f (
$nu
.
default
-
config
-
dir
|
path join just
.
nu)
Then in
config.nu
:
source just
.
nu
PowerShell
In your PowerShell
$PROFILE
:
just
--
completions powershell
|
Out-String
|
Invoke-Expression
Zsh
First save the completion script:
mkdir -p
~
/.zsh/completions
just --completions zsh
>
~
/.zsh/completions/_just
Then in your
.zshrc
:
fpath=(~/.zsh/completions
$fpath
)
autoload -U compinit
compinit
Man Page
just
can print its own man page with
just --man
. Man pages are written in
roff
, a venerable markup
language and one of the first practical applications of Unix. If you have
groff
installed you can view the man
page with
just --man | groff -mandoc -Tascii | less
.
Grammar
A non-normative grammar of
justfile
s can be found in
GRAMMAR.md
.
just.sh
Before
just
was a fancy Rust program it was a tiny shell script that called
make
. You can find the old version in
contrib/just.sh
.
Global and User
justfile
s
If you want some recipes to be available everywhere, you have a few options.
Global Justfile
just --global-justfile
, or
just -g
for short, searches the following paths,
in-order, for a justfile:
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/just/justfile
$HOME/.config/just/justfile
$HOME/justfile
$HOME/.justfile
You can put recipes that are used across many projects in a global justfile to
easily invoke them from any directory.
User justfile tips
You can also adopt some of the following workflows. These tips assume you've
created a
justfile
at
~/.user.justfile
, but you can put this
justfile
at any convenient path on your system.
Recipe Aliases
If you want to call the recipes in
~/.user.justfile
by name, and don't mind
creating an alias for every recipe, add the following to your shell's
initialization script:
for recipe in `just --justfile ~/.user.justfile --summary`; do
alias $recipe="just --justfile ~/.user.justfile --working-directory . $recipe"
done
Now, if you have a recipe called
foo
in
~/.user.justfile
, you can just type
foo
at the command line to run it.
It took me way too long to realize that you could create recipe aliases like
this. Notwithstanding my tardiness, I am very pleased to bring you this major
advance in
justfile
technology.
Forwarding Alias
If you'd rather not create aliases for every recipe, you can create a single alias:
alias .j='just --justfile ~/.user.justfile --working-directory .'
Now, if you have a recipe called
foo
in
~/.user.justfile
, you can just type
.j foo
at the command line to run it.
I'm pretty sure that nobody actually uses this feature, but it's there.
ĀÆ\_(ć)_/ĀÆ
Customization
You can customize the above aliases with additional options. For example, if
you'd prefer to have the recipes in your
justfile
run in your home directory,
instead of the current directory:
alias .j='just --justfile ~/.user.justfile --working-directory ~'
Node.js
package.json
Script Compatibility
The following export statement gives
just
recipes access to local Node module
binaries, and makes
just
recipe commands behave more like
script
entries in
Node.js
package.json
files:
export
PATH
:=
"
./node_modules/.bin:"
+
env_var
(
'
PATH'
)
Paths on Windows
On Windows, all functions that return paths, except
invocation_directory()
will return
\
-separated paths. When not using PowerShell or
cmd.exe
these
paths should be quoted to prevent the
\
s from being interpreted as character
escapes:
ls
:
echo
'
{{
absolute_path
(
"
."
)
}}
'
cygpath.exe
is an executable included in some distributions of Unix userlands
for Windows, including
Cygwin
and
Git
for Windows.
just
uses
cygpath.exe
in two places:
For backwards compatibility,
invocation_directory()
, uses
cygpath.exe
to
convert the invocation directory into a unix-style
/
-separated path. Use
invocation_directory_native()
to get the native, Windows-style path. On unix,
invocation_directory()
and
invocation_directory_native()
both return the
same unix-style path.
cygpath.exe
is used also used to convert Unix-style shebang lines into
Windows paths. As an alternative, the
[script]
attribute can be used, which
does not depend on
cygpath.exe
.
If
cygpath.exe
is available, you can use it to convert between path styles:
foo_unix
:=
'
/hello/world'
foo_windows
:=
shell
(
'
cygpath --windows $1'
, foo_unix)
bar_windows
:=
'
C:\hello\world'
bar_unix
:=
shell
(
'
cygpath --unix $1'
, bar_windows)
Remote Justfiles
If you wish to include a
mod
or
import
source file in many
justfiles
without needing to duplicate it, you can use an optional
mod
or
import
,
along with a recipe to fetch the module source:
import
?
'
foo.just'
fetch
:
curl https:
//
raw.githubusercontent.com
/
casey
/
just
/
master
/
justfile
> foo.just
Given the above
justfile
, after running
just fetch
, the recipes in
foo.just
will be available.
Printing Complex Strings
echo
can be used to print strings, but because it processes escape sequences,
like
\n
, and different implementations of
echo
recognize different escape
sequences, using
printf
is often a better choice.
printf
takes a C-style format string and any number of arguments, which are
interpolated into the format string.
This can be combined with indented, triple quoted strings to emulate shell
heredocs.
Substitution complex strings into recipe bodies with
{ā¦}
can also lead to
trouble as it may be split by the shell into multiple arguments depending on
the presence of whitespace and quotes. Exporting complex strings as environment
variables and referring to them with
"$NAME"
, note the double quotes, can
also help.
Putting all this together, to print a string verbatim to standard output, with
all its various escape sequences and quotes undisturbed:
export
FOO
:=
'''
a complicated string with
some dis\tur\bi\ng escape sequences
and "quotes" of 'different' kinds
'''
bar
:
printf %s
"
$FOO"
Alternatives and Prior Art
There is no shortage of command runners! Some more or less similar alternatives
to
just
include:
make
: The Unix build tool
that inspired
just
. There are a few different modern day descendents of the
original
make
, including
FreeBSD Make
and
GNU Make
.
task
: A YAML-based command runner written
in Go.
maid
: A Markdown-based command runner
written in JavaScript.
microsoft/just
: A JavaScript-based
command runner written in JavaScript.
cargo-make
: A command runner for
Rust projects.
mmake
: A wrapper around
make
with a number
of improvements, including remote includes.
robo
: A YAML-based command runner written in
Go.
mask
: A Markdown-based command runner
written in Rust.
makesure
: A simple and portable command
runner written in AWK and shell.
haku
: A make-like command runner
written in Rust.
mise
: A development environment tool manager written
in Rust supporting tasks in TOML files and standalone scripts.
Contributing
just
welcomes your contributions!
just
is released under the maximally
permissive
CC0
public
domain dedication and fallback license, so your changes must also be released
under this license.
Getting Started
just
is written in Rust. Use
rustup
to install a Rust toolchain.
just
is extensively tested. All new features must be covered by unit or
integration tests. Unit tests are under
src
, live alongside the code
being tested, and test code in isolation. Integration tests are in the
tests
directory
and test the
just
binary from the outside by invoking
just
on a given
justfile
and set of
command-line arguments, and checking the output.
You should write whichever type of tests are easiest to write for your feature
while still providing good test coverage.
Unit tests are useful for testing new Rust functions that are used internally
and as an aid for development. A good example are the unit tests which cover
the
unindent()
function
,
used to unindent triple-quoted strings and backticks.
unindent()
has a bunch
of tricky edge cases which are easy to exercise with unit tests that call
unindent()
directly.
Integration tests are useful for making sure that the final behavior of the
just
binary is correct.
unindent()
is also covered by integration tests
which make sure that evaluating a triple-quoted string produces the correct
unindented value. However, there are not integration tests for all possible
cases. These are covered by faster, more concise unit tests that call
unindent()
directly.
Integration tests use the
Test
struct, a builder which allows for easily
invoking
just
with a given
justfile
, arguments, and environment variables,
and checking the program's stdout, stderr, and exit code .
Contribution Workflow
Make sure the feature is wanted. There should be an open issue about the
feature with a comment from
@casey
saying that
it's a good idea or seems reasonable. If there isn't, open a new issue and
ask for feedback.
There are lots of good features which can't be merged, either because they
aren't backwards compatible, have an implementation which would
overcomplicate the codebase, or go against
just
's design philosophy.
Settle on the design of the feature. If the feature has multiple possible
implementations or syntaxes, make sure to nail down the details in the
issue.
Clone
just
and start hacking. The best workflow is to have the code you're
working on in an editor alongside a job that re-runs tests whenever a file
changes. You can run such a job by installing
cargo-watch
with
cargo install cargo-watch
and running
just watch test
.
Add a failing test for your feature. Most of the time this will be an
integration test which exercises the feature end-to-end. Look for an
appropriate file to put the test in
tests
, or add a new file
in
tests
and add a
mod
statement importing that file in
tests/lib.rs
.
Implement the feature.
Run
just ci
to make sure that all tests, lints, and checks pass. Requires
mdBook
and
mdbook-linkcheck
.
Open a PR with the new code that is editable by maintainers. PRs often
require rebasing and minor tweaks. If the PR is not editable by maintainers,
each rebase and tweak will require a round trip of code review. Your PR may
be summarily closed if it is not editable by maintainers.
Incorporate feedback.
Enjoy the sweet feeling of your PR getting merged!
Feel free to open a draft PR at any time for discussion and feedback.
Hints
Here are some hints to get you started with specific kinds of new features,
which you can use in addition to the contribution workflow above.
Adding a New Attribute
Write a new integration test in
tests/attributes.rs
.
Add a new variant to the
Attribute
enum.
Implement the functionality of the new attribute.
Run
just ci
to make sure that all tests pass.
Janus
Janus
is a tool for checking whether a change
to
just
breaks or changes the interpretation of existing
justfile
s. It
collects and analyzes public
justfile
s on GitHub.
Before merging a particularly large or gruesome change, Janus should be run to
make sure that nothing breaks. Don't worry about running Janus yourself, Casey
will happily run it for you on changes that need it.
Minimum Supported Rust Version
The minimum supported Rust version, or MSRV, is current stable Rust. It may
build on older versions of Rust, but this is not guaranteed.
New Releases
New releases of
just
are made frequently so that users quickly get access to
new features.
Release commit messages use the following template:
Release x.y.z
- Bump version: x.y.z ā x.y.z
- Update changelog
- Update changelog contributor credits
- Update dependencies
- Update version references in readme
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the idiosyncrasies of Make that Just avoids?
make
has some behaviors which are confusing, complicated, or make it
unsuitable for use as a general command runner.
One example is that under some circumstances,
make
won't actually run the
commands in a recipe. For example, if you have a file called
test
and the
following makefile:
test
:
.
/
test
make
will refuse to run your tests:
$
make
test
make: `test' is up to date.
make
assumes that the
test
recipe produces a file called
test
. Since this
file exists and the recipe has no other dependencies,
make
thinks that it
doesn't have anything to do and exits.
To be fair, this behavior is desirable when using
make
as a build system, but
not when using it as a command runner. You can disable this behavior for
specific targets using
make
's built-in
.PHONY
target name
,
but the syntax is verbose and can be hard to remember. The explicit list of
phony targets, written separately from the recipe definitions, also introduces
the risk of accidentally defining a new non-phony target. In
just
, all
recipes are treated as if they were phony.
Other examples of
make
's idiosyncrasies include the difference between
=
and
:=
in assignments, the confusing error messages that are produced if you
mess up your makefile, needing
$$
to use environment variables in recipes,
and incompatibilities between different flavors of
make
.
What's the relationship between Just and Cargo build scripts?
cargo
build scripts
have a pretty
specific use, which is to control how
cargo
builds your Rust project. This
might include adding flags to
rustc
invocations, building an external
dependency, or running some kind of codegen step.
just
, on the other hand, is for all the other miscellaneous commands you
might run as part of development. Things like running tests in different
configurations, linting your code, pushing build artifacts to a server,
removing temporary files, and the like.
Also, although
just
is written in Rust, it can be used regardless of the
language or build system your project uses.
Further Ramblings
I personally find it very useful to write a
justfile
for almost every
project, big or small.
On a big project with multiple contributors, it's very useful to have a file
with all the commands needed to work on the project close at hand.
There are probably different commands to test, build, lint, deploy, and the
like, and having them all in one place is useful and cuts down on the time you
have to spend telling people which commands to run and how to type them.
And, with an easy place to put commands, it's likely that you'll come up with
other useful things which are part of the project's collective wisdom, but
which aren't written down anywhere, like the arcane commands needed for some
part of your revision control workflow, to install all your project's
dependencies, or all the random flags you might need to pass to the build
system.
Some ideas for recipes:
Deploying/publishing the project
Building in release mode vs debug mode
Running in debug mode or with logging enabled
Complex git workflows
Updating dependencies
Running different sets of tests, for example fast tests vs slow tests, or
running them with verbose output
Any complex set of commands that you really should write down somewhere, if
only to be able to remember them
Even for small, personal projects it's nice to be able to remember commands by
name instead of ^Reverse searching your shell history, and it's a huge boon to
be able to go into an old project written in a random language with a
mysterious build system and know that all the commands you need to do whatever
you need to do are in the
justfile
, and that if you type
just
something
useful (or at least interesting!) will probably happen.
For ideas for recipes, check out
this project's
justfile
,
or some of the
justfile
s
out in the wild
.
Anyways, I think that's about it for this incredibly long-winded README.
I hope you enjoy using
just
and find great success and satisfaction in all
your computational endeavors!
šø
š¼ Back to the top! |
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## Folders and files
| Name | Name | Last commit message | Last commit date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Latest commit [](https://github.com/alerque)[alerque](https://github.com/casey/just/commits?author=alerque) [Don't use make syntax highlighting in vim (](https://github.com/casey/just/commit/2f1afab79c26eac0ca9ba04d5379d6ff11d64d39)[\#2906](https://github.com/casey/just/pull/2906)[)](https://github.com/casey/just/commit/2f1afab79c26eac0ca9ba04d5379d6ff11d64d39) success Apr 1, 2026 [2f1afab](https://github.com/casey/just/commit/2f1afab79c26eac0ca9ba04d5379d6ff11d64d39) Ā· Apr 1, 2026 History [1,627 Commits](https://github.com/casey/just/commits/master/) Open commit details 1,627 Commits | | | |
## Repository files navigation
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Table of Contents
āļø
# `just`
[](https://crates.io/crates/just) [](https://github.com/casey/just/actions/workflows/ci.yaml) [](https://github.com/casey/just/releases) [](https://discord.gg/ezYScXR) [](mailto:casey@rodarmor.com?subject=Thanks%20for%20Just!)
`just` is a handy way to save and run project-specific commands.
This readme is also available as a [book](https://just.systems/man/en/). The book reflects the latest release, whereas the [readme on GitHub](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/README.md) reflects latest master.
(äøęęę”£åØ [čæé](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/README.%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87.md), åæ«ēčæę„!)
Commands, called recipes, are stored in a file called `justfile` with syntax inspired by `make`:
[](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/casey/just/master/etc/screenshot.png)
You can then run them with `just RECIPE`:
```
$ just test-all
cc *.c -o main
./test --all
Yay, all your tests passed!
```
`just` has a ton of useful features, and many improvements over `make`:
- `just` is a command runner, not a build system, so it avoids much of [`make`'s complexity and idiosyncrasies](https://github.com/casey/just#what-are-the-idiosyncrasies-of-make-that-just-avoids). No need for `.PHONY` recipes\!
- Linux, MacOS, Windows, and other reasonable unices are supported with no additional dependencies. (Although if your system doesn't have an `sh`, you'll need to [choose a different shell](https://github.com/casey/just#shell).)
- Errors are specific and informative, and syntax errors are reported along with their source context.
- Recipes can accept [command line arguments](https://github.com/casey/just#recipe-parameters).
- Wherever possible, errors are resolved statically. Unknown recipes and circular dependencies are reported before anything runs.
- `just` [loads `.env` files](https://github.com/casey/just#dotenv-settings), making it easy to populate environment variables.
- Recipes can be [listed from the command line](https://github.com/casey/just#listing-available-recipes).
- Command line completion scripts are [available for most popular shells](https://github.com/casey/just#shell-completion-scripts).
- Recipes can be written in [arbitrary languages](https://github.com/casey/just#shebang-recipes), like Python or NodeJS.
- `just` can be invoked from any subdirectory, not just the directory that contains the `justfile`.
- And [much more](https://just.systems/man/en/)\!
If you need help with `just` please feel free to open an issue or ping me on [Discord](https://discord.gg/ezYScXR). Feature requests and bug reports are always welcome\!
## Installation
### Prerequisites
`just` should run on any system with a reasonable `sh`, including Linux, MacOS, and the BSDs.
#### Windows
On Windows, `just` works with the `sh` provided by [Git for Windows](https://git-scm.com/), [GitHub Desktop](https://desktop.github.com/), or [Cygwin](http://www.cygwin.com/). After installation, `sh` must be available in the `PATH` of the shell you want to invoke `just` from.
If you'd rather not install `sh`, you can use the `shell` setting to use the shell of your choice.
Like PowerShell:
```
# use PowerShell instead of sh:
set shell := ["powershell.exe", "-c"]
hello:
Write-Host "Hello, world!"
```
ā¦or `cmd.exe`:
```
# use cmd.exe instead of sh:
set shell := ["cmd.exe", "/c"]
list:
dir
```
You can also set the shell using command-line arguments. For example, to use PowerShell, launch `just` with `--shell powershell.exe --shell-arg -c`.
(PowerShell is installed by default on Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 S1 and later, and `cmd.exe` is quite fiddly, so PowerShell is recommended for most Windows users.)
### Packages
#### Cross-platform
| Package Manager | Package | Command |
|---|---|---|
| [arkade](https://github.com/alexellis/arkade) | just | `arkade get just` |
| [asdf](https://asdf-vm.com/) | [just](https://github.com/olofvndrhr/asdf-just) | `asdf plugin add just` `asdf install just <version>` |
| [Cargo](https://www.rust-lang.org/) | [just](https://crates.io/crates/just) | `cargo install just` |
| [Cargo Binstall](https://github.com/cargo-bins/cargo-binstall) | [just](https://crates.io/crates/just) | `cargo binstall just` |
| [Conda](https://docs.conda.io/projects/conda/en/latest/index.html) | [just](https://anaconda.org/conda-forge/just) | `conda install -c conda-forge just` |
| [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/) | [just](https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/just) | `brew install just` |
| [Nix](https://nixos.org/nix/) | [just](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/pkgs/by-name/ju/just/package.nix) | `nix-env -iA nixpkgs.just` |
| [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/) | [rust-just](https://www.npmjs.com/package/rust-just) | `npm install -g rust-just` |
| [pipx](https://pipx.pypa.io/stable/) | [rust-just](https://pypi.org/project/rust-just/) | `pipx install rust-just` |
| [Snap](https://snapcraft.io/) | [just](https://snapcraft.io/just) | `snap install --edge --classic just` |
| [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/) | [rust-just](https://pypi.org/project/rust-just/) | `uv tool install rust-just` |
#### BSD
| Operating System | Package Manager | Package | Command |
|---|---|---|---|
| [FreeBSD](https://www.freebsd.org/) | [pkg](https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/pkgng-intro.html) | [just](https://www.freshports.org/deskutils/just/) | `pkg install just` |
| [OpenBSD](https://www.openbsd.org/) | [pkg\_\*](https://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq15.html) | [just](https://cvsweb.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/ports/sysutils/just) | `pkg_add just` |
#### Linux
| Operating System | Package Manager | Package | Command |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Alpine](https://alpinelinux.org/) | [apk-tools](https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Alpine_Linux_package_management) | [just](https://pkgs.alpinelinux.org/package/edge/community/x86_64/just) | `apk add just` |
| [Arch](https://www.archlinux.org/) | [pacman](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Pacman) | [just](https://archlinux.org/packages/extra/x86_64/just/) | `pacman -S just` |
| [Debian 13](https://debian.org/) and [Ubuntu 24.04](https://ubuntu.com/) derivatives | [apt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APT_\(software\)) | [just](https://packages.debian.org/trixie/just) | `apt install just` |
| [Fedora](https://getfedora.org/) | [DNF](https://dnf.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) | [just](https://src.fedoraproject.org/rpms/rust-just) | `dnf install just` |
| [Gentoo](https://www.gentoo.org/) | [Portage](https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Portage) | [dev-build/just](https://packages.gentoo.org/packages/dev-build/just) | `emerge -av dev-build/just` |
| [NixOS](https://nixos.org/nixos/) | [Nix](https://nixos.org/nix/) | [just](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/pkgs/by-name/ju/just/package.nix) | `nix-env -iA nixos.just` |
| [openSUSE](https://opensuse.org/) | [Zypper](https://en.opensuse.org/Portal:Zypper) | [just](https://build.opensuse.org/package/show/Base:System/just) | `zypper in just` |
| [Solus](https://getsol.us/) | [eopkg](https://getsol.us/articles/package-management/basics/en) | [just](https://dev.getsol.us/source/just/) | `eopkg install just` |
| [Void](https://voidlinux.org/) | [XBPS](https://wiki.voidlinux.org/XBPS) | [just](https://github.com/void-linux/void-packages/blob/master/srcpkgs/just/template) | `xbps-install -S just` |
#### Windows
| Package Manager | Package | Command |
|---|---|---|
| [Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org/) | [just](https://github.com/michidk/just-choco) | `choco install just` |
| [Scoop](https://scoop.sh/) | [just](https://github.com/ScoopInstaller/Main/blob/master/bucket/just.json) | `scoop install just` |
| [Windows Package Manager](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/package-manager/) | [Casey/Just](https://github.com/microsoft/winget-pkgs/tree/master/manifests/c/Casey/Just) | `winget install --id Casey.Just --exact` |
#### macOS
| Package Manager | Package | Command |
|---|---|---|
| [MacPorts](https://www.macports.org/) | [just](https://ports.macports.org/port/just/summary) | `port install just` |
[](https://camo.githubusercontent.com/0ebfbd07d3da9aaadf8971e68490391c726ac2c60f86a3b4400e5b55421acda8/68747470733a2f2f7265706f6c6f67792e6f72672f62616467652f766572746963616c2d616c6c7265706f732f6a7573742e737667)
### Pre-Built Binaries
Pre-built binaries for Linux, MacOS, and Windows can be found on [the releases page](https://github.com/casey/just/releases).
You can use the following command on Linux, MacOS, or Windows to download the latest release, just replace `DEST` with the directory where you'd like to put `just`:
```
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://just.systems/install.sh | bash -s -- --to DEST
```
For example, to install `just` to `~/bin`:
```
# create ~/bin
mkdir -p ~/bin
# download and extract just to ~/bin/just
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://just.systems/install.sh | bash -s -- --to ~/bin
# add `~/bin` to the paths that your shell searches for executables
# this line should be added to your shells initialization file,
# e.g. `~/.bashrc` or `~/.zshrc`
export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/bin"
# just should now be executable
just --help
```
Note that `install.sh` may fail on GitHub Actions, or in other environments where many machines share IP addresses. `install.sh` calls GitHub APIs in order to determine the latest version of `just` to install, and those API calls are rate-limited on a per-IP basis. To make `install.sh` more reliable in such circumstances, pass a specific tag to install with `--tag`.
Another way to avoid rate-limiting is to pass a GitHub authentication token to `install.sh` as an environment variable named `GITHUB_TOKEN`, allowing it to authenticate its requests.
[Releases](https://github.com/casey/just/releases) include a `SHA256SUM` file which can be used to verify the integrity of pre-built binary archives.
To verify a release, download the pre-built binary archive along with the `SHA256SUM` file and run:
```
shasum --algorithm 256 --ignore-missing --check SHA256SUMS
```
### GitHub Actions
`just` can be installed on GitHub Actions in a few ways.
Using package managers pre-installed on GitHub Actions runners on MacOS with `brew install just`, and on Windows with `choco install just`.
With [extractions/setup-just](https://github.com/extractions/setup-just):
```
- uses: extractions/setup-just@v3
with:
just-version: 1.5.0 # optional semver specification, otherwise latest
```
Or with [taiki-e/install-action](https://github.com/taiki-e/install-action):
```
- uses: taiki-e/install-action@just
```
### Docker
`just` is available as a Docker image from [the GitHub Container Registry](https://ghcr.io/casey/just).
To copy `just` into a Docker image, add the following line to your `Dockerfile`:
```
COPY --from=ghcr.io/casey/just:latest /just /usr/local/bin/
```
After copying, `just` may also be used as part of a docker build:
```
RUN just
```
### Release RSS Feed
An [RSS feed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS) of `just` releases is available [here](https://github.com/casey/just/releases.atom).
### Node.js Installation
[just-install](https://npmjs.com/package/just-install) can be used to automate installation of `just` in Node.js applications.
`just` is a great, more robust alternative to npm scripts. If you want to include `just` in the dependencies of a Node.js application, `just-install` will install a local, platform-specific binary as part of the `npm install` command. This removes the need for every developer to install `just` independently using one of the processes mentioned above. After installation, the `just` command will work in npm scripts or with npx. It's great for teams who want to make the set up process for their project as easy as possible.
For more information, see the [just-install README file](https://github.com/brombal/just-install#readme).
### Nix Flake
The `just` repository includes a [`flake.nix`](https://github.com/casey/just/tree/master/flake.nix) that defines a [nix flake](https://nix.dev/concepts/flakes.html), allowing you to use `just` as an input to another flake:
```
{
inputs = {
just.url = "github:casey/just";
}
outputs = {self, nixpkgs, just}: {
}
}
```
## Backwards Compatibility
With the release of version 1.0, `just` features a strong commitment to backwards compatibility and stability.
Future releases will not introduce backwards incompatible changes that make existing `justfile`s stop working, or break working invocations of the command-line interface.
This does not, however, preclude fixing outright bugs, even if doing so might break `justfiles` that rely on their behavior.
There will never be a `just` 2.0. Any desirable backwards-incompatible changes will be opt-in on a per-`justfile` basis, so users may migrate at their leisure.
Features that aren't yet ready for stabilization are marked as unstable and may be changed or removed at any time. Using unstable features produces an error by default, which can be suppressed by passing the `--unstable` flag, `set unstable`, or setting the environment variable `JUST_UNSTABLE`, to any value other than `false`, `0`, or the empty string.
## Editor Support
`justfile` syntax is close enough to `make` that you may want to tell your editor to use `make` syntax highlighting for `just`.
### Vim and Neovim
Vim version 9.1.1042 or better and Neovim version 0.11 or better support Justfile syntax highlighting out of the box, thanks to [pbnj](https://github.com/pbnj).
#### `vim-just`
The [vim-just](https://github.com/NoahTheDuke/vim-just) plugin provides syntax highlighting for `justfile`s.
Install it with your favorite package manager, like [Plug](https://github.com/junegunn/vim-plug):
```
call plug#begin()
Plug 'NoahTheDuke/vim-just'
call plug#end()
```
Or with Vim's built-in package support:
```
mkdir -p ~/.vim/pack/vendor/start
cd ~/.vim/pack/vendor/start
git clone https://github.com/NoahTheDuke/vim-just.git
```
#### `tree-sitter-just`
[tree-sitter-just](https://github.com/IndianBoy42/tree-sitter-just) is an [Nvim Treesitter](https://github.com/nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter) plugin for Neovim.
### Emacs
[just-mode](https://github.com/leon-barrett/just-mode.el) provides syntax highlighting and automatic indentation of `justfile`s. It is available on [MELPA](https://melpa.org/) as [just-mode](https://melpa.org/#/just-mode).
[justl](https://github.com/psibi/justl.el) provides commands for executing and listing recipes.
You can add the following to an individual `justfile` to enable `make` mode on a per-file basis:
```
# Local Variables:
# mode: makefile
# End:
```
### Visual Studio Code
An extension for VS Code is [available here](https://github.com/nefrob/vscode-just).
Unmaintained VS Code extensions include [skellock/vscode-just](https://github.com/skellock/vscode-just) and [sclu1034/vscode-just](https://github.com/sclu1034/vscode-just).
### JetBrains IDEs
A plugin for JetBrains IDEs by [linux\_china](https://github.com/linux-china) is [available here](https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/18658-just).
### Kakoune
Kakoune supports `justfile` syntax highlighting out of the box, thanks to TeddyDD.
### Helix
[Helix](https://helix-editor.com/) supports `justfile` syntax highlighting out-of-the-box since version 23.05.
### Sublime Text
The [Just package](https://github.com/nk9/just_sublime) by [nk9](https://github.com/nk9) with `just` syntax and some other tools is available on [PackageControl](https://packagecontrol.io/packages/Just).
### Micro
[Micro](https://micro-editor.github.io/) supports Justfile syntax highlighting out of the box, thanks to [tomodachi94](https://github.com/tomodachi94).
### Zed
The [zed-just](https://github.com/jackTabsCode/zed-just/) extension by [jackTabsCode](https://github.com/jackTabsCode) is available on the [Zed extensions page](https://zed.dev/extensions?query=just).
### Other Editors
Feel free to send me the commands necessary to get syntax highlighting working in your editor of choice so that I may include them here.
### Language Server Protocol
[just-lsp](https://github.com/terror/just-lsp) provides a [language server protocol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_Server_Protocol) implementation, enabling features such as go-to-definition, inline diagnostics, and code completion.
### Model Context Protocol
[just-mcp](http://github.com/promptexecution/just-mcp) provides a [model context protocol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_Context_Protocol) adapter to allow LLMs to query the contents of `justfiles` and run recipes.
## Quick Start
See the installation section for how to install `just` on your computer. Try running `just --version` to make sure that it's installed correctly.
For an overview of the syntax, check out [this cheatsheet](https://cheatography.com/linux-china/cheat-sheets/justfile/).
Once `just` is installed and working, create a file named `justfile` in the root of your project with the following contents:
```
recipe-name:
echo 'This is a recipe!'
# this is a comment
another-recipe:
@echo 'This is another recipe.'
```
When you invoke `just` it looks for file `justfile` in the current directory and upwards, so you can invoke it from any subdirectory of your project.
The search for a `justfile` is case insensitive, so any case, like `Justfile`, `JUSTFILE`, or `JuStFiLe`, will work. `just` will also look for files with the name `.justfile`, in case you'd like to hide a `justfile`.
Running `just` with no arguments runs the first recipe in the `justfile`:
```
$ just
echo 'This is a recipe!'
This is a recipe!
```
One or more arguments specify the recipe(s) to run:
```
$ just another-recipe
This is another recipe.
```
`just` prints each command to standard error before running it, which is why `echo 'This is a recipe!'` was printed. This is suppressed for lines starting with `@`, which is why `echo 'This is another recipe.'` was not printed.
Recipes stop running if a command fails. Here `cargo publish` will only run if `cargo test` succeeds:
```
publish:
cargo test
# tests passed, time to publish!
cargo publish
```
Recipes can depend on other recipes. Here the `test` recipe depends on the `build` recipe, so `build` will run before `test`:
```
build:
cc main.c foo.c bar.c -o main
test: build
./test
sloc:
@echo "`wc -l *.c` lines of code"
```
```
$ just test
cc main.c foo.c bar.c -o main
./test
testing⦠all tests passed!
```
Recipes without dependencies will run in the order they're given on the command line:
```
$ just build sloc
cc main.c foo.c bar.c -o main
1337 lines of code
```
Dependencies will always run first, even if they are passed after a recipe that depends on them:
```
$ just test build
cc main.c foo.c bar.c -o main
./test
testing⦠all tests passed!
```
Recipes may depend on recipes in submodules:
```
mod foo
baz: foo::bar
```
## Examples
A variety of `justfile`s can be found in the [examples directory](https://github.com/casey/just/tree/master/examples) and on [GitHub](https://github.com/search?q=path%3A**%2Fjustfile&type=code).
## Features
### The Default Recipe
When `just` is invoked without a recipe, it runs the recipe with the `[default]` attribute, or the first recipe in the `justfile` if no recipe has the `[default]` attribute.
This recipe might be the most frequently run command in the project, like running the tests:
```
test:
cargo test
```
You can also use dependencies to run multiple recipes by default:
```
default: lint build test
build:
echo Buildingā¦
test:
echo Testingā¦
lint:
echo Lintingā¦
```
If no recipe makes sense as the default recipe, you can add a recipe to the beginning of your `justfile` that lists the available recipes:
```
default:
just --list
```
### Listing Available Recipes
Recipes can be listed in alphabetical order with `just --list`:
```
$ just --list
Available recipes:
build
test
deploy
lint
```
Recipes in [submodules](https://github.com/casey/just#modules) can be listed with `just --list PATH`, where `PATH` is a space- or `::`\-separated module path:
```
$ cat justfile
mod foo
$ cat foo.just
mod bar
$ cat bar.just
baz:
$ just --list foo bar
Available recipes:
baz
$ just --list foo::bar
Available recipes:
baz
```
`just --summary` is more concise:
```
$ just --summary
build test deploy lint
```
Pass `--unsorted` to print recipes in the order they appear in the `justfile`:
```
test:
echo 'Testing!'
build:
echo 'Building!'
```
```
$ just --list --unsorted
Available recipes:
test
build
```
```
$ just --summary --unsorted
test build
```
If you'd like `just` to default to listing the recipes in the `justfile`, you can use this as your default recipe:
```
default:
@just --list
```
Note that you may need to add `--justfile {{justfile()}}` to the line above. Without it, if you executed `just -f /some/distant/justfile -d .` or `just -f ./non-standard-justfile`, the plain `just --list` inside the recipe would not necessarily use the file you provided. It would try to find a justfile in your current path, maybe even resulting in a `No justfile found` error.
The heading text can be customized with `--list-heading`:
```
$ just --list --list-heading $'Cool stuffā¦\n'
Cool stuffā¦
test
build
```
And the indentation can be customized with `--list-prefix`:
```
$ just --list --list-prefix Ā·Ā·Ā·Ā·
Available recipes:
Ā·Ā·Ā·Ā·test
Ā·Ā·Ā·Ā·build
```
The argument to `--list-heading` replaces both the heading and the newline following it, so it should contain a newline if non-empty. It works this way so you can suppress the heading line entirely by passing the empty string:
```
$ just --list --list-heading ''
test
build
```
### Invoking Multiple Recipes
Multiple recipes may be invoked on the command line at once:
```
build:
make web
serve:
python3 -m http.server -d out 8000
```
```
$ just build serve
make web
python3 -m http.server -d out 8000
```
Keep in mind that recipes with parameters will swallow arguments, even if they match the names of other recipes:
```
build project:
make {{project}}
serve:
python3 -m http.server -d out 8000
```
```
$ just build serve
make: *** No rule to make target `serve'. Stop.
```
The `--one` flag can be used to restrict command-line invocations to a single recipe:
```
$ just --one build serve
error: Expected 1 command-line recipe invocation but found 2.
```
### Working Directory
By default, recipes run with the working directory set to the directory that contains the `justfile`.
The `[no-cd]` attribute can be used to make recipes run with the working directory set to directory in which `just` was invoked.
```
@foo:
pwd
[no-cd]
@bar:
pwd
```
```
$ cd subdir
$ just foo
/
$ just bar
/subdir
```
You can override the working directory for all recipes with `set working-directory := 'ā¦'`:
```
set working-directory := 'bar'
@foo:
pwd
```
```
$ pwd
/home/bob
$ just foo
/home/bob/bar
```
You can override the working directory for a specific recipe with the `working-directory` attribute1\.38.0:
```
[working-directory: 'bar']
@foo:
pwd
```
```
$ pwd
/home/bob
$ just foo
/home/bob/bar
```
The argument to the `working-directory` setting or `working-directory` attribute may be absolute or relative. If it is relative it is interpreted relative to the default working directory.
### Aliases
Aliases allow recipes to be invoked on the command line with alternative names:
```
alias b := build
build:
echo 'Building!'
```
```
$ just b
echo 'Building!'
Building!
```
The target of an alias may be a recipe in a submodule:
```
mod foo
alias baz := foo::bar
```
### Settings
Settings control interpretation and execution. Each setting may be specified at most once, anywhere in the `justfile`.
For example:
```
set shell := ["zsh", "-cu"]
foo:
# this line will be run as `zsh -cu 'ls **/*.txt'`
ls **/*.txt
```
#### Table of Settings
| Name | Value | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `allow-duplicate-recipes` | boolean | `false` | Allow recipes appearing later in a `justfile` to override earlier recipes with the same name. |
| `allow-duplicate-variables` | boolean | `false` | Allow variables appearing later in a `justfile` to override earlier variables with the same name. |
| `dotenv-filename` | string | \- | Load a `.env` file with a custom name, if present. |
| `dotenv-load` | boolean | `false` | Load a `.env` file, if present. |
| `dotenv-override` | boolean | `false` | Override existing environment variables with values from the `.env` file. |
| `dotenv-path` | string | \- | Load a `.env` file from a custom path and error if not present. Overrides `dotenv-filename`. |
| `dotenv-required` | boolean | `false` | Error if a `.env` file isn't found. |
| `export` | boolean | `false` | Export all variables as environment variables. |
| `fallback` | boolean | `false` | Search `justfile` in parent directory if the first recipe on the command line is not found. |
| `ignore-comments` | boolean | `false` | Ignore recipe lines beginning with `#`. |
| `lazy`1\.47.0 | boolean | `false` | Don't evaluate unused variables. |
| `positional-arguments` | boolean | `false` | Pass positional arguments. |
| `quiet` | boolean | `false` | Disable echoing recipe lines before executing. |
| `script-interpreter`1\.33.0 | `[COMMAND, ARGSā¦]` | `['sh', '-eu']` | Set command used to invoke recipes with empty `[script]` attribute. |
| `shell` | `[COMMAND, ARGSā¦]` | \- | Set command used to invoke recipes and evaluate backticks. |
| `tempdir` | string | \- | Create temporary directories in `tempdir` instead of the system default temporary directory. |
| `unstable`1\.31.0 | boolean | `false` | Enable unstable features. |
| `windows-powershell` | boolean | `false` | Use PowerShell on Windows as default shell. (Deprecated. Use `windows-shell` instead. |
| `windows-shell` | `[COMMAND, ARGSā¦]` | \- | Set the command used to invoke recipes and evaluate backticks. |
| `working-directory`1\.33.0 | string | \- | Set the working directory for recipes and backticks, relative to the default working directory. |
Boolean settings can be written as:
```
set NAME
```
Which is equivalent to:
```
set NAME := true
```
Non-boolean settings can be set to both strings and expressions.1\.46.0
However, because settings affect the behavior of backticks and many functions, those expressions may not contain backticks or function calls, directly or transitively via reference.
#### Allow Duplicate Recipes
If `allow-duplicate-recipes` is set to `true`, defining multiple recipes with the same name is not an error and the last definition is used. Defaults to `false`.
```
set allow-duplicate-recipes
@foo:
echo foo
@foo:
echo bar
```
```
$ just foo
bar
```
#### Allow Duplicate Variables
If `allow-duplicate-variables` is set to `true`, defining multiple variables with the same name is not an error and the last definition is used. Defaults to `false`.
```
set allow-duplicate-variables
a := "foo"
a := "bar"
@foo:
echo {{a}}
```
```
$ just foo
bar
```
#### Dotenv Settings
If any of `dotenv-load`, `dotenv-filename`, `dotenv-override`, `dotenv-path`, or `dotenv-required` are set, `just` will try to load environment variables from a file.
If `dotenv-path` is set, `just` will look for a file at the given path, which may be absolute, or relative to the working directory.
The command-line option `--dotenv-path`, short form `-E`, can be used to set or override `dotenv-path` at runtime.
If `dotenv-filename` is set `just` will look for a file at the given path, relative to the working directory and each of its ancestors.
If `dotenv-filename` is not set, but `dotenv-load` or `dotenv-required` are set, just will look for a file named `.env`, relative to the working directory and each of its ancestors.
`dotenv-filename` and `dotenv-path` are similar, but `dotenv-path` is only checked relative to the working directory, whereas `dotenv-filename` is checked relative to the working directory and each of its ancestors.
It is not an error if an environment file is not found, unless `dotenv-required` is set.
The loaded variables are environment variables, not `just` variables, and so must be accessed using `$VARIABLE_NAME` in recipes and backticks.
If `dotenv-override` is set, variables from the environment file will override existing environment variables.
For example, if your `.env` file contains:
```
# a comment, will be ignored
DATABASE_ADDRESS=localhost:6379
SERVER_PORT=1337
```
And your `justfile` contains:
```
set dotenv-load
serve:
@echo "Starting server with database $DATABASE_ADDRESS on port $SERVER_PORTā¦"
./server --database $DATABASE_ADDRESS --port $SERVER_PORT
```
`just serve` will output:
```
$ just serve
Starting server with database localhost:6379 on port 1337ā¦
./server --database $DATABASE_ADDRESS --port $SERVER_PORT
```
#### Export
The `export` setting causes all `just` variables to be exported as environment variables. Defaults to `false`.
```
set export
a := "hello"
@foo b:
echo $a
echo $b
```
```
$ just foo goodbye
hello
goodbye
```
#### Lazy
The `lazy` setting1\.47.0 causes the evaluator to skip evaluating unused variables. This can be beneficial when a `justfile` contains variables that are expensive to evaluate but only sometimes used.
In the following `justfile`, `token` will be skipped when only invoking `bar`:
```
set lazy
token := `expensive-script-to-get-credentials`
foo:
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer {{ token }}" https://example.com/foo
bar:
cargo test
```
Because `just` cannot determine when exported variables are used, assignments with `export` and assignments in a module with `set export` will always be evaluated.
#### Positional Arguments
If `positional-arguments` is `true`, recipe arguments will be passed as positional arguments to commands. For linewise recipes, argument `$0` will be the name of the recipe.
For example, running this recipe:
```
set positional-arguments
@foo bar:
echo $0
echo $1
```
Will produce the following output:
```
$ just foo hello
foo
hello
```
When using an `sh`\-compatible shell, such as `bash` or `zsh`, `$@` expands to the positional arguments given to the recipe, starting from one. When used within double quotes as `"$@"`, arguments including whitespace will be passed on as if they were double-quoted. That is, `"$@"` is equivalent to `"$1" "$2"`⦠When there are no positional parameters, `"$@"` and `$@` expand to nothing (i.e., they are removed).
This example recipe will print arguments one by one on separate lines:
```
set positional-arguments
@test *args='':
bash -c 'while (( "$#" )); do echo - $1; shift; done' -- "$@"
```
Running it with *two* arguments:
```
$ just test foo "bar baz"
- foo
- bar baz
```
Positional arguments may also be turned on a per-recipe basis with the `[positional-arguments]` attribute1\.29.0:
```
[positional-arguments]
@foo bar:
echo $0
echo $1
```
Note that PowerShell does not handle positional arguments in the same way as other shells, so turning on positional arguments will likely break recipes that use PowerShell.
If using PowerShell 7.4 or better, the `-CommandWithArgs` flag will make positional arguments work as expected:
```
set shell := ['pwsh.exe', '-CommandWithArgs']
set positional-arguments
print-args a b c:
Write-Output @($args[1..($args.Count - 1)])
```
#### Shell
The `shell` setting controls the command used to invoke recipe lines and backticks. Shebang recipes are unaffected. The default shell is `sh -cu`.
```
# use python3 to execute recipe lines and backticks
set shell := ["python3", "-c"]
# use print to capture result of evaluation
foos := `print("foo" * 4)`
foo:
print("Snake snake snake snake.")
print("{{foos}}")
```
`just` passes the command to be executed as an argument. Many shells will need an additional flag, often `-c`, to make them evaluate the first argument.
##### Windows Shell
`just` uses `sh` on Windows by default. To use a different shell on Windows, use `windows-shell`:
```
set windows-shell := ["powershell.exe", "-NoLogo", "-Command"]
hello:
Write-Host "Hello, world!"
```
See [powershell.just](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/examples/powershell.just) for a justfile that uses PowerShell on all platforms.
##### Windows PowerShell
*`set windows-powershell` uses the legacy `powershell.exe` binary, and is no longer recommended. See the `windows-shell` setting above for a more flexible way to control which shell is used on Windows.*
`just` uses `sh` on Windows by default. To use `powershell.exe` instead, set `windows-powershell` to true.
```
set windows-powershell := true
hello:
Write-Host "Hello, world!"
```
##### Python 3
```
set shell := ["python3", "-c"]
```
##### Bash
```
set shell := ["bash", "-uc"]
```
##### Z Shell
```
set shell := ["zsh", "-uc"]
```
##### Fish
```
set shell := ["fish", "-c"]
```
##### Nushell
```
set shell := ["nu", "-c"]
```
If you want to change the default table mode to `light`:
```
set shell := ['nu', '-m', 'light', '-c']
```
*[Nushell](https://github.com/nushell/nushell) was written in Rust, and **has cross-platform support for Windows / macOS and Linux**.*
### Documentation Comments
Comments immediately preceding a recipe will appear in `just --list`:
```
# build stuff
build:
./bin/build
# test stuff
test:
./bin/test
```
```
$ just --list
Available recipes:
build # build stuff
test # test stuff
```
The `[doc]` attribute can be used to set or suppress a recipe's doc comment:
```
# This comment won't appear
[doc('Build stuff')]
build:
./bin/build
# This one won't either
[doc]
test:
./bin/test
```
```
$ just --list
Available recipes:
build # Build stuff
test
```
### Variables and Assignments
Module-level variables may be created by assigning them a value with `:=`:
```
foo := "hello"
bar := "world"
baz:
echo {{ foo + " " + bar }}
```
All variables in a module may be printed:
```
$ just --evaluate
bar := "world"
foo := "hello"
```
Or the value of a single variable:
```
$ just --evalaute foo
hello
```
All variables in a submodule or a single variable in a submodule may be printed with a path to the submodule or variablemaster:
```
$ just --evaluate bob::bar
x := "world"
y := "hello"
$ just --evaluate bob::bar::y
hello
```
The format of exported variables may be controlled with `--evaluate-format`master:
```
$ just --evaluate --evaluate-format shell
bar="world"
foo="hello"
```
The default format is `--evaluate-format just`:
```
$ just --evaluate --evaluate-format just
bar := "world"
foo := "hello"
```
### Expressions and Substitutions
Various operators and function calls are supported in expressions, which may be used in assignments, default recipe arguments, and inside recipe body `{{ā¦}}` substitutions.
```
tmpdir := `mktemp -d`
version := "0.2.7"
tardir := tmpdir / "awesomesauce-" + version
tarball := tardir + ".tar.gz"
config := quote(config_dir() / ".project-config")
publish:
rm -f {{tarball}}
mkdir {{tardir}}
cp README.md *.c {{ config }} {{tardir}}
tar zcvf {{tarball}} {{tardir}}
scp {{tarball}} me@server.com:release/
rm -rf {{tarball}} {{tardir}}
```
#### Concatenation
The `+` operator returns the left-hand argument concatenated with the right-hand argument:
```
foobar := 'foo' + 'bar'
```
#### Logical Operators
The logical operators `&&` and `||` can be used to coalesce string values1\.37.0, similar to Python's `and` and `or`. These operators consider the empty string `''` to be false, and all other strings to be true.
These operators are currently unstable.
The `&&` operator returns the empty string if the left-hand argument is the empty string, otherwise it returns the right-hand argument:
```
foo := '' && 'goodbye' # ''
bar := 'hello' && 'goodbye' # 'goodbye'
```
The `||` operator returns the left-hand argument if it is non-empty, otherwise it returns the right-hand argument:
```
foo := '' || 'goodbye' # 'goodbye'
bar := 'hello' || 'goodbye' # 'hello'
```
#### Joining Paths
The `/` operator can be used to join two strings with a slash:
```
foo := "a" / "b"
```
```
$ just --evaluate foo
a/b
```
Note that a `/` is added even if one is already present:
```
foo := "a/"
bar := foo / "b"
```
```
$ just --evaluate bar
a//b
```
Absolute paths can also be constructed1\.5.0:
```
foo := / "b"
```
```
$ just --evaluate foo
/b
```
The `/` operator uses the `/` character, even on Windows. Thus, using the `/` operator should be avoided with paths that use universal naming convention (UNC), i.e., those that start with `\?`, since forward slashes are not supported with UNC paths.
#### Escaping `{{`
To write a recipe containing `{{`, use `{{{{`:
```
braces:
echo 'I {{{{LOVE}} curly braces!'
```
(An unmatched `}}` is ignored, so it doesn't need to be escaped.)
Another option is to put all the text you'd like to escape inside of an interpolation:
```
braces:
echo '{{'I {{LOVE}} curly braces!'}}'
```
Yet another option is to use `{{ "{{" }}`:
```
braces:
echo 'I {{ "{{" }}LOVE}} curly braces!'
```
### Strings
`'single'`, `"double"`, and `'''triple'''` quoted string literals are supported. Unlike in recipe bodies, `{{ā¦}}` interpolations are not supported inside strings.
Double-quoted strings support escape sequences:
```
carriage-return := "\r"
double-quote := "\""
newline := "\n"
no-newline := "\
"
slash := "\\"
tab := "\t"
unicode-codepoint := "\u{1F916}"
```
```
$ just --evaluate
"arriage-return := "
double-quote := """
newline := "
"
no-newline := ""
slash := "\"
tab := " "
unicode-codepoint := "š¤"
```
The unicode character escape sequence `\u{ā¦}`1\.36.0 accepts up to six hex digits.
Strings may contain line breaks:
```
single := '
hello
'
double := "
goodbye
"
```
Single-quoted strings do not recognize escape sequences:
```
escapes := '\t\n\r\"\\'
```
```
$ just --evaluate
escapes := "\t\n\r\"\\"
```
Indented versions of both single- and double-quoted strings, delimited by triple single- or double-quotes, are supported. Indented string lines are stripped of a leading line break, and leading whitespace common to all non-blank lines:
```
# this string will evaluate to `foo\nbar\n`
x := '''
foo
bar
'''
# this string will evaluate to `abc\n wuv\nxyz\n`
y := """
abc
wuv
xyz
"""
```
Similar to unindented strings, indented double-quoted strings process escape sequences, and indented single-quoted strings ignore escape sequences. Escape sequence processing takes place after unindentation. The unindentation algorithm does not take escape-sequence produced whitespace or newlines into account.
#### Shell-expanded strings
Strings prefixed with `x` are shell expanded1\.27.0:
```
foobar := x'~/$FOO/${BAR}'
```
| Value | Replacement |
|---|---|
| `$VAR` | value of environment variable `VAR` |
| `${VAR}` | value of environment variable `VAR` |
| `${VAR:-DEFAULT}` | value of environment variable `VAR`, or `DEFAULT` if `VAR` is not set |
| Leading `~` | path to current user's home directory |
| Leading `~USER` | path to `USER`'s home directory |
This expansion is performed at compile time, so variables from `.env` files and exported `just` variables cannot be used. However, this allows shell expanded strings to be used in places like settings and import paths, which cannot depend on `just` variables and `.env` files.
#### Format strings
Strings prefixed with `f` are format strings1\.44.0:
```
name := "world"
message := f'Hello, {{name}}!'
```
Format strings may contain interpolations delimited with `{{ā¦}}` that contain expressions. Format strings evaluate to the concatenated string fragments and evaluated expressions.
Use `{{{{` to include a literal `{{` in a format string:
```
foo := f'I {{{{LOVE} curly braces!'
```
### Sigils
Commands in linewise recipes may be prefixed with any combination of the sigils `-`, `@`, and `?`.
The `@` sigil toggles command echoing:
```
foo:
@echo "This line won't be echoed!"
echo "This line will be echoed!"
@bar:
@echo "This line will be echoed!"
echo "This line won't be echoed!"
```
The `-` sigil cause recipe execution to continue even if the command returns a nonzero exit status:
```
# execution will continue, even if bar doesn't exist
foo:
-rmdir bar
mkdir bar
echo 'so much good stuff' > bar/stuff.txt
```
The `?` sigil1\.47.0 causes the current recipe to stop executing if the command exits with status code `1`, however execution of other recipes will continue. Exit status `0` causes the current recipe to continue execution as normal. All other exit codes are reserved and should not be used, as they may be given meaning in a future version of `just`.
If the `guards` setting is unset or false, `?` sigils are ignored and instead treated as part of the command.
```
set guards
@foo: bar
echo FOO
@bar:
?[[ -f baz ]]
echo BAR
```
```
$ just foo
FOO
$ touch baz
$ just foo
BAR
FOO
```
### Functions
`just` provides many built-in functions for use in expressions, including recipe body `{{ā¦}}` substitutions, assignments, and default parameter values.
All functions ending in `_directory` can be abbreviated to `_dir`. So `home_directory()` can also be written as `home_dir()`. In addition, `invocation_directory_native()` can be abbreviated to `invocation_dir_native()`.
#### System Information
- `arch()` ā Instruction set architecture. Possible values are: `"aarch64"`, `"arm"`, `"asmjs"`, `"hexagon"`, `"mips"`, `"msp430"`, `"powerpc"`, `"powerpc64"`, `"s390x"`, `"sparc"`, `"wasm32"`, `"x86"`, `"x86_64"`, and `"xcore"`.
- `num_cpus()`1\.15.0 - Number of logical CPUs.
- `os()` ā Operating system. Possible values are: `"android"`, `"bitrig"`, `"dragonfly"`, `"emscripten"`, `"freebsd"`, `"haiku"`, `"ios"`, `"linux"`, `"macos"`, `"netbsd"`, `"openbsd"`, `"solaris"`, and `"windows"`.
- `os_family()` ā Operating system family; possible values are: `"unix"` and `"windows"`.
For example:
```
system-info:
@echo "This is an {{arch()}} machine".
```
```
$ just system-info
This is an x86_64 machine
```
The `os_family()` function can be used to create cross-platform `justfile`s that work on various operating systems. For an example, see [cross-platform.just](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/examples/cross-platform.just) file.
#### External Commands
- `shell(command, args...)`1\.27.0 returns the standard output of shell script `command` with zero or more positional arguments `args`. The shell used to interpret `command` is the same shell that is used to evaluate recipe lines, and can be changed with `set shell := [ā¦]`.
`command` is passed as the first argument, so if the command is `'echo $@'`, the full command line, with the default shell command `sh -cu` and `args` `'foo'` and `'bar'` will be:
```
'sh' '-cu' 'echo $@' 'echo $@' 'foo' 'bar'
```
This is so that `$@` works as expected, and `$1` refers to the first argument. `$@` does not include the first positional argument, which is expected to be the name of the program being run.
```
# arguments can be variables or expressions
file := '/sys/class/power_supply/BAT0/status'
bat0stat := shell('cat $1', file)
# commands can be variables or expressions
command := 'wc -l'
output := shell(command + ' "$1"', 'main.c')
# arguments referenced by the shell command must be used
empty := shell('echo', 'foo')
full := shell('echo $1', 'foo')
error := shell('echo $1')
```
```
# Using python as the shell. Since `python -c` sets `sys.argv[0]` to `'-c'`,
# the first "real" positional argument will be `sys.argv[2]`.
set shell := ["python3", "-c"]
olleh := shell('import sys; print(sys.argv[2][::-1])', 'hello')
```
#### Environment Variables
- `env(key)`1\.15.0 ā Retrieves the environment variable with name `key`, aborting if it is not present.
```
home_dir := env('HOME')
test:
echo "{{home_dir}}"
```
```
$ just
/home/user1
```
- `env(key, default)`1\.15.0 ā Retrieves the environment variable with name `key`, returning `default` if it is not present.
- `env_var(key)` ā Deprecated alias for `env(key)`.
- `env_var_or_default(key, default)` ā Deprecated alias for `env(key, default)`.
A default can be substituted for an empty environment variable value with the `||` operator, currently unstable:
```
set unstable
foo := env('FOO', '') || 'DEFAULT_VALUE'
```
#### Executables
- `require(name)`1\.39.0 ā Search directories in the `PATH` environment variable for the executable `name` and return its full path, or halt with an error if no executable with `name` exists.
```
bash := require("bash")
@test:
echo "bash: '{{bash}}'"
```
```
$ just
bash: '/bin/bash'
```
- `which(name)`1\.39.0 ā Search directories in the `PATH` environment variable for the executable `name` and return its full path, or the empty string if no executable with `name` exists. Currently unstable.
```
set unstable
bosh := which("bosh")
@test:
echo "bosh: '{{bosh}}'"
```
```
$ just
bosh: ''
```
#### Invocation Information
- `is_dependency()` - Returns the string `true` if the current recipe is being run as a dependency of another recipe, rather than being run directly, otherwise returns the string `false`.
#### Invocation Directory
- `invocation_directory()` - Retrieves the absolute path to the current directory when `just` was invoked, before `just` changed it (chdir'd) prior to executing commands. On Windows, `invocation_directory()` uses `cygpath` to convert the invocation directory to a Cygwin-compatible `/`\-separated path. Use `invocation_directory_native()` to return the verbatim invocation directory on all platforms.
For example, to call `rustfmt` on files just under the "current directory" (from the user/invoker's perspective), use the following rule:
```
rustfmt:
find {{invocation_directory()}} -name \*.rs -exec rustfmt {} \;
```
Alternatively, if your command needs to be run from the current directory, you could use (e.g.):
```
build:
cd {{invocation_directory()}}; ./some_script_that_needs_to_be_run_from_here
```
- `invocation_directory_native()` - Retrieves the absolute path to the current directory when `just` was invoked, before `just` changed it (chdir'd) prior to executing commands.
#### Justfile and Justfile Directory
- `justfile()` - Retrieves the path of the current `justfile`.
- `justfile_directory()` - Retrieves the path of the parent directory of the current `justfile`.
For example, to run a command relative to the location of the current `justfile`:
```
script:
{{justfile_directory()}}/scripts/some_script
```
#### Source and Source Directory
- `source_file()`1\.27.0 - Retrieves the path of the current source file.
- `source_directory()`1\.27.0 - Retrieves the path of the parent directory of the current source file.
`source_file()` and `source_directory()` behave the same as `justfile()` and `justfile_directory()` in the root `justfile`, but will return the path and directory, respectively, of the current `import` or `mod` source file when called from within an import or submodule.
#### Module and Module Directory
- `module_file()` - Retrieves the path of the current module file.
- `module_directory()` - Retrieves the path of the parent directory of the current module file.
`module_file()` and `module_directory()` behave the same as `justfile()` and `justfile_directory()` in the root `justfile`, but will return the path and directory, respectively, of the current `mod` source file when called from within submodule.
#### Just Executable
- `just_executable()` - Absolute path to the `just` executable.
For example:
```
executable:
@echo The executable is at: {{just_executable()}}
```
```
$ just
The executable is at: /bin/just
```
#### Just Process ID
- `just_pid()` - Process ID of the `just` executable.
For example:
```
pid:
@echo The process ID is: {{ just_pid() }}
```
```
$ just
The process ID is: 420
```
#### String Manipulation
- `append(suffix, s)`1\.27.0 Append `suffix` to whitespace-separated strings in `s`. `append('/src', 'foo bar baz')` ā `'foo/src bar/src baz/src'`
- `prepend(prefix, s)`1\.27.0 Prepend `prefix` to whitespace-separated strings in `s`. `prepend('src/', 'foo bar baz')` ā `'src/foo src/bar src/baz'`
- `encode_uri_component(s)`1\.27.0 - Percent-encode characters in `s` except `[A-Za-z0-9_.!~*'()-]`, matching the behavior of the [JavaScript `encodeURIComponent` function](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/encodeURIComponent).
- `quote(s)` - Replace all single quotes with `'\''` and prepend and append single quotes to `s`. This is sufficient to escape special characters for many shells, including most Bourne shell descendants.
- `replace(s, from, to)` - Replace all occurrences of `from` in `s` with `to`.
- `replace_regex(s, regex, replacement)` - Replace all occurrences of `regex` in `s` with `replacement`. Regular expressions are provided by the [Rust `regex` crate](https://docs.rs/regex/latest/regex/). See the [syntax documentation](https://docs.rs/regex/latest/regex/#syntax) for usage examples. Capture groups are supported. The `replacement` string uses [Replacement string syntax](https://docs.rs/regex/latest/regex/struct.Regex.html#replacement-string-syntax).
- `trim(s)` - Remove leading and trailing whitespace from `s`.
- `trim_end(s)` - Remove trailing whitespace from `s`.
- `trim_end_match(s, substring)` - Remove suffix of `s` matching `substring`.
- `trim_end_matches(s, substring)` - Repeatedly remove suffixes of `s` matching `substring`.
- `trim_start(s)` - Remove leading whitespace from `s`.
- `trim_start_match(s, substring)` - Remove prefix of `s` matching `substring`.
- `trim_start_matches(s, substring)` - Repeatedly remove prefixes of `s` matching `substring`.
#### Case Conversion
- `capitalize(s)`1\.7.0 - Convert first character of `s` to uppercase and the rest to lowercase.
- `kebabcase(s)`1\.7.0 - Convert `s` to `kebab-case`.
- `lowercamelcase(s)`1\.7.0 - Convert `s` to `lowerCamelCase`.
- `lowercase(s)` - Convert `s` to lowercase.
- `shoutykebabcase(s)`1\.7.0 - Convert `s` to `SHOUTY-KEBAB-CASE`.
- `shoutysnakecase(s)`1\.7.0 - Convert `s` to `SHOUTY_SNAKE_CASE`.
- `snakecase(s)`1\.7.0 - Convert `s` to `snake_case`.
- `titlecase(s)`1\.7.0 - Convert `s` to `Title Case`.
- `uppercamelcase(s)`1\.7.0 - Convert `s` to `UpperCamelCase`.
- `uppercase(s)` - Convert `s` to uppercase.
#### Path Manipulation
##### Fallible
- `absolute_path(path)` - Absolute path to relative `path` in the working directory. `absolute_path("./bar.txt")` in directory `/foo` is `/foo/bar.txt`.
- `canonicalize(path)`1\.24.0 - Canonicalize `path` by resolving symlinks and removing `.`, `..`, and extra `/`s where possible.
- `extension(path)` - Extension of `path`. `extension("/foo/bar.txt")` is `txt`.
- `file_name(path)` - File name of `path` with any leading directory components removed. `file_name("/foo/bar.txt")` is `bar.txt`.
- `file_stem(path)` - File name of `path` without extension. `file_stem("/foo/bar.txt")` is `bar`.
- `parent_directory(path)` - Parent directory of `path`. `parent_directory("/foo/bar.txt")` is `/foo`.
- `without_extension(path)` - `path` without extension. `without_extension("/foo/bar.txt")` is `/foo/bar`.
These functions can fail, for example if a path does not have an extension, which will halt execution.
##### Infallible
- `clean(path)` - Simplify `path` by removing extra path separators, intermediate `.` components, and `..` where possible. `clean("foo//bar")` is `foo/bar`, `clean("foo/..")` is `.`, `clean("foo/./bar")` is `foo/bar`.
- `join(a, bā¦)` - *This function uses `/` on Unix and `\` on Windows, which can be lead to unwanted behavior. The `/` operator, e.g., `a / b`, which always uses `/`, should be considered as a replacement unless `\`s are specifically desired on Windows.* Join path `a` with path `b`. `join("foo/bar", "baz")` is `foo/bar/baz`. Accepts two or more arguments.
#### Filesystem Access
- `path_exists(path)` - Returns the string `true` if the path points at an existing entity and the string `false` otherwise. Traverses symbolic links, and returns the string `false` if the path is inaccessible or points to a broken symlink.
- `read(path)`1\.39.0 - Returns the content of file at `path` as string.
##### Error Reporting
- `error(message)` - Abort execution and report error `message` to user.
#### UUID and Hash Generation
- `blake3(string)`1\.25.0 - Return [BLAKE3](https://github.com/BLAKE3-team/BLAKE3/) hash of `string` as hexadecimal string.
- `blake3_file(path)`1\.25.0 - Return [BLAKE3](https://github.com/BLAKE3-team/BLAKE3/) hash of file at `path` as hexadecimal string.
- `sha256(string)` - Return the SHA-256 hash of `string` as hexadecimal string.
- `sha256_file(path)` - Return SHA-256 hash of file at `path` as hexadecimal string.
- `uuid()` - Generate a random version 4 UUID.
#### Random
- `choose(n, alphabet)`1\.27.0 - Generate a string of `n` randomly selected characters from `alphabet`, which may not contain repeated characters. For example, `choose('64', HEX)` will generate a random 64-character lowercase hex string.
#### Datetime
- `datetime(format)`1\.30.0 - Return local time with `format`.
- `datetime_utc(format)`1\.30.0 - Return UTC time with `format`.
The arguments to `datetime` and `datetime_utc` are `strftime`\-style format strings, see the [`chrono` library docs](https://docs.rs/chrono/latest/chrono/format/strftime/index.html) for details.
#### Semantic Versions
- `semver_matches(version, requirement)`1\.16.0 - Check whether a [semantic `version`](https://semver.org/), e.g., `"0.1.0"` matches a `requirement`, e.g., `">=0.1.0"`, returning the string `"true"` if so and the string `"false"` otherwise.
#### Style
- `style(name)`1\.37.0 - Return a named terminal display attribute escape sequence used by `just`. Unlike terminal display attribute escape sequence constants, which contain standard colors and styles, `style(name)` returns an escape sequence used by `just` itself, and can be used to make recipe output match `just`'s own output.
Recognized values for `name` are `'command'`, for echoed recipe lines, `error`, and `warning`.
For example, to style an error message:
```
scary:
@echo '{{ style("error") }}OH NO{{ NORMAL }}'
```
##### User Directories
These functions1\.23.0 return paths to user-specific directories for things like configuration, data, caches, executables, and the user's home directory.
On Unix, these functions follow the [XDG Base Directory Specification](https://specifications.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html).
On MacOS and Windows, these functions return the system-specified user-specific directories. For example, `cache_directory()` returns `~/Library/Caches` on MacOS and `{FOLDERID_LocalAppData}` on Windows.
See the [`dirs`](https://docs.rs/dirs/latest/dirs/index.html) crate for more details.
- `cache_directory()` - The user-specific cache directory.
- `config_directory()` - The user-specific configuration directory.
- `config_local_directory()` - The local user-specific configuration directory.
- `data_directory()` - The user-specific data directory.
- `data_local_directory()` - The local user-specific data directory.
- `executable_directory()` - The user-specific executable directory.
- `home_directory()` - The user's home directory.
If you would like to use XDG base directories on all platforms you can use the `env(ā¦)` function with the appropriate environment variable and fallback, although note that the XDG specification requires ignoring non-absolute paths, so for full compatibility with spec-compliant applications, you would need to do:
```
xdg_config_dir := if env('XDG_CONFIG_HOME', '') =~ '^/' {
env('XDG_CONFIG_HOME')
} else {
home_directory() / '.config'
}
```
### Constants
A number of constants are predefined:
| Name | Value | Value on Windows |
|---|---|---|
| `HEX`1\.27.0 | `"0123456789abcdef"` | |
| `HEXLOWER`1\.27.0 | `"0123456789abcdef"` | |
| `HEXUPPER`1\.27.0 | `"0123456789ABCDEF"` | |
| `PATH_SEP`1\.41.0 | `"/"` | `"\"` |
| `PATH_VAR_SEP`1\.41.0 | `":"` | `";"` |
| `CLEAR`1\.37.0 | `"\ec"` | |
| `NORMAL`1\.37.0 | `"\e[0m"` | |
| `BOLD`1\.37.0 | `"\e[1m"` | |
| `ITALIC`1\.37.0 | `"\e[3m"` | |
| `UNDERLINE`1\.37.0 | `"\e[4m"` | |
| `INVERT`1\.37.0 | `"\e[7m"` | |
| `HIDE`1\.37.0 | `"\e[8m"` | |
| `STRIKETHROUGH`1\.37.0 | `"\e[9m"` | |
| `BLACK`1\.37.0 | `"\e[30m"` | |
| `RED`1\.37.0 | `"\e[31m"` | |
| `GREEN`1\.37.0 | `"\e[32m"` | |
| `YELLOW`1\.37.0 | `"\e[33m"` | |
| `BLUE`1\.37.0 | `"\e[34m"` | |
| `MAGENTA`1\.37.0 | `"\e[35m"` | |
| `CYAN`1\.37.0 | `"\e[36m"` | |
| `WHITE`1\.37.0 | `"\e[37m"` | |
| `BG_BLACK`1\.37.0 | `"\e[40m"` | |
| `BG_RED`1\.37.0 | `"\e[41m"` | |
| `BG_GREEN`1\.37.0 | `"\e[42m"` | |
| `BG_YELLOW`1\.37.0 | `"\e[43m"` | |
| `BG_BLUE`1\.37.0 | `"\e[44m"` | |
| `BG_MAGENTA`1\.37.0 | `"\e[45m"` | |
| `BG_CYAN`1\.37.0 | `"\e[46m"` | |
| `BG_WHITE`1\.37.0 | `"\e[47m"` | |
```
@foo:
echo {{HEX}}
```
```
$ just foo
0123456789abcdef
```
Constants starting with `\e` are [ANSI escape sequences](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANSI_escape_code).
`CLEAR` clears the screen, similar to the `clear` command. The rest are of the form `\e[Nm`, where `N` is an integer, and set terminal display attributes.
Terminal display attribute escape sequences can be combined, for example text weight `BOLD`, text style `STRIKETHROUGH`, foreground color `CYAN`, and background color `BG_BLUE`. They should be followed by `NORMAL`, to reset the terminal back to normal.
Escape sequences should be quoted, since `[` is treated as a special character by some shells.
```
@foo:
echo '{{BOLD + STRIKETHROUGH + CYAN + BG_BLUE}}Hi!{{NORMAL}}'
```
### Attributes
Recipes, `mod` statements, and aliases may be annotated with attributes that change their behavior.
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `[arg(ARG, help="HELP")]`1\.46.0 | recipe | Print help string `HELP` for `ARG` in usage messages. |
| `[arg(ARG, long="LONG")]`1\.46.0 | recipe | Require values of argument `ARG` to be passed as `--LONG` option. |
| `[arg(ARG, pattern="PATTERN")]`1\.45.0 | recipe | Require values of argument `ARG` to match regular expression `PATTERN`. |
| `[arg(ARG, short="S")]`1\.46.0 | recipe | Require values of argument `ARG` to be passed as short `-S` option. |
| `[arg(ARG, value="VALUE")]`1\.46.0 | recipe | Makes option `ARG` a flag which does not take a value. |
| `[confirm(PROMPT)]`1\.23.0 | recipe | Require confirmation prior to executing recipe with a custom prompt. |
| `[confirm]`1\.17.0 | recipe | Require confirmation prior to executing recipe. |
| `[default]`1\.43.0 | recipe | Use recipe as module's default recipe. |
| `[doc(DOC)]`1\.27.0 | module, recipe | Set recipe or module's [documentation comment](https://github.com/casey/just#documentation-comments) to `DOC`. |
| `[dragonfly]`1\.47.0 | recipe | Enable recipe on DragonFly BSD. |
| `[env(ENV_VAR, VALUE)]` 1\.47.0 | recipe | Set environment variables for recipe. |
| `[extension(EXT)]`1\.32.0 | recipe | Set shebang recipe script's file extension to `EXT`. `EXT` should include a period if one is desired. |
| `[freebsd]`1\.47.0 | recipe | Enable recipe on FreeBSD. |
| `[group(NAME)]`1\.27.0 | module, recipe | Put recipe or module in [group](https://github.com/casey/just#groups) `NAME`. |
| `[linux]`1\.8.0 | recipe | Enable recipe on Linux. |
| `[macos]`1\.8.0 | recipe | Enable recipe on MacOS. |
| `[metadata(METADATA)]`1\.42.0 | recipe | Attach `METADATA` to recipe. |
| `[netbsd]`1\.47.0 | recipe | Enable recipe on NetBSD. |
| `[no-cd]`1\.9.0 | recipe | Don't change directory before executing recipe. |
| `[no-exit-message]`1\.7.0 | recipe | Don't print an error message if recipe fails. |
| `[no-quiet]`1\.23.0 | recipe | Override globally quiet recipes and always echo out the recipe. |
| `[openbsd]`1\.38.0 | recipe | Enable recipe on OpenBSD. |
| `[parallel]`1\.42.0 | recipe | Run this recipe's dependencies in parallel. |
| `[positional-arguments]`1\.29.0 | recipe | Turn on [positional arguments](https://github.com/casey/just#positional-arguments) for this recipe. |
| `[private]`1\.10.0 | alias, recipe | Make recipe, alias, or variable private. See [Private Recipes](https://github.com/casey/just#private-recipes). |
| `[script(COMMAND)]`1\.32.0 | recipe | Execute recipe as a script interpreted by `COMMAND`. See [script recipes](https://github.com/casey/just#script-recipes) for more details. |
| `[script]`1\.33.0 | recipe | Execute recipe as script. See [script recipes](https://github.com/casey/just#script-recipes) for more details. |
| `[unix]`1\.8.0 | recipe | Enable recipe on Unixes. (Includes MacOS). |
| `[windows]`1\.8.0 | recipe | Enable recipe on Windows. |
| `[working-directory(PATH)]`1\.38.0 | recipe | Set recipe working directory. `PATH` may be relative or absolute. If relative, it is interpreted relative to the default working directory. |
A recipe can have multiple attributes, either on multiple lines:
```
[no-cd]
[private]
foo:
echo "foo"
```
Or separated by commas on a single line1\.14.0:
```
[no-cd, private]
foo:
echo "foo"
```
Attributes with a single argument may be written with a colon:
```
[group: 'bar']
foo:
```
#### Enabling and Disabling Recipes
The `[linux]`, `[macos]`, `[unix]`, and `[windows]` attributes1\.8.0 are configuration attributes. By default, recipes are always enabled. A recipe with one or more configuration attributes will only be enabled when one or more of those configurations is active.
This can be used to write `justfile`s that behave differently depending on which operating system they run on. The `run` recipe in this `justfile` will compile and run `main.c`, using a different C compiler and using the correct output binary name for that compiler depending on the operating system:
```
[unix]
run:
cc main.c
./a.out
[windows]
run:
cl main.c
main.exe
```
#### Disabling Changing Directory
`just` normally executes recipes with the current directory set to the directory that contains the `justfile`. This can be disabled using the `[no-cd]` attribute1\.9.0. This can be used to create recipes which use paths relative to the invocation directory, or which operate on the current directory.
For example, this `commit` recipe:
```
[no-cd]
commit file:
git add {{file}}
git commit
```
Can be used with paths that are relative to the current directory, because `[no-cd]` prevents `just` from changing the current directory when executing `commit`.
#### Requiring Confirmation for Recipes
`just` normally executes all recipes unless there is an error. The `[confirm]` attribute1\.17.0 allows recipes require confirmation in the terminal prior to running. This can be overridden by passing `--yes` to `just`, which will automatically confirm any recipes marked by this attribute.
Recipes dependent on a recipe that requires confirmation will not be run if the relied upon recipe is not confirmed, as well as recipes passed after any recipe that requires confirmation.
```
[confirm]
delete-all:
rm -rf *
```
#### Custom Confirmation Prompt
The default confirmation prompt can be overridden with `[confirm(PROMPT)]`1\.23.0:
```
[confirm("Are you sure you want to delete everything?")]
delete-everything:
rm -rf *
```
#### Metadata
Metadata in the form of lists of strings may be attached to recipes with the `[metadata(METADATA)]` attribute1\.42.0:
```
[metadata("hello", "goodbye")]
foo:
```
Metadata can be read using `just --dump --dump-format json`.
### Groups
Recipes and modules may be annotated with one or more group names:
```
[group('lint')]
js-lint:
echo 'Running JS linterā¦'
[group('rust recipes')]
[group('lint')]
rust-lint:
echo 'Running Rust linterā¦'
[group('lint')]
cpp-lint:
echo 'Running C++ linterā¦'
# not in any group
email-everyone:
echo 'Sending mass emailā¦'
```
Recipes are listed by group:
```
$ just --list
Available recipes:
email-everyone # not in any group
[lint]
cpp-lint
js-lint
rust-lint
[rust recipes]
rust-lint
```
`just --list --unsorted` prints recipes in their justfile order within each group:
```
$ just --list --unsorted
Available recipes:
(no group)
email-everyone # not in any group
[lint]
js-lint
rust-lint
cpp-lint
[rust recipes]
rust-lint
```
Groups can be listed with `--groups`:
```
$ just --groups
Recipe groups:
lint
rust recipes
```
Use `just --groups --unsorted` to print groups in their justfile order.
### Command Evaluation Using Backticks
Backticks can be used to store the result of commands:
```
localhost := `dumpinterfaces | cut -d: -f2 | sed 's/\/.*//' | sed 's/ //g'`
serve:
./serve {{localhost}} 8080
```
Indented backticks, delimited by three backticks, are de-indented in the same manner as indented strings:
```
# This backtick evaluates the command `echo foo\necho bar\n`, which produces the value `foo\nbar\n`.
stuff := ```
echo foo
echo bar
```
```
See the [Strings](https://github.com/casey/just#strings) section for details on unindenting.
Backticks may not start with `#!`. This syntax is reserved for a future upgrade.
The [`shell(ā¦)` function](https://github.com/casey/just#external-commands) provides a more general mechanism to invoke external commands, including the ability to execute the contents of a variable as a command, and to pass arguments to a command.
### Conditional Expressions
`if`/`else` expressions evaluate different branches depending on if two expressions evaluate to the same value:
```
foo := if "2" == "2" { "Good!" } else { "1984" }
bar:
@echo "{{foo}}"
```
```
$ just bar
Good!
```
It is also possible to test for inequality:
```
foo := if "hello" != "goodbye" { "xyz" } else { "abc" }
bar:
@echo {{foo}}
```
```
$ just bar
xyz
```
And match against regular expressions:
```
foo := if "hello" =~ 'hel+o' { "match" } else { "mismatch" }
bar:
@echo {{foo}}
```
```
$ just bar
match
```
Regular expressions are provided by the [regex crate](https://github.com/rust-lang/regex), whose syntax is documented on [docs.rs](https://docs.rs/regex/1.5.4/regex/#syntax). Since regular expressions commonly use backslash escape sequences, consider using single-quoted string literals, which will pass slashes to the regex parser unmolested.
Conditional expressions short-circuit, which means they only evaluate one of their branches. This can be used to make sure that backtick expressions don't run when they shouldn't.
```
foo := if env_var("RELEASE") == "true" { `get-something-from-release-database` } else { "dummy-value" }
```
Conditionals can be used inside of recipes:
```
bar foo:
echo {{ if foo == "bar" { "hello" } else { "goodbye" } }}
```
Multiple conditionals can be chained:
```
foo := if "hello" == "goodbye" {
"xyz"
} else if "a" == "a" {
"abc"
} else {
"123"
}
bar:
@echo {{foo}}
```
```
$ just bar
abc
```
### Stopping execution with error
Execution can be halted with the `error` function. For example:
```
foo := if "hello" == "goodbye" {
"xyz"
} else if "a" == "b" {
"abc"
} else {
error("123")
}
```
Which produce the following error when run:
```
error: Call to function `error` failed: 123
|
16 | error("123")
```
### Setting Variables from the Command Line
Variables can be overridden from the command line.
```
os := "linux"
test: build
./test --test {{os}}
build:
./build {{os}}
```
```
$ just
./build linux
./test --test linux
```
Any number of arguments of the form `NAME=VALUE` can be passed before recipes:
```
$ just os=plan9
./build plan9
./test --test plan9
```
Or you can use the `--set` flag:
```
$ just --set os bsd
./build bsd
./test --test bsd
```
Variables in submodules can be overridden using the `::`\-separated path to the variable. A variable named `bar` in a submodule named `foo` may be overridden with `foo::bar=VALUE` or `--set foo::bar VALUE`.
### Getting and Setting Environment Variables
#### Exporting `just` Variables
Assignments prefixed with the `export` keyword will be exported to recipes as environment variables:
```
export RUST_BACKTRACE := "1"
test:
# will print a stack trace if it crashes
cargo test
```
Parameters prefixed with a `$` will be exported as environment variables:
```
test $RUST_BACKTRACE="1":
# will print a stack trace if it crashes
cargo test
```
You can also use the `[env(NAME, VALUE)]` attribute to export environment variables to a specific recipe:
```
[env("RUST_BACKTRACE", "1")]
test:
# will print a stack trace if it crashes
cargo test
```
Exported variables and parameters are not exported to backticks in the same scope.
```
export WORLD := "world"
# This backtick will fail with "WORLD: unbound variable"
BAR := `echo hello $WORLD`
```
```
# Running `just a foo` will fail with "A: unbound variable"
a $A $B=`echo $A`:
echo $A $B
```
When [export](https://github.com/casey/just#export) is set, all `just` variables are exported as environment variables.
#### Unexporting Environment Variables
Environment variables can be unexported with the `unexport keyword`1\.29.0:
```
unexport FOO
@foo:
echo $FOO
```
```
$ export FOO=bar
$ just foo
sh: FOO: unbound variable
```
#### Getting Environment Variables from the environment
Environment variables from the environment are passed automatically to the recipes.
```
print_home_folder:
echo "HOME is: '${HOME}'"
```
```
$ just
HOME is '/home/myuser'
```
#### Setting `just` Variables from Environment Variables
Environment variables can be propagated to `just` variables using the `env()` function. See [environment-variables](https://github.com/casey/just#environment-variables).
### Recipe Parameters
Recipes may have parameters. Here recipe `build` has a parameter called `target`:
```
build target:
@echo 'Building {{target}}ā¦'
cd {{target}} && make
```
To pass arguments on the command line, put them after the recipe name:
```
$ just build my-awesome-project
Building my-awesome-projectā¦
cd my-awesome-project && make
```
To pass arguments to a dependency, put the dependency in parentheses along with the arguments:
```
default: (build "main")
build target:
@echo 'Building {{target}}ā¦'
cd {{target}} && make
```
Variables can also be passed as arguments to dependencies:
```
target := "main"
_build version:
@echo 'Building {{version}}ā¦'
cd {{version}} && make
build: (_build target)
```
A command's arguments can be passed to dependency by putting the dependency in parentheses along with the arguments:
```
build target:
@echo "Building {{target}}ā¦"
push target: (build target)
@echo 'Pushing {{target}}ā¦'
```
Parameters may have default values:
```
default := 'all'
test target tests=default:
@echo 'Testing {{target}}:{{tests}}ā¦'
./test --tests {{tests}} {{target}}
```
Parameters with default values may be omitted:
```
$ just test server
Testing server:allā¦
./test --tests all server
```
Or supplied:
```
$ just test server unit
Testing server:unitā¦
./test --tests unit server
```
Default values may be arbitrary expressions, but expressions containing the `+`, `&&`, `||`, or `/` operators must be parenthesized:
```
arch := "wasm"
test triple=(arch + "-unknown-unknown") input=(arch / "input.dat"):
./test {{triple}}
```
The last parameter of a recipe may be variadic, indicated with either a `+` or a `*` before the argument name:
```
backup +FILES:
scp {{FILES}} me@server.com:
```
Variadic parameters prefixed with `+` accept *one or more* arguments and expand to a string containing those arguments separated by spaces:
```
$ just backup FAQ.md GRAMMAR.md
scp FAQ.md GRAMMAR.md me@server.com:
FAQ.md 100% 1831 1.8KB/s 00:00
GRAMMAR.md 100% 1666 1.6KB/s 00:00
```
Variadic parameters prefixed with `*` accept *zero or more* arguments and expand to a string containing those arguments separated by spaces, or an empty string if no arguments are present:
```
commit MESSAGE *FLAGS:
git commit {{FLAGS}} -m "{{MESSAGE}}"
```
Variadic parameters can be assigned default values. These are overridden by arguments passed on the command line:
```
test +FLAGS='-q':
cargo test {{FLAGS}}
```
`{{ā¦}}` substitutions may need to be quoted if they contain spaces. For example, if you have the following recipe:
```
search QUERY:
lynx https://www.google.com/?q={{QUERY}}
```
And you type:
```
$ just search "cat toupee"
```
`just` will run the command `lynx https://www.google.com/?q=cat toupee`, which will get parsed by `sh` as `lynx`, `https://www.google.com/?q=cat`, and `toupee`, and not the intended `lynx` and `https://www.google.com/?q=cat toupee`.
You can fix this by adding quotes:
```
search QUERY:
lynx 'https://www.google.com/?q={{QUERY}}'
```
Parameters prefixed with a `$` will be exported as environment variables:
```
foo $bar:
echo $bar
```
Parameters may be constrained to match regular expression patterns using the `[arg("name", pattern="pattern")]` attribute1\.45.0:
```
[arg('n', pattern='\d+')]
double n:
echo $(({{n}} * 2))
```
A leading `^` and trailing `$` are added to the pattern, so it must match the entire argument value.
You may constrain the pattern to a number of alternatives using the `|` operator:
```
[arg('flag', pattern='--help|--version')]
info flag:
just {{flag}}
```
Regular expressions are provided by the [Rust `regex` crate](https://docs.rs/regex/latest/regex/). See the [syntax documentation](https://docs.rs/regex/latest/regex/#syntax) for usage examples.
Usage information for a recipe may be printed with the `--usage` subcommand1\.46.0:
```
$ just --usage foo
Usage: just foo [OPTIONS] bar
Arguments:
bar
```
Help strings may be added to arguments using the `[arg(ARG, help=HELP)]` attribute:
```
[arg("bar", help="hello")]
foo bar:
```
```
$ just --usage foo
Usage: just foo bar
Arguments:
bar hello
```
#### Recipe Flags and Options
Recipe parameters are positional by default.
In this `justfile`:
```
@foo bar:
echo bar={{bar}}
```
The parameter `bar` is positional:
```
$ just foo hello
bar=hello
```
The `[arg(ARG, long=OPTION)]`1\.46.0 attribute can be used to make a parameter a long option.
In this `justfile`:
```
[arg("bar", long="bar")]
foo bar:
```
The parameter `bar` is given with the `--bar` option:
```
$ just foo --bar hello
bar=hello
```
Options may also be passed with `--name=value` syntax:
```
$ just foo --bar=hello
bar=hello
```
The value of `long` can be omitted, in which case the option defaults to the name of the parameter:
```
[arg("bar", long)]
foo bar:
```
The `[arg(ARG, short=OPTION)]`1\.46.0 attribute can be used to make a parameter a short option.
In this `justfile`:
```
[arg("bar", short="b")]
foo bar:
```
The parameter `bar` is given with the `-b` option:
```
$ just foo -b hello
bar=hello
```
If a parameter has both a long and short option, it may be passed using either.
Variadic `*` and `+` parameters cannot be options.
The `[arg(ARG, value=VALUE, ā¦)]`1\.46.0 attribute can be used with `long` or `short` to make a parameter a flag which does not take a value.
In this `justfile`:
```
[arg("bar", long="bar", value="hello")]
foo bar:
```
The parameter `bar` is given with the `--bar` option, but does not take a value, and instead takes the value given in the `[arg]` attribute:
```
$ just foo --bar
bar=hello
```
This is useful for unconditionally requiring a flag like `--force` on dangerous commands.
A flag is optional if its parameter has a default:
```
[arg("bar", long="bar", value="hello")]
foo bar="goodbye":
```
Causing it to receive the default when not passed in the invocation:
```
$ just foo
bar=goodbye
```
### Dependencies
Dependencies run before recipes that depend on them:
```
a: b
@echo A
b:
@echo B
```
```
$ just a
B
A
```
In a given invocation of `just`, a recipe with the same arguments will only run once, regardless of how many times it appears in the command-line invocation, or how many times it appears as a dependency:
```
a:
@echo A
b: a
@echo B
c: a
@echo C
```
```
$ just a a a a a
A
$ just b c
A
B
C
```
Multiple recipes may depend on a recipe that performs some kind of setup, and when those recipes run, that setup will only be performed once:
```
build:
cc main.c
test-foo: build
./a.out --test foo
test-bar: build
./a.out --test bar
```
```
$ just test-foo test-bar
cc main.c
./a.out --test foo
./a.out --test bar
```
Recipes in a given run are only skipped when they receive the same arguments:
```
build:
cc main.c
test TEST: build
./a.out --test {{TEST}}
```
```
$ just test foo test bar
cc main.c
./a.out --test foo
./a.out --test bar
```
#### Running Recipes at the End of a Recipe
Normal dependencies of a recipes always run before a recipe starts. That is to say, the dependee always runs before the depender. These dependencies are called "prior dependencies".
A recipe can also have subsequent dependencies, which run immediately after the recipe and are introduced with an `&&`:
```
a:
echo 'A!'
b: a && c d
echo 'B!'
c:
echo 'C!'
d:
echo 'D!'
```
ā¦running *b* prints:
```
$ just b
echo 'A!'
A!
echo 'B!'
B!
echo 'C!'
C!
echo 'D!'
D!
```
#### Running Recipes in the Middle of a Recipe
`just` doesn't support running recipes in the middle of another recipe, but you can call `just` recursively in the middle of a recipe. Given the following `justfile`:
```
a:
echo 'A!'
b: a
echo 'B start!'
just c
echo 'B end!'
c:
echo 'C!'
```
ā¦running *b* prints:
```
$ just b
echo 'A!'
A!
echo 'B start!'
B start!
echo 'C!'
C!
echo 'B end!'
B end!
```
This has limitations, since recipe `c` is run with an entirely new invocation of `just`: Assignments will be recalculated, dependencies might run twice, and command line arguments will not be propagated to the child `just` process.
### Shebang Recipes
Recipes that start with `#!` are called shebang recipes, and are executed by saving the recipe body to a file and running it. This lets you write recipes in different languages:
```
polyglot: python js perl sh ruby nu
python:
#!/usr/bin/env python3
print('Hello from python!')
js:
#!/usr/bin/env node
console.log('Greetings from JavaScript!')
perl:
#!/usr/bin/env perl
print "Larry Wall says Hi!\n";
sh:
#!/usr/bin/env sh
hello='Yo'
echo "$hello from a shell script!"
nu:
#!/usr/bin/env nu
let hello = 'Hola'
echo $"($hello) from a nushell script!"
ruby:
#!/usr/bin/env ruby
puts "Hello from ruby!"
```
```
$ just polyglot
Hello from python!
Greetings from JavaScript!
Larry Wall says Hi!
Yo from a shell script!
Hola from a nushell script!
Hello from ruby!
```
On Unix-like operating systems, including Linux and MacOS, shebang recipes are executed by saving the recipe body to a file in a temporary directory, marking the file as executable, and executing it. The OS then parses the shebang line into a command line and invokes it, including the path to the file. For example, if a recipe starts with `#!/usr/bin/env bash`, the final command that the OS runs will be something like `/usr/bin/env bash /tmp/PATH_TO_SAVED_RECIPE_BODY`.
Shebang line splitting is operating system dependent. When passing a command with arguments, you may need to tell `env` to split them explicitly by using the `-S` flag:
```
run:
#!/usr/bin/env -S bash -x
ls
```
Windows does not support shebang lines. On Windows, `just` splits the shebang line into a command and arguments, saves the recipe body to a file, and invokes the split command and arguments, adding the path to the saved recipe body as the final argument. For example, on Windows, if a recipe starts with `#! py`, the final command the OS runs will be something like `py C:\Temp\PATH_TO_SAVED_RECIPE_BODY`.
### Script Recipes
Recipes with a `[script(COMMAND)]`1\.32.0 attribute are run as scripts interpreted by `COMMAND`. This avoids some of the issues with shebang recipes, such as the use of `cygpath` on Windows, the need to use `/usr/bin/env`, inconsistencies in shebang line splitting across Unix OSs, and requiring a temporary directory from which files can be executed.
Recipes with an empty `[script]` attribute are executed with the value of `set script-interpreter := [ā¦]`1\.33.0, defaulting to `sh -eu`, and *not* the value of `set shell`.
The body of the recipe is evaluated, written to disk in the temporary directory, and run by passing its path as an argument to `COMMAND`.
### Script and Shebang Recipe Temporary Files
Both script and shebang recipes write the recipe body to a temporary file for execution. Script recipes execute that file by passing it to a command, while shebang recipes execute the file directly. Shebang recipe execution will fail if the filesystem containing the temporary file is mounted with `noexec` or is otherwise non-executable.
The directory that `just` writes temporary files to may be configured in a number of ways, from highest to lowest precedence:
- Globally with the `--tempdir` command-line option or the `JUST_TEMPDIR` environment variable1\.41.0.
- On a per-module basis with the `tempdir` setting.
- Globally on Linux with the `XDG_RUNTIME_DIR` environment variable.
- Falling back to the directory returned by [std::env::temp\_dir](https://doc.rust-lang.org/std/env/fn.temp_dir.html).
### Python Recipes with `uv`
[`uv`](https://github.com/astral-sh/uv) is an excellent cross-platform python project manager, written in Rust.
Using the `[script]` attribute and `script-interpreter` setting, `just` can easily be configured to run Python recipes with `uv`:
```
set script-interpreter := ['uv', 'run', '--script']
[script]
hello:
print("Hello from Python!")
[script]
goodbye:
# /// script
# requires-python = ">=3.11"
# dependencies=["sh"]
# ///
import sh
print(sh.echo("Goodbye from Python!"), end='')
```
Of course, a shebang also works:
```
hello:
#!/usr/bin/env -S uv run --script
print("Hello from Python!")
```
### Safer Bash Shebang Recipes
If you're writing a `bash` shebang recipe, consider adding `set -euxo pipefail`:
```
foo:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euxo pipefail
hello='Yo'
echo "$hello from Bash!"
```
It isn't strictly necessary, but `set -euxo pipefail` turns on a few useful features that make `bash` shebang recipes behave more like normal, linewise `just` recipe:
- `set -e` makes `bash` exit if a command fails.
- `set -u` makes `bash` exit if a variable is undefined.
- `set -x` makes `bash` print each script line before it's run.
- `set -o pipefail` makes `bash` exit if a command in a pipeline fails. This is `bash`\-specific, so isn't turned on in normal linewise `just` recipes.
Together, these avoid a lot of shell scripting gotchas.
#### Shebang Recipe Execution on Windows
On Windows, shebang interpreter paths containing a `/` are translated from Unix-style paths to Windows-style paths using `cygpath`, a utility that ships with [Cygwin](http://www.cygwin.com/).
For example, to execute this recipe on Windows:
```
echo:
#!/bin/sh
echo "Hello!"
```
The interpreter path `/bin/sh` will be translated to a Windows-style path using `cygpath` before being executed.
If the interpreter path does not contain a `/` it will be executed without being translated. This is useful if `cygpath` is not available, or you wish to pass a Windows-style path to the interpreter.
### Setting Variables in a Recipe
Recipe lines are interpreted by the shell, not `just`, so it's not possible to set `just` variables in the middle of a recipe:
```
foo:
x := "hello" # This doesn't work!
echo {{x}}
```
It is possible to use shell variables, but there's another problem. Every recipe line is run by a new shell instance, so variables set in one line won't be set in the next:
```
foo:
x=hello && echo $x # This works!
y=bye
echo $y # This doesn't, `y` is undefined here!
```
The best way to work around this is to use a shebang recipe. Shebang recipe bodies are extracted and run as scripts, so a single shell instance will run the whole thing:
```
foo:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euxo pipefail
x=hello
echo $x
```
### Sharing Environment Variables Between Recipes
Each line of each recipe is executed by a fresh shell, so it is not possible to share environment variables between recipes.
#### Using Python Virtual Environments
Some tools, like [Python's venv](https://docs.python.org/3/library/venv.html), require loading environment variables in order to work, making them challenging to use with `just`. As a workaround, you can execute the virtual environment binaries directly:
```
venv:
[ -d foo ] || python3 -m venv foo
run: venv
./foo/bin/python3 main.py
```
### Changing the Working Directory in a Recipe
Each recipe line is executed by a new shell, so if you change the working directory on one line, it won't have an effect on later lines:
```
foo:
pwd # This `pwd` will print the same directoryā¦
cd bar
pwd # ā¦as this `pwd`!
```
There are a couple ways around this. One is to call `cd` on the same line as the command you want to run:
```
foo:
cd bar && pwd
```
The other is to use a shebang recipe. Shebang recipe bodies are extracted and run as scripts, so a single shell instance will run the whole thing, and thus a `cd` on one line will affect later lines, just like a shell script:
```
foo:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euxo pipefail
cd bar
pwd
```
### Indentation
Recipe lines can be indented with spaces or tabs, but not a mix of both. All of a recipe's lines must have the same type of indentation, but different recipes in the same `justfile` may use different indentation.
Each recipe must be indented at least one level from the `recipe-name` but after that may be further indented.
Here's a justfile with a recipe indented with spaces, represented as `Ā·`, and tabs, represented as `ā`.
```
set windows-shell := ["pwsh", "-NoLogo", "-NoProfileLoadTime", "-Command"]
set ignore-comments
list-space directory:
Ā·Ā·#!pwsh
Ā·Ā·foreach ($item in $(Get-ChildItem {{directory}} )) {
Ā·Ā·Ā·Ā·echo $item.Name
Ā·Ā·}
Ā·Ā·echo ""
# indentation nesting works even when newlines are escaped
list-tab directory:
ā @foreach ($item in $(Get-ChildItem {{directory}} )) { \
ā ā echo $item.Name \
ā }
ā @echo ""
```
```
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Documents
Downloads
PS > just list-tab ~
Desktop
Documents
Downloads
```
### Multi-Line Constructs
Recipes without an initial shebang are evaluated and run line-by-line, which means that multi-line constructs probably won't do what you want.
For example, with the following `justfile`:
```
conditional:
if true; then
echo 'True!'
fi
```
The extra leading whitespace before the second line of the `conditional` recipe will produce a parse error:
```
$ just conditional
error: Recipe line has extra leading whitespace
|
3 | echo 'True!'
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
```
To work around this, you can write conditionals on one line, escape newlines with slashes, or add a shebang to your recipe. Some examples of multi-line constructs are provided for reference.
#### `if` statements
```
conditional:
if true; then echo 'True!'; fi
```
```
conditional:
if true; then \
echo 'True!'; \
fi
```
```
conditional:
#!/usr/bin/env sh
if true; then
echo 'True!'
fi
```
#### `for` loops
```
for:
for file in `ls .`; do echo $file; done
```
```
for:
for file in `ls .`; do \
echo $file; \
done
```
```
for:
#!/usr/bin/env sh
for file in `ls .`; do
echo $file
done
```
#### `while` loops
```
while:
while `server-is-dead`; do ping -c 1 server; done
```
```
while:
while `server-is-dead`; do \
ping -c 1 server; \
done
```
```
while:
#!/usr/bin/env sh
while `server-is-dead`; do
ping -c 1 server
done
```
#### Outside Recipe Bodies
Parenthesized expressions can span multiple lines:
```
abc := ('a' +
'b'
+ 'c')
abc2 := (
'a' +
'b' +
'c'
)
foo param=('foo'
+ 'bar'
):
echo {{param}}
bar: (foo
'Foo'
)
echo 'Bar!'
```
Lines ending with a backslash continue on to the next line as if the lines were joined by whitespace1\.15.0:
```
a := 'foo' + \
'bar'
foo param1 \
param2='foo' \
*varparam='': dep1 \
(dep2 'foo')
echo {{param1}} {{param2}} {{varparam}}
dep1: \
# this comment is not part of the recipe body
echo 'dep1'
dep2 \
param:
echo 'Dependency with parameter {{param}}'
```
Backslash line continuations can also be used in interpolations. The line following the backslash must be indented.
```
recipe:
echo '{{ \
"This interpolation " + \
"has a lot of text." \
}}'
echo 'back to recipe body'
```
### Command-line Options
`just` supports a number of useful command-line options for listing, dumping, and debugging recipes and variables:
```
$ just --list
Available recipes:
js
perl
polyglot
python
ruby
$ just --show perl
perl:
#!/usr/bin/env perl
print "Larry Wall says Hi!\n";
$ just --show polyglot
polyglot: python js perl sh ruby
```
#### Setting Command-line Options with Environment Variables
Some command-line options can be set with environment variables
For example, unstable features can be enabled either with the `--unstable` flag:
```
$ just --unstable
```
Or by setting the `JUST_UNSTABLE` environment variable:
```
$ export JUST_UNSTABLE=1
$ just
```
Since environment variables are inherited by child processes, command-line options set with environment variables are inherited by recursive invocations of `just`, where as command line options set with arguments are not.
Consult `just --help` for which options can be set with environment variables.
### Private Recipes
Recipes and aliases whose name starts with a `_` are omitted from `just --list`:
```
test: _test-helper
./bin/test
_test-helper:
./bin/super-secret-test-helper-stuff
```
```
$ just --list
Available recipes:
test
```
And from `just --summary`:
```
$ just --summary
test
```
The `[private]` attribute1\.10.0 may also be used to hide recipes or aliases without needing to change the name:
```
[private]
foo:
[private]
alias b := bar
bar:
```
```
$ just --list
Available recipes:
bar
```
This is useful for helper recipes which are only meant to be used as dependencies of other recipes.
### Quiet Recipes
A recipe name may be prefixed with `@` to invert the meaning of `@` before each line:
```
@quiet:
echo hello
echo goodbye
@# all done!
```
Now only the lines starting with `@` will be echoed:
```
$ just quiet
hello
goodbye
# all done!
```
All recipes in a Justfile can be made quiet with `set quiet`:
```
set quiet
foo:
echo "This is quiet"
@foo2:
echo "This is also quiet"
```
The `[no-quiet]` attribute overrides this setting:
```
set quiet
foo:
echo "This is quiet"
[no-quiet]
foo2:
echo "This is not quiet"
```
Shebang recipes are quiet by default:
```
foo:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
echo 'Foo!'
```
```
$ just foo
Foo!
```
Adding `@` to a shebang recipe name makes `just` print the recipe before executing it:
```
@bar:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
echo 'Bar!'
```
```
$ just bar
#!/usr/bin/env bash
echo 'Bar!'
Bar!
```
`just` normally prints error messages when a recipe line fails. These error messages can be suppressed using the `[no-exit-message]`1\.7.0 attribute. You may find this especially useful with a recipe that wraps a tool:
```
git *args:
@git {{args}}
```
```
$ just git status
fatal: not a git repository (or any of the parent directories): .git
error: Recipe `git` failed on line 2 with exit code 128
```
Add the attribute to suppress the exit error message when the tool exits with a non-zero code:
```
[no-exit-message]
git *args:
@git {{args}}
```
```
$ just git status
fatal: not a git repository (or any of the parent directories): .git
```
### Selecting Recipes to Run With an Interactive Chooser
The `--choose` subcommand makes `just` invoke a chooser to select which recipes to run. Choosers should read lines containing recipe names from standard input and print one or more of those names separated by spaces to standard output.
Because there is currently no way to run a recipe that requires arguments with `--choose`, such recipes will not be given to the chooser. Private recipes and aliases are also skipped.
The chooser can be overridden with the `--chooser` flag. If `--chooser` is not given, then `just` first checks if `$JUST_CHOOSER` is set. If it isn't, then the chooser defaults to `fzf`, a popular fuzzy finder.
Arguments can be included in the chooser, i.e. `fzf --exact`.
The chooser is invoked in the same way as recipe lines. For example, if the chooser is `fzf`, it will be invoked with `sh -cu 'fzf'`, and if the shell, or the shell arguments are overridden, the chooser invocation will respect those overrides.
If you'd like `just` to default to selecting recipes with a chooser, you can use this as your default recipe:
```
default:
@just --choose
```
### Invoking `justfile`s in Other Directories
If the first argument passed to `just` contains a `/`, then the following occurs:
1. The argument is split at the last `/`.
2. The part before the last `/` is treated as a directory. `just` will start its search for the `justfile` there, instead of in the current directory.
3. The part after the last slash is treated as a normal argument, or ignored if it is empty.
This may seem a little strange, but it's useful if you wish to run a command in a `justfile` that is in a subdirectory.
For example, if you are in a directory which contains a subdirectory named `foo`, which contains a `justfile` with the recipe `build`, which is also the default recipe, the following are all equivalent:
```
$ (cd foo && just build)
$ just foo/build
$ just foo/
```
Additional recipes after the first are sought in the same `justfile`. For example, the following are both equivalent:
```
$ just foo/a b
$ (cd foo && just a b)
```
And will both invoke recipes `a` and `b` in `foo/justfile`.
### Imports
One `justfile` can include the contents of another using `import` statements.
If you have the following `justfile`:
```
import 'foo/bar.just'
a: b
@echo A
```
And the following text in `foo/bar.just`:
```
b:
@echo B
```
`foo/bar.just` will be included in `justfile` and recipe `b` will be defined:
```
$ just b
B
$ just a
B
A
```
The `import` path can be absolute or relative to the location of the justfile containing it. A leading `~/` in the import path is replaced with the current users home directory.
Justfiles are insensitive to order, so included files can reference variables and recipes defined after the `import` statement.
Imported files can themselves contain `import`s, which are processed recursively.
`allow-duplicate-recipes` and `allow-duplicate-variables` allow duplicate recipes and variables, respectively, to override each other, instead of producing an error.
Within a module, later definitions override earlier definitions:
```
set allow-duplicate-recipes
foo:
foo:
echo 'yes'
```
When `import`s are involved, things unfortunately get much more complicated and hard to explain.
Shallower definitions always override deeper definitions, so recipes at the top level will override recipes in imports, and recipes in an import will override recipes in an import which itself imports those recipes.
When two duplicate definitions are imported and are at the same depth, the one from the earlier import will override the one from the later import.
This is because `just` uses a stack when processing imports, pushing imports onto the stack in source-order, and always processing the top of the stack next, so earlier imports are actually handled later by the compiler.
This is definitely a bug, but since `just` has very strong backwards compatibility guarantees and we take enormous pains not to break anyone's `justfile`, we have created issue \#2540 to discuss whether or not we can actually fix it.
Imports may be made optional by putting a `?` after the `import` keyword:
```
import? 'foo/bar.just'
```
Importing the same source file multiple times is not an error1\.37.0. This allows importing multiple justfiles, for example `foo.just` and `bar.just`, which both import a third justfile containing shared recipes, for example `baz.just`, without the duplicate import of `baz.just` being an error:
```
# justfile
import 'foo.just'
import 'bar.just'
```
```
# foo.just
import 'baz.just'
foo: baz
```
```
# bar.just
import 'baz.just'
bar: baz
```
```
# baz
baz:
```
### Modules
A `justfile` can declare modules using `mod` statements1\.19.0.
`mod` statements were stabilized in `just`1\.31.0.
If you have the following `justfile`:
```
mod bar
a:
@echo A
```
And the following text in `bar.just`:
```
b:
@echo B
```
`bar.just` will be included in `justfile` as a submodule. Recipes, aliases, and variables defined in one submodule cannot be used in another, and each module uses its own settings.
Recipes in submodules can be invoked as subcommands:
```
$ just bar b
B
```
Or with path syntax:
```
$ just bar::b
B
```
If a module is named `foo`, just will search for the module file in `foo.just`, `foo/mod.just`, `foo/justfile`, and `foo/.justfile`. In the latter two cases, the module file may have any capitalization.
Module statements may be of the form:
```
mod foo 'PATH'
```
Which loads the module's source file from `PATH`, instead of from the usual locations. A leading `~/` in `PATH` is replaced with the current user's home directory. `PATH` may point to the module source file itself, or to a directory containing the module source file with the name `mod.just`, `justfile`, or `.justfile`. In the latter two cases, the module file may have any capitalization.
Environment files are only loaded for the root justfile, and loaded environment variables are available in submodules. Settings in submodules that affect environment file loading are ignored.
Recipes in submodules without the `[no-cd]` attribute run with the working directory set to the directory containing the submodule source file.
`justfile()` and `justfile_directory()` always return the path to the root justfile and the directory that contains it, even when called from submodule recipes.
Modules may be made optional by putting a `?` after the `mod` keyword:
```
mod? foo
```
Missing source files for optional modules do not produce an error.
Optional modules with no source file do not conflict, so you can have multiple mod statements with the same name, but with different source file paths, as long as at most one source file exists:
```
mod? foo 'bar.just'
mod? foo 'baz.just'
```
Modules may be given doc comments which appear in `--list` output1\.30.0:
```
# foo is a great module!
mod foo
```
```
$ just --list
Available recipes:
foo ... # foo is a great module!
```
Modules are still missing a lot of features, for example, the ability to refer to variables in other modules. See the [module improvement tracking issue](https://github.com/casey/just/issues/2252) for more information.
### Hiding `justfile`s
`just` looks for `justfile`s named `justfile` and `.justfile`, which can be used to keep a `justfile` hidden.
### Just Scripts
By adding a shebang line to the top of a `justfile` and making it executable, `just` can be used as an interpreter for scripts:
```
$ cat > script <<EOF
#!/usr/bin/env just --justfile
foo:
echo foo
EOF
$ chmod +x script
$ ./script foo
echo foo
foo
```
When a script with a shebang is executed, the system supplies the path to the script as an argument to the command in the shebang. So, with a shebang of `#!/usr/bin/env just --justfile`, the command will be `/usr/bin/env just --justfile PATH_TO_SCRIPT`.
With the above shebang, `just` will change its working directory to the location of the script. If you'd rather leave the working directory unchanged, use `#!/usr/bin/env just --working-directory . --justfile`.
Note: Shebang line splitting is not consistent across operating systems. The previous examples have only been tested on macOS. On Linux, you may need to pass the `-S` flag to `env`:
```
#!/usr/bin/env -S just --justfile
default:
echo foo
```
### Formatting and dumping `justfile`s
Each `justfile` has a canonical formatting with respect to whitespace and newlines.
You can overwrite the current justfile with a canonically-formatted version using the currently-unstable `--fmt` flag:
```
$ cat justfile
# A lot of blank lines
some-recipe:
echo "foo"
$ just --fmt --unstable
$ cat justfile
# A lot of blank lines
some-recipe:
echo "foo"
```
Invoking `just --fmt --check --unstable` runs `--fmt` in check mode. Instead of overwriting the `justfile`, `just` will exit with an exit code of 0 if it is formatted correctly, and will exit with 1 and print a diff if it is not.
You can use the `--dump` command to output a formatted version of the `justfile` to stdout:
```
$ just --dump > formatted-justfile
```
The `--dump` command can be used with `--dump-format json` to print a JSON representation of a `justfile`.
### Fallback to parent `justfile`s
If a recipe is not found in a `justfile` and the `fallback` setting is set, `just` will look for `justfile`s in the parent directory and up, until it reaches the root directory. `just` will stop after it reaches a `justfile` in which the `fallback` setting is `false` or unset.
As an example, suppose the current directory contains this `justfile`:
```
set fallback
foo:
echo foo
```
And the parent directory contains this `justfile`:
```
bar:
echo bar
```
```
$ just bar
Trying ../justfile
echo bar
bar
```
### Avoiding Argument Splitting
Given this `justfile`:
```
foo argument:
touch {{argument}}
```
The following command will create two files, `some` and `argument.txt`:
```
$ just foo "some argument.txt"
```
The user's shell will parse `"some argument.txt"` as a single argument, but when `just` replaces `touch {{argument}}` with `touch some argument.txt`, the quotes are not preserved, and `touch` will receive two arguments.
There are a few ways to avoid this: quoting, positional arguments, and exported arguments.
#### Quoting
Quotes can be added around the `{{argument}}` interpolation:
```
foo argument:
touch '{{argument}}'
```
This preserves `just`'s ability to catch variable name typos before running, for example if you were to write `{{argument}}`, but will not do what you want if the value of `argument` contains single quotes.
#### Positional Arguments
The `positional-arguments` setting causes all arguments to be passed as positional arguments, allowing them to be accessed with `$1`, `$2`, ā¦, and `$@`, which can be then double-quoted to avoid further splitting by the shell:
```
set positional-arguments
foo argument:
touch "$1"
```
This defeats `just`'s ability to catch typos, for example if you type `$2` instead of `$1`, but works for all possible values of `argument`, including those with double quotes.
#### Exported Arguments
All arguments are exported when the `export` setting is set:
```
set export
foo argument:
touch "$argument"
```
Or individual arguments may be exported by prefixing them with `$`:
```
foo $argument:
touch "$argument"
```
This defeats `just`'s ability to catch typos, for example if you type `$argument`, but works for all possible values of `argument`, including those with double quotes.
### Configuring the Shell
There are a number of ways to configure the shell for linewise recipes, which are the default when a recipe does not start with a `#!` shebang. Their precedence, from highest to lowest, is:
1. The `--shell` and `--shell-arg` command line options. Passing either of these will cause `just` to ignore any settings in the current justfile.
2. `set windows-shell := [...]`
3. `set windows-powershell` (deprecated)
4. `set shell := [...]`
Since `set windows-shell` has higher precedence than `set shell`, you can use `set windows-shell` to pick a shell on Windows, and `set shell` to pick a shell for all other platforms.
### Timestamps
`just` can print timestamps before each recipe commands:
```
recipe:
echo one
sleep 2
echo two
```
```
$ just --timestamp recipe
[07:28:46] echo one
one
[07:28:46] sleep 2
[07:28:48] echo two
two
```
By default, timestamps are formatted as `HH:MM:SS`. The format can be changed with `--timestamp-format`:
```
$ just --timestamp recipe --timestamp-format '%H:%M:%S%.3f %Z'
[07:32:11:.349 UTC] echo one
one
[07:32:11:.350 UTC] sleep 2
[07:32:13:.352 UTC] echo two
two
```
The argument to `--timestamp-format` is a `strftime`\-style format string, see the [`chrono` library docs](https://docs.rs/chrono/latest/chrono/format/strftime/index.html) for details.
### Signal Handling
[Signals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_\(IPC\)) are messages sent to running programs to trigger specific behavior. For example, `SIGINT` is sent to all processes in the terminal foreground process group when `CTRL-C` is pressed.
`just` tries to exit when requested by a signal, but it also tries to avoid leaving behind running child processes, two goals which are somewhat in conflict.
If `just` exits leaving behind child processes, the user will have no recourse but to `ps aux | grep` for the children and manually `kill` them, a tedious endeavor.
#### Fatal Signals
`SIGHUP`, `SIGINT`, and `SIGQUIT` are generated when the user closes the terminal, types `ctrl-c`, or types `ctrl-\`, respectively, and are sent to all processes in the foreground process group.
`SIGTERM` is the default signal sent by the `kill` command, and is delivered only to its intended victim.
When a child process is not running, `just` will exit immediately on receipt of any of the above signals.
When a child process *is* running, `just` will wait until it terminates, to avoid leaving it behind.
Additionally, on receipt of `SIGTERM`, `just` will forward `SIGTERM` to any running children1\.41.0, since unlike other fatal signals, `SIGTERM`, was likely sent to `just` alone.
Regardless of whether a child process terminates successfully after `just` receives a fatal signal, `just` halts execution.
#### `SIGINFO`
`SIGINFO` is sent to all processes in the foreground process group when the user types `ctrl-t` on [BSD](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Software_Distribution)\-derived operating systems, including MacOS, but not Linux.
`just` responds by printing a list of all child process IDs and commands1\.41.0.
#### Windows
On Windows, `just` behaves as if it had received `SIGINT` when the user types `ctrl-c`. Other signals are unsupported.
## Changelog
A changelog for the latest release is available in [CHANGELOG.md](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/casey/just/master/CHANGELOG.md). Changelogs for previous releases are available on [the releases page](https://github.com/casey/just/releases). `just --changelog` can also be used to make a `just` binary print its changelog.
## Miscellanea
### Re-running recipes when files change
[`watchexec`](https://github.com/mattgreen/watchexec) can re-run any command when files change.
To re-run the recipe `foo` when any file changes:
```
watchexec just foo
```
See `watchexec --help` for more info, including how to specify which files should be watched for changes.
### Parallelism
Dependencies may be run in parallel with the `[parallel]` attribute.
In this `justfile`, `foo`, `bar`, and `baz` will execute in parallel when `main` is run:
```
[parallel]
main: foo bar baz
foo:
sleep 1
bar:
sleep 1
baz:
sleep 1
```
GNU `parallel` may be used to run recipe lines concurrently:
```
parallel:
#!/usr/bin/env -S parallel --shebang --ungroup --jobs {{ num_cpus() }}
echo task 1 start; sleep 3; echo task 1 done
echo task 2 start; sleep 3; echo task 2 done
echo task 3 start; sleep 3; echo task 3 done
echo task 4 start; sleep 3; echo task 4 done
```
### Shell Alias
For lightning-fast command running, put `alias j=just` in your shell's configuration file.
### Shell Completion Scripts
Shell completion scripts for Bash, Elvish, Fish, Nushell, PowerShell, and Zsh are available in [release archives](https://github.com/casey/just/releases).
The `just` binary can also generate the same completion scripts at runtime using `just --completions SHELL`:
```
$ just --completions bash > just
```
#### Bash
The recommended approach is to use the `bash-completions` package to lazy-load the completion script:
```
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions
just --completions bash > ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/just
```
If `bash-completions` is not installed, you can source the completion script in your `.bashrc`:
```
source <(just --completions bash)
```
If you use an alias like `alias j=just`, you should also save the completion script with the name `j` when lazy-loading:
```
just --completions bash > ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/j
```
Or if not lazy-loading, add this line after sourcing the completion script in your `.bashrc`:
```
complete -F _clap_complete_just -o bashdefault -o default j
```
#### Elvish
In your `rc.elv`:
```
set edit:completion:arg-completer[just] = { |@args|
eval (just --completions elvish | slurp)
set @result = (edit:completion:arg-completer[just] $@args)
put $@result
}
```
#### Fish
Save the completion script to the completions directory to lazy-load it:
```
mkdir -p ~/.config/fish/completions
just --completions fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/just.fish
```
#### Nushell
First save the completion script:
```
just --completions nushell | save -f ($nu.default-config-dir | path join just.nu)
```
Then in `config.nu`:
```
source just.nu
```
#### PowerShell
In your PowerShell `$PROFILE`:
```
just --completions powershell | Out-String | Invoke-Expression
```
#### Zsh
First save the completion script:
```
mkdir -p ~/.zsh/completions
just --completions zsh > ~/.zsh/completions/_just
```
Then in your `.zshrc`:
```
fpath=(~/.zsh/completions $fpath)
autoload -U compinit
compinit
```
### Man Page
`just` can print its own man page with `just --man`. Man pages are written in [`roff`](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roff_%28software%29), a venerable markup language and one of the first practical applications of Unix. If you have [`groff`](https://www.gnu.org/software/groff/) installed you can view the man page with `just --man | groff -mandoc -Tascii | less`.
### Grammar
A non-normative grammar of `justfile`s can be found in [GRAMMAR.md](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/GRAMMAR.md).
### just.sh
Before `just` was a fancy Rust program it was a tiny shell script that called `make`. You can find the old version in [contrib/just.sh](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/contrib/just.sh).
### Global and User `justfile`s
If you want some recipes to be available everywhere, you have a few options.
#### Global Justfile
`just --global-justfile`, or `just -g` for short, searches the following paths, in-order, for a justfile:
- `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/just/justfile`
- `$HOME/.config/just/justfile`
- `$HOME/justfile`
- `$HOME/.justfile`
You can put recipes that are used across many projects in a global justfile to easily invoke them from any directory.
#### User justfile tips
You can also adopt some of the following workflows. These tips assume you've created a `justfile` at `~/.user.justfile`, but you can put this `justfile` at any convenient path on your system.
##### Recipe Aliases
If you want to call the recipes in `~/.user.justfile` by name, and don't mind creating an alias for every recipe, add the following to your shell's initialization script:
```
for recipe in `just --justfile ~/.user.justfile --summary`; do
alias $recipe="just --justfile ~/.user.justfile --working-directory . $recipe"
done
```
Now, if you have a recipe called `foo` in `~/.user.justfile`, you can just type `foo` at the command line to run it.
It took me way too long to realize that you could create recipe aliases like this. Notwithstanding my tardiness, I am very pleased to bring you this major advance in `justfile` technology.
##### Forwarding Alias
If you'd rather not create aliases for every recipe, you can create a single alias:
```
alias .j='just --justfile ~/.user.justfile --working-directory .'
```
Now, if you have a recipe called `foo` in `~/.user.justfile`, you can just type `.j foo` at the command line to run it.
I'm pretty sure that nobody actually uses this feature, but it's there.
ĀÆ\\\_(ć)\_/ĀÆ
##### Customization
You can customize the above aliases with additional options. For example, if you'd prefer to have the recipes in your `justfile` run in your home directory, instead of the current directory:
```
alias .j='just --justfile ~/.user.justfile --working-directory ~'
```
### Node.js `package.json` Script Compatibility
The following export statement gives `just` recipes access to local Node module binaries, and makes `just` recipe commands behave more like `script` entries in Node.js `package.json` files:
```
export PATH := "./node_modules/.bin:" + env_var('PATH')
```
### Paths on Windows
On Windows, all functions that return paths, except `invocation_directory()` will return `\`\-separated paths. When not using PowerShell or `cmd.exe` these paths should be quoted to prevent the `\`s from being interpreted as character escapes:
```
ls:
echo '{{absolute_path(".")}}'
```
`cygpath.exe` is an executable included in some distributions of Unix userlands for Windows, including [Cygwin](https://www.cygwin.com/) and [Git](https://git-scm.com/downloads) for Windows.
`just` uses `cygpath.exe` in two places:
For backwards compatibility, `invocation_directory()`, uses `cygpath.exe` to convert the invocation directory into a unix-style `/`\-separated path. Use `invocation_directory_native()` to get the native, Windows-style path. On unix, `invocation_directory()` and `invocation_directory_native()` both return the same unix-style path.
`cygpath.exe` is used also used to convert Unix-style shebang lines into Windows paths. As an alternative, the `[script]` attribute can be used, which does not depend on `cygpath.exe`.
If `cygpath.exe` is available, you can use it to convert between path styles:
```
foo_unix := '/hello/world'
foo_windows := shell('cygpath --windows $1', foo_unix)
bar_windows := 'C:\hello\world'
bar_unix := shell('cygpath --unix $1', bar_windows)
```
### Remote Justfiles
If you wish to include a `mod` or `import` source file in many `justfiles` without needing to duplicate it, you can use an optional `mod` or `import`, along with a recipe to fetch the module source:
```
import? 'foo.just'
fetch:
curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/casey/just/master/justfile > foo.just
```
Given the above `justfile`, after running `just fetch`, the recipes in `foo.just` will be available.
### Printing Complex Strings
`echo` can be used to print strings, but because it processes escape sequences, like `\n`, and different implementations of `echo` recognize different escape sequences, using `printf` is often a better choice.
`printf` takes a C-style format string and any number of arguments, which are interpolated into the format string.
This can be combined with indented, triple quoted strings to emulate shell heredocs.
Substitution complex strings into recipe bodies with `{ā¦}` can also lead to trouble as it may be split by the shell into multiple arguments depending on the presence of whitespace and quotes. Exporting complex strings as environment variables and referring to them with `"$NAME"`, note the double quotes, can also help.
Putting all this together, to print a string verbatim to standard output, with all its various escape sequences and quotes undisturbed:
```
export FOO := '''
a complicated string with
some dis\tur\bi\ng escape sequences
and "quotes" of 'different' kinds
'''
bar:
printf %s "$FOO"
```
### Alternatives and Prior Art
There is no shortage of command runners! Some more or less similar alternatives to `just` include:
- [make](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_\(software\)): The Unix build tool that inspired `just`. There are a few different modern day descendents of the original `make`, including [FreeBSD Make](https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?make\(1\)) and [GNU Make](https://www.gnu.org/software/make/).
- [task](https://github.com/go-task/task): A YAML-based command runner written in Go.
- [maid](https://github.com/egoist/maid): A Markdown-based command runner written in JavaScript.
- [microsoft/just](https://github.com/microsoft/just): A JavaScript-based command runner written in JavaScript.
- [cargo-make](https://github.com/sagiegurari/cargo-make): A command runner for Rust projects.
- [mmake](https://github.com/tj/mmake): A wrapper around `make` with a number of improvements, including remote includes.
- [robo](https://github.com/tj/robo): A YAML-based command runner written in Go.
- [mask](https://github.com/jakedeichert/mask): A Markdown-based command runner written in Rust.
- [makesure](https://github.com/xonixx/makesure): A simple and portable command runner written in AWK and shell.
- [haku](https://github.com/VladimirMarkelov/haku): A make-like command runner written in Rust.
- [mise](https://mise.jdx.dev/): A development environment tool manager written in Rust supporting tasks in TOML files and standalone scripts.
## Contributing
`just` welcomes your contributions! `just` is released under the maximally permissive [CC0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode.txt) public domain dedication and fallback license, so your changes must also be released under this license.
### Getting Started
`just` is written in Rust. Use [rustup](https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install) to install a Rust toolchain.
`just` is extensively tested. All new features must be covered by unit or integration tests. Unit tests are under [src](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/src), live alongside the code being tested, and test code in isolation. Integration tests are in the [tests directory](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/tests) and test the `just` binary from the outside by invoking `just` on a given `justfile` and set of command-line arguments, and checking the output.
You should write whichever type of tests are easiest to write for your feature while still providing good test coverage.
Unit tests are useful for testing new Rust functions that are used internally and as an aid for development. A good example are the unit tests which cover the [`unindent()` function](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/src/unindent.rs), used to unindent triple-quoted strings and backticks. `unindent()` has a bunch of tricky edge cases which are easy to exercise with unit tests that call `unindent()` directly.
Integration tests are useful for making sure that the final behavior of the `just` binary is correct. `unindent()` is also covered by integration tests which make sure that evaluating a triple-quoted string produces the correct unindented value. However, there are not integration tests for all possible cases. These are covered by faster, more concise unit tests that call `unindent()` directly.
Integration tests use the `Test` struct, a builder which allows for easily invoking `just` with a given `justfile`, arguments, and environment variables, and checking the program's stdout, stderr, and exit code .
### Contribution Workflow
1. Make sure the feature is wanted. There should be an open issue about the feature with a comment from [@casey](https://github.com/casey) saying that it's a good idea or seems reasonable. If there isn't, open a new issue and ask for feedback.
There are lots of good features which can't be merged, either because they aren't backwards compatible, have an implementation which would overcomplicate the codebase, or go against `just`'s design philosophy.
2. Settle on the design of the feature. If the feature has multiple possible implementations or syntaxes, make sure to nail down the details in the issue.
3. Clone `just` and start hacking. The best workflow is to have the code you're working on in an editor alongside a job that re-runs tests whenever a file changes. You can run such a job by installing [cargo-watch](https://github.com/watchexec/cargo-watch) with `cargo install cargo-watch` and running `just watch test`.
4. Add a failing test for your feature. Most of the time this will be an integration test which exercises the feature end-to-end. Look for an appropriate file to put the test in [tests](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/tests), or add a new file in [tests](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/tests) and add a `mod` statement importing that file in [tests/lib.rs](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/tests/lib.rs).
5. Implement the feature.
6. Run `just ci` to make sure that all tests, lints, and checks pass. Requires [mdBook](https://github.com/rust-lang/mdBook) and [mdbook-linkcheck](https://github.com/Michael-F-Bryan/mdbook-linkcheck).
7. Open a PR with the new code that is editable by maintainers. PRs often require rebasing and minor tweaks. If the PR is not editable by maintainers, each rebase and tweak will require a round trip of code review. Your PR may be summarily closed if it is not editable by maintainers.
8. Incorporate feedback.
9. Enjoy the sweet feeling of your PR getting merged\!
Feel free to open a draft PR at any time for discussion and feedback.
### Hints
Here are some hints to get you started with specific kinds of new features, which you can use in addition to the contribution workflow above.
#### Adding a New Attribute
1. Write a new integration test in [tests/attributes.rs](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/tests/attributes.rs).
2. Add a new variant to the [`Attribute`](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/src/attribute.rs) enum.
3. Implement the functionality of the new attribute.
4. Run `just ci` to make sure that all tests pass.
### Janus
[Janus](https://github.com/casey/janus) is a tool for checking whether a change to `just` breaks or changes the interpretation of existing `justfile`s. It collects and analyzes public `justfile`s on GitHub.
Before merging a particularly large or gruesome change, Janus should be run to make sure that nothing breaks. Don't worry about running Janus yourself, Casey will happily run it for you on changes that need it.
### Minimum Supported Rust Version
The minimum supported Rust version, or MSRV, is current stable Rust. It may build on older versions of Rust, but this is not guaranteed.
### New Releases
New releases of `just` are made frequently so that users quickly get access to new features.
Release commit messages use the following template:
```
Release x.y.z
- Bump version: x.y.z ā x.y.z
- Update changelog
- Update changelog contributor credits
- Update dependencies
- Update version references in readme
```
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What are the idiosyncrasies of Make that Just avoids?
`make` has some behaviors which are confusing, complicated, or make it unsuitable for use as a general command runner.
One example is that under some circumstances, `make` won't actually run the commands in a recipe. For example, if you have a file called `test` and the following makefile:
```
test:
./test
```
`make` will refuse to run your tests:
```
$ make test
make: `test' is up to date.
```
`make` assumes that the `test` recipe produces a file called `test`. Since this file exists and the recipe has no other dependencies, `make` thinks that it doesn't have anything to do and exits.
To be fair, this behavior is desirable when using `make` as a build system, but not when using it as a command runner. You can disable this behavior for specific targets using `make`'s built-in [`.PHONY` target name](https://www.gnu.org/software/make/manual/html_node/Phony-Targets.html), but the syntax is verbose and can be hard to remember. The explicit list of phony targets, written separately from the recipe definitions, also introduces the risk of accidentally defining a new non-phony target. In `just`, all recipes are treated as if they were phony.
Other examples of `make`'s idiosyncrasies include the difference between `=` and `:=` in assignments, the confusing error messages that are produced if you mess up your makefile, needing `$$` to use environment variables in recipes, and incompatibilities between different flavors of `make`.
### What's the relationship between Just and Cargo build scripts?
[`cargo` build scripts](http://doc.crates.io/build-script.html) have a pretty specific use, which is to control how `cargo` builds your Rust project. This might include adding flags to `rustc` invocations, building an external dependency, or running some kind of codegen step.
`just`, on the other hand, is for all the other miscellaneous commands you might run as part of development. Things like running tests in different configurations, linting your code, pushing build artifacts to a server, removing temporary files, and the like.
Also, although `just` is written in Rust, it can be used regardless of the language or build system your project uses.
## Further Ramblings
I personally find it very useful to write a `justfile` for almost every project, big or small.
On a big project with multiple contributors, it's very useful to have a file with all the commands needed to work on the project close at hand.
There are probably different commands to test, build, lint, deploy, and the like, and having them all in one place is useful and cuts down on the time you have to spend telling people which commands to run and how to type them.
And, with an easy place to put commands, it's likely that you'll come up with other useful things which are part of the project's collective wisdom, but which aren't written down anywhere, like the arcane commands needed for some part of your revision control workflow, to install all your project's dependencies, or all the random flags you might need to pass to the build system.
Some ideas for recipes:
- Deploying/publishing the project
- Building in release mode vs debug mode
- Running in debug mode or with logging enabled
- Complex git workflows
- Updating dependencies
- Running different sets of tests, for example fast tests vs slow tests, or running them with verbose output
- Any complex set of commands that you really should write down somewhere, if only to be able to remember them
Even for small, personal projects it's nice to be able to remember commands by name instead of ^Reverse searching your shell history, and it's a huge boon to be able to go into an old project written in a random language with a mysterious build system and know that all the commands you need to do whatever you need to do are in the `justfile`, and that if you type `just` something useful (or at least interesting!) will probably happen.
For ideas for recipes, check out [this project's `justfile`](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/justfile), or some of the `justfile`s [out in the wild](https://github.com/search?q=path%3A**%2Fjustfile&type=code).
Anyways, I think that's about it for this incredibly long-winded README.
I hope you enjoy using `just` and find great success and satisfaction in all your computational endeavors\!
šø
[š¼ Back to the top\!](https://github.com/casey/just#just)
## About
š¤ Just a command runner
[just.systems](https://just.systems/ "https://just.systems")
### Resources
[Readme](https://github.com/casey/just#readme-ov-file)
### License
[CC0-1.0 license](https://github.com/casey/just#CC0-1.0-1-ov-file)
### Contributing
[Contributing](https://github.com/casey/just#contributing-ov-file)
### Uh oh\!
There was an error while loading. [Please reload this page](https://github.com/casey/just).
[Activity](https://github.com/casey/just/activity)
### Stars
[**32\.5k** stars](https://github.com/casey/just/stargazers)
### Watchers
[**87** watching](https://github.com/casey/just/watchers)
### Forks
[**710** forks](https://github.com/casey/just/forks)
[Report repository](https://github.com/contact/report-content?content_url=https%3A%2F%2Fgithub.com%2Fcasey%2Fjust&report=casey+%28user%29)
## [Releases 135](https://github.com/casey/just/releases)
[1\.48.1 Latest Mar 28, 2026](https://github.com/casey/just/releases/tag/1.48.1)
[\+ 134 releases](https://github.com/casey/just/releases)
## [Packages 1](https://github.com/users/casey/packages?repo_name=just)
- [just](https://github.com/users/casey/packages/container/package/just)
## [Used by 257](https://github.com/casey/just/network/dependents)
[        + 249](https://github.com/casey/just/network/dependents)
## [Contributors](https://github.com/casey/just/graphs/contributors)
### Uh oh\!
There was an error while loading. [Please reload this page](https://github.com/casey/just).
## Languages
- [Rust 97.8%](https://github.com/casey/just/search?l=rust)
- [Shell 1.3%](https://github.com/casey/just/search?l=shell)
- [Makefile 0.5%](https://github.com/casey/just/search?l=makefile)
- [Nix 0.2%](https://github.com/casey/just/search?l=nix)
- [CSS 0.1%](https://github.com/casey/just/search?l=css)
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| Readable Markdown | Table of Contents
āļø
[](https://crates.io/crates/just) [](https://github.com/casey/just/actions/workflows/ci.yaml) [](https://github.com/casey/just/releases) [](https://discord.gg/ezYScXR) [](mailto:casey@rodarmor.com?subject=Thanks%20for%20Just!)
`just` is a handy way to save and run project-specific commands.
This readme is also available as a [book](https://just.systems/man/en/). The book reflects the latest release, whereas the [readme on GitHub](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/README.md) reflects latest master.
(äøęęę”£åØ [čæé](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/README.%E4%B8%AD%E6%96%87.md), åæ«ēčæę„!)
Commands, called recipes, are stored in a file called `justfile` with syntax inspired by `make`:
[](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/casey/just/master/etc/screenshot.png)
You can then run them with `just RECIPE`:
```
$ just test-all
cc *.c -o main
./test --all
Yay, all your tests passed!
```
`just` has a ton of useful features, and many improvements over `make`:
- `just` is a command runner, not a build system, so it avoids much of [`make`'s complexity and idiosyncrasies](https://github.com/casey/just#what-are-the-idiosyncrasies-of-make-that-just-avoids). No need for `.PHONY` recipes\!
- Linux, MacOS, Windows, and other reasonable unices are supported with no additional dependencies. (Although if your system doesn't have an `sh`, you'll need to [choose a different shell](https://github.com/casey/just#shell).)
- Errors are specific and informative, and syntax errors are reported along with their source context.
- Recipes can accept [command line arguments](https://github.com/casey/just#recipe-parameters).
- Wherever possible, errors are resolved statically. Unknown recipes and circular dependencies are reported before anything runs.
- `just` [loads `.env` files](https://github.com/casey/just#dotenv-settings), making it easy to populate environment variables.
- Recipes can be [listed from the command line](https://github.com/casey/just#listing-available-recipes).
- Command line completion scripts are [available for most popular shells](https://github.com/casey/just#shell-completion-scripts).
- Recipes can be written in [arbitrary languages](https://github.com/casey/just#shebang-recipes), like Python or NodeJS.
- `just` can be invoked from any subdirectory, not just the directory that contains the `justfile`.
- And [much more](https://just.systems/man/en/)\!
If you need help with `just` please feel free to open an issue or ping me on [Discord](https://discord.gg/ezYScXR). Feature requests and bug reports are always welcome\!
Installation
Prerequisites
`just` should run on any system with a reasonable `sh`, including Linux, MacOS, and the BSDs.
Windows
On Windows, `just` works with the `sh` provided by [Git for Windows](https://git-scm.com/), [GitHub Desktop](https://desktop.github.com/), or [Cygwin](http://www.cygwin.com/). After installation, `sh` must be available in the `PATH` of the shell you want to invoke `just` from.
If you'd rather not install `sh`, you can use the `shell` setting to use the shell of your choice.
Like PowerShell:
```
# use PowerShell instead of sh:
set shell := ["powershell.exe", "-c"]
hello:
Write-Host "Hello, world!"
```
ā¦or `cmd.exe`:
```
# use cmd.exe instead of sh:
set shell := ["cmd.exe", "/c"]
list:
dir
```
You can also set the shell using command-line arguments. For example, to use PowerShell, launch `just` with `--shell powershell.exe --shell-arg -c`.
(PowerShell is installed by default on Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 S1 and later, and `cmd.exe` is quite fiddly, so PowerShell is recommended for most Windows users.)
Packages
Cross-platform
| Package Manager | Package | Command |
|---|---|---|
| [arkade](https://github.com/alexellis/arkade) | just | `arkade get just` |
| [asdf](https://asdf-vm.com/) | [just](https://github.com/olofvndrhr/asdf-just) | `asdf plugin add just` `asdf install just <version>` |
| [Cargo](https://www.rust-lang.org/) | [just](https://crates.io/crates/just) | `cargo install just` |
| [Cargo Binstall](https://github.com/cargo-bins/cargo-binstall) | [just](https://crates.io/crates/just) | `cargo binstall just` |
| [Conda](https://docs.conda.io/projects/conda/en/latest/index.html) | [just](https://anaconda.org/conda-forge/just) | `conda install -c conda-forge just` |
| [Homebrew](https://brew.sh/) | [just](https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/just) | `brew install just` |
| [Nix](https://nixos.org/nix/) | [just](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/pkgs/by-name/ju/just/package.nix) | `nix-env -iA nixpkgs.just` |
| [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/) | [rust-just](https://www.npmjs.com/package/rust-just) | `npm install -g rust-just` |
| [pipx](https://pipx.pypa.io/stable/) | [rust-just](https://pypi.org/project/rust-just/) | `pipx install rust-just` |
| [Snap](https://snapcraft.io/) | [just](https://snapcraft.io/just) | `snap install --edge --classic just` |
| [uv](https://docs.astral.sh/uv/) | [rust-just](https://pypi.org/project/rust-just/) | `uv tool install rust-just` |
BSD
| Operating System | Package Manager | Package | Command |
|---|---|---|---|
| [FreeBSD](https://www.freebsd.org/) | [pkg](https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/pkgng-intro.html) | [just](https://www.freshports.org/deskutils/just/) | `pkg install just` |
| [OpenBSD](https://www.openbsd.org/) | [pkg\_\*](https://www.openbsd.org/faq/faq15.html) | [just](https://cvsweb.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/ports/sysutils/just) | `pkg_add just` |
Linux
| Operating System | Package Manager | Package | Command |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Alpine](https://alpinelinux.org/) | [apk-tools](https://wiki.alpinelinux.org/wiki/Alpine_Linux_package_management) | [just](https://pkgs.alpinelinux.org/package/edge/community/x86_64/just) | `apk add just` |
| [Arch](https://www.archlinux.org/) | [pacman](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Pacman) | [just](https://archlinux.org/packages/extra/x86_64/just/) | `pacman -S just` |
| [Debian 13](https://debian.org/) and [Ubuntu 24.04](https://ubuntu.com/) derivatives | [apt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APT_\(software\)) | [just](https://packages.debian.org/trixie/just) | `apt install just` |
| [Fedora](https://getfedora.org/) | [DNF](https://dnf.readthedocs.io/en/latest/) | [just](https://src.fedoraproject.org/rpms/rust-just) | `dnf install just` |
| [Gentoo](https://www.gentoo.org/) | [Portage](https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Portage) | [dev-build/just](https://packages.gentoo.org/packages/dev-build/just) | `emerge -av dev-build/just` |
| [NixOS](https://nixos.org/nixos/) | [Nix](https://nixos.org/nix/) | [just](https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/blob/master/pkgs/by-name/ju/just/package.nix) | `nix-env -iA nixos.just` |
| [openSUSE](https://opensuse.org/) | [Zypper](https://en.opensuse.org/Portal:Zypper) | [just](https://build.opensuse.org/package/show/Base:System/just) | `zypper in just` |
| [Solus](https://getsol.us/) | [eopkg](https://getsol.us/articles/package-management/basics/en) | [just](https://dev.getsol.us/source/just/) | `eopkg install just` |
| [Void](https://voidlinux.org/) | [XBPS](https://wiki.voidlinux.org/XBPS) | [just](https://github.com/void-linux/void-packages/blob/master/srcpkgs/just/template) | `xbps-install -S just` |
Windows
| Package Manager | Package | Command |
|---|---|---|
| [Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org/) | [just](https://github.com/michidk/just-choco) | `choco install just` |
| [Scoop](https://scoop.sh/) | [just](https://github.com/ScoopInstaller/Main/blob/master/bucket/just.json) | `scoop install just` |
| [Windows Package Manager](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/package-manager/) | [Casey/Just](https://github.com/microsoft/winget-pkgs/tree/master/manifests/c/Casey/Just) | `winget install --id Casey.Just --exact` |
macOS
| Package Manager | Package | Command |
|---|---|---|
| [MacPorts](https://www.macports.org/) | [just](https://ports.macports.org/port/just/summary) | `port install just` |
[](https://camo.githubusercontent.com/0ebfbd07d3da9aaadf8971e68490391c726ac2c60f86a3b4400e5b55421acda8/68747470733a2f2f7265706f6c6f67792e6f72672f62616467652f766572746963616c2d616c6c7265706f732f6a7573742e737667)
Pre-Built Binaries
Pre-built binaries for Linux, MacOS, and Windows can be found on [the releases page](https://github.com/casey/just/releases).
You can use the following command on Linux, MacOS, or Windows to download the latest release, just replace `DEST` with the directory where you'd like to put `just`:
```
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://just.systems/install.sh | bash -s -- --to DEST
```
For example, to install `just` to `~/bin`:
```
# create ~/bin
mkdir -p ~/bin
# download and extract just to ~/bin/just
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://just.systems/install.sh | bash -s -- --to ~/bin
# add `~/bin` to the paths that your shell searches for executables
# this line should be added to your shells initialization file,
# e.g. `~/.bashrc` or `~/.zshrc`
export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/bin"
# just should now be executable
just --help
```
Note that `install.sh` may fail on GitHub Actions, or in other environments where many machines share IP addresses. `install.sh` calls GitHub APIs in order to determine the latest version of `just` to install, and those API calls are rate-limited on a per-IP basis. To make `install.sh` more reliable in such circumstances, pass a specific tag to install with `--tag`.
Another way to avoid rate-limiting is to pass a GitHub authentication token to `install.sh` as an environment variable named `GITHUB_TOKEN`, allowing it to authenticate its requests.
[Releases](https://github.com/casey/just/releases) include a `SHA256SUM` file which can be used to verify the integrity of pre-built binary archives.
To verify a release, download the pre-built binary archive along with the `SHA256SUM` file and run:
```
shasum --algorithm 256 --ignore-missing --check SHA256SUMS
```
GitHub Actions
`just` can be installed on GitHub Actions in a few ways.
Using package managers pre-installed on GitHub Actions runners on MacOS with `brew install just`, and on Windows with `choco install just`.
With [extractions/setup-just](https://github.com/extractions/setup-just):
```
- uses: extractions/setup-just@v3
with:
just-version: 1.5.0 # optional semver specification, otherwise latest
```
Or with [taiki-e/install-action](https://github.com/taiki-e/install-action):
```
- uses: taiki-e/install-action@just
```
Docker
`just` is available as a Docker image from [the GitHub Container Registry](https://ghcr.io/casey/just).
To copy `just` into a Docker image, add the following line to your `Dockerfile`:
```
COPY --from=ghcr.io/casey/just:latest /just /usr/local/bin/
```
After copying, `just` may also be used as part of a docker build:
```
RUN just
```
Release RSS Feed
An [RSS feed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS) of `just` releases is available [here](https://github.com/casey/just/releases.atom).
Node.js Installation
[just-install](https://npmjs.com/package/just-install) can be used to automate installation of `just` in Node.js applications.
`just` is a great, more robust alternative to npm scripts. If you want to include `just` in the dependencies of a Node.js application, `just-install` will install a local, platform-specific binary as part of the `npm install` command. This removes the need for every developer to install `just` independently using one of the processes mentioned above. After installation, the `just` command will work in npm scripts or with npx. It's great for teams who want to make the set up process for their project as easy as possible.
For more information, see the [just-install README file](https://github.com/brombal/just-install#readme).
Nix Flake
The `just` repository includes a [`flake.nix`](https://github.com/casey/just/tree/master/flake.nix) that defines a [nix flake](https://nix.dev/concepts/flakes.html), allowing you to use `just` as an input to another flake:
```
{
inputs = {
just.url = "github:casey/just";
}
outputs = {self, nixpkgs, just}: {
}
}
```
Backwards Compatibility
With the release of version 1.0, `just` features a strong commitment to backwards compatibility and stability.
Future releases will not introduce backwards incompatible changes that make existing `justfile`s stop working, or break working invocations of the command-line interface.
This does not, however, preclude fixing outright bugs, even if doing so might break `justfiles` that rely on their behavior.
There will never be a `just` 2.0. Any desirable backwards-incompatible changes will be opt-in on a per-`justfile` basis, so users may migrate at their leisure.
Features that aren't yet ready for stabilization are marked as unstable and may be changed or removed at any time. Using unstable features produces an error by default, which can be suppressed by passing the `--unstable` flag, `set unstable`, or setting the environment variable `JUST_UNSTABLE`, to any value other than `false`, `0`, or the empty string.
Editor Support
`justfile` syntax is close enough to `make` that you may want to tell your editor to use `make` syntax highlighting for `just`.
Vim and Neovim
Vim version 9.1.1042 or better and Neovim version 0.11 or better support Justfile syntax highlighting out of the box, thanks to [pbnj](https://github.com/pbnj).
`vim-just`
The [vim-just](https://github.com/NoahTheDuke/vim-just) plugin provides syntax highlighting for `justfile`s.
Install it with your favorite package manager, like [Plug](https://github.com/junegunn/vim-plug):
```
call plug#begin()
Plug 'NoahTheDuke/vim-just'
call plug#end()
```
Or with Vim's built-in package support:
```
mkdir -p ~/.vim/pack/vendor/start
cd ~/.vim/pack/vendor/start
git clone https://github.com/NoahTheDuke/vim-just.git
```
`tree-sitter-just`
[tree-sitter-just](https://github.com/IndianBoy42/tree-sitter-just) is an [Nvim Treesitter](https://github.com/nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter) plugin for Neovim.
Emacs
[just-mode](https://github.com/leon-barrett/just-mode.el) provides syntax highlighting and automatic indentation of `justfile`s. It is available on [MELPA](https://melpa.org/) as [just-mode](https://melpa.org/#/just-mode).
[justl](https://github.com/psibi/justl.el) provides commands for executing and listing recipes.
You can add the following to an individual `justfile` to enable `make` mode on a per-file basis:
```
# Local Variables:
# mode: makefile
# End:
```
Visual Studio Code
An extension for VS Code is [available here](https://github.com/nefrob/vscode-just).
Unmaintained VS Code extensions include [skellock/vscode-just](https://github.com/skellock/vscode-just) and [sclu1034/vscode-just](https://github.com/sclu1034/vscode-just).
JetBrains IDEs
A plugin for JetBrains IDEs by [linux\_china](https://github.com/linux-china) is [available here](https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/18658-just).
Kakoune
Kakoune supports `justfile` syntax highlighting out of the box, thanks to TeddyDD.
Helix
[Helix](https://helix-editor.com/) supports `justfile` syntax highlighting out-of-the-box since version 23.05.
Sublime Text
The [Just package](https://github.com/nk9/just_sublime) by [nk9](https://github.com/nk9) with `just` syntax and some other tools is available on [PackageControl](https://packagecontrol.io/packages/Just).
Micro
[Micro](https://micro-editor.github.io/) supports Justfile syntax highlighting out of the box, thanks to [tomodachi94](https://github.com/tomodachi94).
Zed
The [zed-just](https://github.com/jackTabsCode/zed-just/) extension by [jackTabsCode](https://github.com/jackTabsCode) is available on the [Zed extensions page](https://zed.dev/extensions?query=just).
Other Editors
Feel free to send me the commands necessary to get syntax highlighting working in your editor of choice so that I may include them here.
Language Server Protocol
[just-lsp](https://github.com/terror/just-lsp) provides a [language server protocol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language_Server_Protocol) implementation, enabling features such as go-to-definition, inline diagnostics, and code completion.
Model Context Protocol
[just-mcp](http://github.com/promptexecution/just-mcp) provides a [model context protocol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_Context_Protocol) adapter to allow LLMs to query the contents of `justfiles` and run recipes.
Quick Start
See the installation section for how to install `just` on your computer. Try running `just --version` to make sure that it's installed correctly.
For an overview of the syntax, check out [this cheatsheet](https://cheatography.com/linux-china/cheat-sheets/justfile/).
Once `just` is installed and working, create a file named `justfile` in the root of your project with the following contents:
```
recipe-name:
echo 'This is a recipe!'
# this is a comment
another-recipe:
@echo 'This is another recipe.'
```
When you invoke `just` it looks for file `justfile` in the current directory and upwards, so you can invoke it from any subdirectory of your project.
The search for a `justfile` is case insensitive, so any case, like `Justfile`, `JUSTFILE`, or `JuStFiLe`, will work. `just` will also look for files with the name `.justfile`, in case you'd like to hide a `justfile`.
Running `just` with no arguments runs the first recipe in the `justfile`:
```
$ just
echo 'This is a recipe!'
This is a recipe!
```
One or more arguments specify the recipe(s) to run:
```
$ just another-recipe
This is another recipe.
```
`just` prints each command to standard error before running it, which is why `echo 'This is a recipe!'` was printed. This is suppressed for lines starting with `@`, which is why `echo 'This is another recipe.'` was not printed.
Recipes stop running if a command fails. Here `cargo publish` will only run if `cargo test` succeeds:
```
publish:
cargo test
# tests passed, time to publish!
cargo publish
```
Recipes can depend on other recipes. Here the `test` recipe depends on the `build` recipe, so `build` will run before `test`:
```
build:
cc main.c foo.c bar.c -o main
test: build
./test
sloc:
@echo "`wc -l *.c` lines of code"
```
```
$ just test
cc main.c foo.c bar.c -o main
./test
testing⦠all tests passed!
```
Recipes without dependencies will run in the order they're given on the command line:
```
$ just build sloc
cc main.c foo.c bar.c -o main
1337 lines of code
```
Dependencies will always run first, even if they are passed after a recipe that depends on them:
```
$ just test build
cc main.c foo.c bar.c -o main
./test
testing⦠all tests passed!
```
Recipes may depend on recipes in submodules:
```
mod foo
baz: foo::bar
```
Examples
A variety of `justfile`s can be found in the [examples directory](https://github.com/casey/just/tree/master/examples) and on [GitHub](https://github.com/search?q=path%3A**%2Fjustfile&type=code).
Features
The Default Recipe
When `just` is invoked without a recipe, it runs the recipe with the `[default]` attribute, or the first recipe in the `justfile` if no recipe has the `[default]` attribute.
This recipe might be the most frequently run command in the project, like running the tests:
```
test:
cargo test
```
You can also use dependencies to run multiple recipes by default:
```
default: lint build test
build:
echo Buildingā¦
test:
echo Testingā¦
lint:
echo Lintingā¦
```
If no recipe makes sense as the default recipe, you can add a recipe to the beginning of your `justfile` that lists the available recipes:
```
default:
just --list
```
Listing Available Recipes
Recipes can be listed in alphabetical order with `just --list`:
```
$ just --list
Available recipes:
build
test
deploy
lint
```
Recipes in [submodules](https://github.com/casey/just#modules) can be listed with `just --list PATH`, where `PATH` is a space- or `::`\-separated module path:
```
$ cat justfile
mod foo
$ cat foo.just
mod bar
$ cat bar.just
baz:
$ just --list foo bar
Available recipes:
baz
$ just --list foo::bar
Available recipes:
baz
```
`just --summary` is more concise:
```
$ just --summary
build test deploy lint
```
Pass `--unsorted` to print recipes in the order they appear in the `justfile`:
```
test:
echo 'Testing!'
build:
echo 'Building!'
```
```
$ just --list --unsorted
Available recipes:
test
build
```
```
$ just --summary --unsorted
test build
```
If you'd like `just` to default to listing the recipes in the `justfile`, you can use this as your default recipe:
```
default:
@just --list
```
Note that you may need to add `--justfile {{justfile()}}` to the line above. Without it, if you executed `just -f /some/distant/justfile -d .` or `just -f ./non-standard-justfile`, the plain `just --list` inside the recipe would not necessarily use the file you provided. It would try to find a justfile in your current path, maybe even resulting in a `No justfile found` error.
The heading text can be customized with `--list-heading`:
```
$ just --list --list-heading $'Cool stuffā¦\n'
Cool stuffā¦
test
build
```
And the indentation can be customized with `--list-prefix`:
```
$ just --list --list-prefix Ā·Ā·Ā·Ā·
Available recipes:
Ā·Ā·Ā·Ā·test
Ā·Ā·Ā·Ā·build
```
The argument to `--list-heading` replaces both the heading and the newline following it, so it should contain a newline if non-empty. It works this way so you can suppress the heading line entirely by passing the empty string:
```
$ just --list --list-heading ''
test
build
```
Invoking Multiple Recipes
Multiple recipes may be invoked on the command line at once:
```
build:
make web
serve:
python3 -m http.server -d out 8000
```
```
$ just build serve
make web
python3 -m http.server -d out 8000
```
Keep in mind that recipes with parameters will swallow arguments, even if they match the names of other recipes:
```
build project:
make {{project}}
serve:
python3 -m http.server -d out 8000
```
```
$ just build serve
make: *** No rule to make target `serve'. Stop.
```
The `--one` flag can be used to restrict command-line invocations to a single recipe:
```
$ just --one build serve
error: Expected 1 command-line recipe invocation but found 2.
```
Working Directory
By default, recipes run with the working directory set to the directory that contains the `justfile`.
The `[no-cd]` attribute can be used to make recipes run with the working directory set to directory in which `just` was invoked.
```
@foo:
pwd
[no-cd]
@bar:
pwd
```
```
$ cd subdir
$ just foo
/
$ just bar
/subdir
```
You can override the working directory for all recipes with `set working-directory := 'ā¦'`:
```
set working-directory := 'bar'
@foo:
pwd
```
```
$ pwd
/home/bob
$ just foo
/home/bob/bar
```
You can override the working directory for a specific recipe with the `working-directory` attribute1\.38.0:
```
[working-directory: 'bar']
@foo:
pwd
```
```
$ pwd
/home/bob
$ just foo
/home/bob/bar
```
The argument to the `working-directory` setting or `working-directory` attribute may be absolute or relative. If it is relative it is interpreted relative to the default working directory.
Aliases
Aliases allow recipes to be invoked on the command line with alternative names:
```
alias b := build
build:
echo 'Building!'
```
```
$ just b
echo 'Building!'
Building!
```
The target of an alias may be a recipe in a submodule:
```
mod foo
alias baz := foo::bar
```
Settings
Settings control interpretation and execution. Each setting may be specified at most once, anywhere in the `justfile`.
For example:
```
set shell := ["zsh", "-cu"]
foo:
# this line will be run as `zsh -cu 'ls **/*.txt'`
ls **/*.txt
```
Table of Settings
| Name | Value | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `allow-duplicate-recipes` | boolean | `false` | Allow recipes appearing later in a `justfile` to override earlier recipes with the same name. |
| `allow-duplicate-variables` | boolean | `false` | Allow variables appearing later in a `justfile` to override earlier variables with the same name. |
| `dotenv-filename` | string | \- | Load a `.env` file with a custom name, if present. |
| `dotenv-load` | boolean | `false` | Load a `.env` file, if present. |
| `dotenv-override` | boolean | `false` | Override existing environment variables with values from the `.env` file. |
| `dotenv-path` | string | \- | Load a `.env` file from a custom path and error if not present. Overrides `dotenv-filename`. |
| `dotenv-required` | boolean | `false` | Error if a `.env` file isn't found. |
| `export` | boolean | `false` | Export all variables as environment variables. |
| `fallback` | boolean | `false` | Search `justfile` in parent directory if the first recipe on the command line is not found. |
| `ignore-comments` | boolean | `false` | Ignore recipe lines beginning with `#`. |
| `lazy`1\.47.0 | boolean | `false` | Don't evaluate unused variables. |
| `positional-arguments` | boolean | `false` | Pass positional arguments. |
| `quiet` | boolean | `false` | Disable echoing recipe lines before executing. |
| `script-interpreter`1\.33.0 | `[COMMAND, ARGSā¦]` | `['sh', '-eu']` | Set command used to invoke recipes with empty `[script]` attribute. |
| `shell` | `[COMMAND, ARGSā¦]` | \- | Set command used to invoke recipes and evaluate backticks. |
| `tempdir` | string | \- | Create temporary directories in `tempdir` instead of the system default temporary directory. |
| `unstable`1\.31.0 | boolean | `false` | Enable unstable features. |
| `windows-powershell` | boolean | `false` | Use PowerShell on Windows as default shell. (Deprecated. Use `windows-shell` instead. |
| `windows-shell` | `[COMMAND, ARGSā¦]` | \- | Set the command used to invoke recipes and evaluate backticks. |
| `working-directory`1\.33.0 | string | \- | Set the working directory for recipes and backticks, relative to the default working directory. |
Boolean settings can be written as:
```
set NAME
```
Which is equivalent to:
```
set NAME := true
```
Non-boolean settings can be set to both strings and expressions.1\.46.0
However, because settings affect the behavior of backticks and many functions, those expressions may not contain backticks or function calls, directly or transitively via reference.
Allow Duplicate Recipes
If `allow-duplicate-recipes` is set to `true`, defining multiple recipes with the same name is not an error and the last definition is used. Defaults to `false`.
```
set allow-duplicate-recipes
@foo:
echo foo
@foo:
echo bar
```
```
$ just foo
bar
```
Allow Duplicate Variables
If `allow-duplicate-variables` is set to `true`, defining multiple variables with the same name is not an error and the last definition is used. Defaults to `false`.
```
set allow-duplicate-variables
a := "foo"
a := "bar"
@foo:
echo {{a}}
```
```
$ just foo
bar
```
Dotenv Settings
If any of `dotenv-load`, `dotenv-filename`, `dotenv-override`, `dotenv-path`, or `dotenv-required` are set, `just` will try to load environment variables from a file.
If `dotenv-path` is set, `just` will look for a file at the given path, which may be absolute, or relative to the working directory.
The command-line option `--dotenv-path`, short form `-E`, can be used to set or override `dotenv-path` at runtime.
If `dotenv-filename` is set `just` will look for a file at the given path, relative to the working directory and each of its ancestors.
If `dotenv-filename` is not set, but `dotenv-load` or `dotenv-required` are set, just will look for a file named `.env`, relative to the working directory and each of its ancestors.
`dotenv-filename` and `dotenv-path` are similar, but `dotenv-path` is only checked relative to the working directory, whereas `dotenv-filename` is checked relative to the working directory and each of its ancestors.
It is not an error if an environment file is not found, unless `dotenv-required` is set.
The loaded variables are environment variables, not `just` variables, and so must be accessed using `$VARIABLE_NAME` in recipes and backticks.
If `dotenv-override` is set, variables from the environment file will override existing environment variables.
For example, if your `.env` file contains:
```
# a comment, will be ignored
DATABASE_ADDRESS=localhost:6379
SERVER_PORT=1337
```
And your `justfile` contains:
```
set dotenv-load
serve:
@echo "Starting server with database $DATABASE_ADDRESS on port $SERVER_PORTā¦"
./server --database $DATABASE_ADDRESS --port $SERVER_PORT
```
`just serve` will output:
```
$ just serve
Starting server with database localhost:6379 on port 1337ā¦
./server --database $DATABASE_ADDRESS --port $SERVER_PORT
```
Export
The `export` setting causes all `just` variables to be exported as environment variables. Defaults to `false`.
```
set export
a := "hello"
@foo b:
echo $a
echo $b
```
```
$ just foo goodbye
hello
goodbye
```
Lazy
The `lazy` setting1\.47.0 causes the evaluator to skip evaluating unused variables. This can be beneficial when a `justfile` contains variables that are expensive to evaluate but only sometimes used.
In the following `justfile`, `token` will be skipped when only invoking `bar`:
```
set lazy
token := `expensive-script-to-get-credentials`
foo:
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer {{ token }}" https://example.com/foo
bar:
cargo test
```
Because `just` cannot determine when exported variables are used, assignments with `export` and assignments in a module with `set export` will always be evaluated.
Positional Arguments
If `positional-arguments` is `true`, recipe arguments will be passed as positional arguments to commands. For linewise recipes, argument `$0` will be the name of the recipe.
For example, running this recipe:
```
set positional-arguments
@foo bar:
echo $0
echo $1
```
Will produce the following output:
```
$ just foo hello
foo
hello
```
When using an `sh`\-compatible shell, such as `bash` or `zsh`, `$@` expands to the positional arguments given to the recipe, starting from one. When used within double quotes as `"$@"`, arguments including whitespace will be passed on as if they were double-quoted. That is, `"$@"` is equivalent to `"$1" "$2"`⦠When there are no positional parameters, `"$@"` and `$@` expand to nothing (i.e., they are removed).
This example recipe will print arguments one by one on separate lines:
```
set positional-arguments
@test *args='':
bash -c 'while (( "$#" )); do echo - $1; shift; done' -- "$@"
```
Running it with *two* arguments:
```
$ just test foo "bar baz"
- foo
- bar baz
```
Positional arguments may also be turned on a per-recipe basis with the `[positional-arguments]` attribute1\.29.0:
```
[positional-arguments]
@foo bar:
echo $0
echo $1
```
Note that PowerShell does not handle positional arguments in the same way as other shells, so turning on positional arguments will likely break recipes that use PowerShell.
If using PowerShell 7.4 or better, the `-CommandWithArgs` flag will make positional arguments work as expected:
```
set shell := ['pwsh.exe', '-CommandWithArgs']
set positional-arguments
print-args a b c:
Write-Output @($args[1..($args.Count - 1)])
```
Shell
The `shell` setting controls the command used to invoke recipe lines and backticks. Shebang recipes are unaffected. The default shell is `sh -cu`.
```
# use python3 to execute recipe lines and backticks
set shell := ["python3", "-c"]
# use print to capture result of evaluation
foos := `print("foo" * 4)`
foo:
print("Snake snake snake snake.")
print("{{foos}}")
```
`just` passes the command to be executed as an argument. Many shells will need an additional flag, often `-c`, to make them evaluate the first argument.
Windows Shell
`just` uses `sh` on Windows by default. To use a different shell on Windows, use `windows-shell`:
```
set windows-shell := ["powershell.exe", "-NoLogo", "-Command"]
hello:
Write-Host "Hello, world!"
```
See [powershell.just](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/examples/powershell.just) for a justfile that uses PowerShell on all platforms.
Windows PowerShell
*`set windows-powershell` uses the legacy `powershell.exe` binary, and is no longer recommended. See the `windows-shell` setting above for a more flexible way to control which shell is used on Windows.*
`just` uses `sh` on Windows by default. To use `powershell.exe` instead, set `windows-powershell` to true.
```
set windows-powershell := true
hello:
Write-Host "Hello, world!"
```
Python 3
```
set shell := ["python3", "-c"]
```
Bash
```
set shell := ["bash", "-uc"]
```
Z Shell
```
set shell := ["zsh", "-uc"]
```
Fish
```
set shell := ["fish", "-c"]
```
Nushell
```
set shell := ["nu", "-c"]
```
If you want to change the default table mode to `light`:
```
set shell := ['nu', '-m', 'light', '-c']
```
*[Nushell](https://github.com/nushell/nushell) was written in Rust, and **has cross-platform support for Windows / macOS and Linux**.*
Documentation Comments
Comments immediately preceding a recipe will appear in `just --list`:
```
# build stuff
build:
./bin/build
# test stuff
test:
./bin/test
```
```
$ just --list
Available recipes:
build # build stuff
test # test stuff
```
The `[doc]` attribute can be used to set or suppress a recipe's doc comment:
```
# This comment won't appear
[doc('Build stuff')]
build:
./bin/build
# This one won't either
[doc]
test:
./bin/test
```
```
$ just --list
Available recipes:
build # Build stuff
test
```
Variables and Assignments
Module-level variables may be created by assigning them a value with `:=`:
```
foo := "hello"
bar := "world"
baz:
echo {{ foo + " " + bar }}
```
All variables in a module may be printed:
```
$ just --evaluate
bar := "world"
foo := "hello"
```
Or the value of a single variable:
```
$ just --evalaute foo
hello
```
All variables in a submodule or a single variable in a submodule may be printed with a path to the submodule or variablemaster:
```
$ just --evaluate bob::bar
x := "world"
y := "hello"
$ just --evaluate bob::bar::y
hello
```
The format of exported variables may be controlled with `--evaluate-format`master:
```
$ just --evaluate --evaluate-format shell
bar="world"
foo="hello"
```
The default format is `--evaluate-format just`:
```
$ just --evaluate --evaluate-format just
bar := "world"
foo := "hello"
```
Expressions and Substitutions
Various operators and function calls are supported in expressions, which may be used in assignments, default recipe arguments, and inside recipe body `{{ā¦}}` substitutions.
```
tmpdir := `mktemp -d`
version := "0.2.7"
tardir := tmpdir / "awesomesauce-" + version
tarball := tardir + ".tar.gz"
config := quote(config_dir() / ".project-config")
publish:
rm -f {{tarball}}
mkdir {{tardir}}
cp README.md *.c {{ config }} {{tardir}}
tar zcvf {{tarball}} {{tardir}}
scp {{tarball}} me@server.com:release/
rm -rf {{tarball}} {{tardir}}
```
Concatenation
The `+` operator returns the left-hand argument concatenated with the right-hand argument:
```
foobar := 'foo' + 'bar'
```
Logical Operators
The logical operators `&&` and `||` can be used to coalesce string values1\.37.0, similar to Python's `and` and `or`. These operators consider the empty string `''` to be false, and all other strings to be true.
These operators are currently unstable.
The `&&` operator returns the empty string if the left-hand argument is the empty string, otherwise it returns the right-hand argument:
```
foo := '' && 'goodbye' # ''
bar := 'hello' && 'goodbye' # 'goodbye'
```
The `||` operator returns the left-hand argument if it is non-empty, otherwise it returns the right-hand argument:
```
foo := '' || 'goodbye' # 'goodbye'
bar := 'hello' || 'goodbye' # 'hello'
```
Joining Paths
The `/` operator can be used to join two strings with a slash:
```
foo := "a" / "b"
```
```
$ just --evaluate foo
a/b
```
Note that a `/` is added even if one is already present:
```
foo := "a/"
bar := foo / "b"
```
```
$ just --evaluate bar
a//b
```
Absolute paths can also be constructed1\.5.0:
```
foo := / "b"
```
```
$ just --evaluate foo
/b
```
The `/` operator uses the `/` character, even on Windows. Thus, using the `/` operator should be avoided with paths that use universal naming convention (UNC), i.e., those that start with `\?`, since forward slashes are not supported with UNC paths.
Escaping `{{`
To write a recipe containing `{{`, use `{{{{`:
```
braces:
echo 'I {{{{LOVE}} curly braces!'
```
(An unmatched `}}` is ignored, so it doesn't need to be escaped.)
Another option is to put all the text you'd like to escape inside of an interpolation:
```
braces:
echo '{{'I {{LOVE}} curly braces!'}}'
```
Yet another option is to use `{{ "{{" }}`:
```
braces:
echo 'I {{ "{{" }}LOVE}} curly braces!'
```
Strings
`'single'`, `"double"`, and `'''triple'''` quoted string literals are supported. Unlike in recipe bodies, `{{ā¦}}` interpolations are not supported inside strings.
Double-quoted strings support escape sequences:
```
carriage-return := "\r"
double-quote := "\""
newline := "\n"
no-newline := "\
"
slash := "\\"
tab := "\t"
unicode-codepoint := "\u{1F916}"
```
```
$ just --evaluate
"arriage-return := "
double-quote := """
newline := "
"
no-newline := ""
slash := "\"
tab := " "
unicode-codepoint := "š¤"
```
The unicode character escape sequence `\u{ā¦}`1\.36.0 accepts up to six hex digits.
Strings may contain line breaks:
```
single := '
hello
'
double := "
goodbye
"
```
Single-quoted strings do not recognize escape sequences:
```
escapes := '\t\n\r\"\\'
```
```
$ just --evaluate
escapes := "\t\n\r\"\\"
```
Indented versions of both single- and double-quoted strings, delimited by triple single- or double-quotes, are supported. Indented string lines are stripped of a leading line break, and leading whitespace common to all non-blank lines:
```
# this string will evaluate to `foo\nbar\n`
x := '''
foo
bar
'''
# this string will evaluate to `abc\n wuv\nxyz\n`
y := """
abc
wuv
xyz
"""
```
Similar to unindented strings, indented double-quoted strings process escape sequences, and indented single-quoted strings ignore escape sequences. Escape sequence processing takes place after unindentation. The unindentation algorithm does not take escape-sequence produced whitespace or newlines into account.
Shell-expanded strings
Strings prefixed with `x` are shell expanded1\.27.0:
```
foobar := x'~/$FOO/${BAR}'
```
| Value | Replacement |
|---|---|
| `$VAR` | value of environment variable `VAR` |
| `${VAR}` | value of environment variable `VAR` |
| `${VAR:-DEFAULT}` | value of environment variable `VAR`, or `DEFAULT` if `VAR` is not set |
| Leading `~` | path to current user's home directory |
| Leading `~USER` | path to `USER`'s home directory |
This expansion is performed at compile time, so variables from `.env` files and exported `just` variables cannot be used. However, this allows shell expanded strings to be used in places like settings and import paths, which cannot depend on `just` variables and `.env` files.
Format strings
Strings prefixed with `f` are format strings1\.44.0:
```
name := "world"
message := f'Hello, {{name}}!'
```
Format strings may contain interpolations delimited with `{{ā¦}}` that contain expressions. Format strings evaluate to the concatenated string fragments and evaluated expressions.
Use `{{{{` to include a literal `{{` in a format string:
```
foo := f'I {{{{LOVE} curly braces!'
```
Sigils
Commands in linewise recipes may be prefixed with any combination of the sigils `-`, `@`, and `?`.
The `@` sigil toggles command echoing:
```
foo:
@echo "This line won't be echoed!"
echo "This line will be echoed!"
@bar:
@echo "This line will be echoed!"
echo "This line won't be echoed!"
```
The `-` sigil cause recipe execution to continue even if the command returns a nonzero exit status:
```
# execution will continue, even if bar doesn't exist
foo:
-rmdir bar
mkdir bar
echo 'so much good stuff' > bar/stuff.txt
```
The `?` sigil1\.47.0 causes the current recipe to stop executing if the command exits with status code `1`, however execution of other recipes will continue. Exit status `0` causes the current recipe to continue execution as normal. All other exit codes are reserved and should not be used, as they may be given meaning in a future version of `just`.
If the `guards` setting is unset or false, `?` sigils are ignored and instead treated as part of the command.
```
set guards
@foo: bar
echo FOO
@bar:
?[[ -f baz ]]
echo BAR
```
```
$ just foo
FOO
$ touch baz
$ just foo
BAR
FOO
```
Functions
`just` provides many built-in functions for use in expressions, including recipe body `{{ā¦}}` substitutions, assignments, and default parameter values.
All functions ending in `_directory` can be abbreviated to `_dir`. So `home_directory()` can also be written as `home_dir()`. In addition, `invocation_directory_native()` can be abbreviated to `invocation_dir_native()`.
System Information
- `arch()` ā Instruction set architecture. Possible values are: `"aarch64"`, `"arm"`, `"asmjs"`, `"hexagon"`, `"mips"`, `"msp430"`, `"powerpc"`, `"powerpc64"`, `"s390x"`, `"sparc"`, `"wasm32"`, `"x86"`, `"x86_64"`, and `"xcore"`.
- `num_cpus()`1\.15.0 - Number of logical CPUs.
- `os()` ā Operating system. Possible values are: `"android"`, `"bitrig"`, `"dragonfly"`, `"emscripten"`, `"freebsd"`, `"haiku"`, `"ios"`, `"linux"`, `"macos"`, `"netbsd"`, `"openbsd"`, `"solaris"`, and `"windows"`.
- `os_family()` ā Operating system family; possible values are: `"unix"` and `"windows"`.
For example:
```
system-info:
@echo "This is an {{arch()}} machine".
```
```
$ just system-info
This is an x86_64 machine
```
The `os_family()` function can be used to create cross-platform `justfile`s that work on various operating systems. For an example, see [cross-platform.just](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/examples/cross-platform.just) file.
External Commands
- `shell(command, args...)`1\.27.0 returns the standard output of shell script `command` with zero or more positional arguments `args`. The shell used to interpret `command` is the same shell that is used to evaluate recipe lines, and can be changed with `set shell := [ā¦]`.
`command` is passed as the first argument, so if the command is `'echo $@'`, the full command line, with the default shell command `sh -cu` and `args` `'foo'` and `'bar'` will be:
```
'sh' '-cu' 'echo $@' 'echo $@' 'foo' 'bar'
```
This is so that `$@` works as expected, and `$1` refers to the first argument. `$@` does not include the first positional argument, which is expected to be the name of the program being run.
```
# arguments can be variables or expressions
file := '/sys/class/power_supply/BAT0/status'
bat0stat := shell('cat $1', file)
# commands can be variables or expressions
command := 'wc -l'
output := shell(command + ' "$1"', 'main.c')
# arguments referenced by the shell command must be used
empty := shell('echo', 'foo')
full := shell('echo $1', 'foo')
error := shell('echo $1')
```
```
# Using python as the shell. Since `python -c` sets `sys.argv[0]` to `'-c'`,
# the first "real" positional argument will be `sys.argv[2]`.
set shell := ["python3", "-c"]
olleh := shell('import sys; print(sys.argv[2][::-1])', 'hello')
```
Environment Variables
- `env(key)`1\.15.0 ā Retrieves the environment variable with name `key`, aborting if it is not present.
```
home_dir := env('HOME')
test:
echo "{{home_dir}}"
```
```
$ just
/home/user1
```
- `env(key, default)`1\.15.0 ā Retrieves the environment variable with name `key`, returning `default` if it is not present.
- `env_var(key)` ā Deprecated alias for `env(key)`.
- `env_var_or_default(key, default)` ā Deprecated alias for `env(key, default)`.
A default can be substituted for an empty environment variable value with the `||` operator, currently unstable:
```
set unstable
foo := env('FOO', '') || 'DEFAULT_VALUE'
```
Executables
- `require(name)`1\.39.0 ā Search directories in the `PATH` environment variable for the executable `name` and return its full path, or halt with an error if no executable with `name` exists.
```
bash := require("bash")
@test:
echo "bash: '{{bash}}'"
```
```
$ just
bash: '/bin/bash'
```
- `which(name)`1\.39.0 ā Search directories in the `PATH` environment variable for the executable `name` and return its full path, or the empty string if no executable with `name` exists. Currently unstable.
```
set unstable
bosh := which("bosh")
@test:
echo "bosh: '{{bosh}}'"
```
```
$ just
bosh: ''
```
Invocation Information
- `is_dependency()` - Returns the string `true` if the current recipe is being run as a dependency of another recipe, rather than being run directly, otherwise returns the string `false`.
Invocation Directory
- `invocation_directory()` - Retrieves the absolute path to the current directory when `just` was invoked, before `just` changed it (chdir'd) prior to executing commands. On Windows, `invocation_directory()` uses `cygpath` to convert the invocation directory to a Cygwin-compatible `/`\-separated path. Use `invocation_directory_native()` to return the verbatim invocation directory on all platforms.
For example, to call `rustfmt` on files just under the "current directory" (from the user/invoker's perspective), use the following rule:
```
rustfmt:
find {{invocation_directory()}} -name \*.rs -exec rustfmt {} \;
```
Alternatively, if your command needs to be run from the current directory, you could use (e.g.):
```
build:
cd {{invocation_directory()}}; ./some_script_that_needs_to_be_run_from_here
```
- `invocation_directory_native()` - Retrieves the absolute path to the current directory when `just` was invoked, before `just` changed it (chdir'd) prior to executing commands.
Justfile and Justfile Directory
- `justfile()` - Retrieves the path of the current `justfile`.
- `justfile_directory()` - Retrieves the path of the parent directory of the current `justfile`.
For example, to run a command relative to the location of the current `justfile`:
```
script:
{{justfile_directory()}}/scripts/some_script
```
Source and Source Directory
- `source_file()`1\.27.0 - Retrieves the path of the current source file.
- `source_directory()`1\.27.0 - Retrieves the path of the parent directory of the current source file.
`source_file()` and `source_directory()` behave the same as `justfile()` and `justfile_directory()` in the root `justfile`, but will return the path and directory, respectively, of the current `import` or `mod` source file when called from within an import or submodule.
Module and Module Directory
- `module_file()` - Retrieves the path of the current module file.
- `module_directory()` - Retrieves the path of the parent directory of the current module file.
`module_file()` and `module_directory()` behave the same as `justfile()` and `justfile_directory()` in the root `justfile`, but will return the path and directory, respectively, of the current `mod` source file when called from within submodule.
Just Executable
- `just_executable()` - Absolute path to the `just` executable.
For example:
```
executable:
@echo The executable is at: {{just_executable()}}
```
```
$ just
The executable is at: /bin/just
```
Just Process ID
- `just_pid()` - Process ID of the `just` executable.
For example:
```
pid:
@echo The process ID is: {{ just_pid() }}
```
```
$ just
The process ID is: 420
```
String Manipulation
- `append(suffix, s)`1\.27.0 Append `suffix` to whitespace-separated strings in `s`. `append('/src', 'foo bar baz')` ā `'foo/src bar/src baz/src'`
- `prepend(prefix, s)`1\.27.0 Prepend `prefix` to whitespace-separated strings in `s`. `prepend('src/', 'foo bar baz')` ā `'src/foo src/bar src/baz'`
- `encode_uri_component(s)`1\.27.0 - Percent-encode characters in `s` except `[A-Za-z0-9_.!~*'()-]`, matching the behavior of the [JavaScript `encodeURIComponent` function](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/encodeURIComponent).
- `quote(s)` - Replace all single quotes with `'\''` and prepend and append single quotes to `s`. This is sufficient to escape special characters for many shells, including most Bourne shell descendants.
- `replace(s, from, to)` - Replace all occurrences of `from` in `s` with `to`.
- `replace_regex(s, regex, replacement)` - Replace all occurrences of `regex` in `s` with `replacement`. Regular expressions are provided by the [Rust `regex` crate](https://docs.rs/regex/latest/regex/). See the [syntax documentation](https://docs.rs/regex/latest/regex/#syntax) for usage examples. Capture groups are supported. The `replacement` string uses [Replacement string syntax](https://docs.rs/regex/latest/regex/struct.Regex.html#replacement-string-syntax).
- `trim(s)` - Remove leading and trailing whitespace from `s`.
- `trim_end(s)` - Remove trailing whitespace from `s`.
- `trim_end_match(s, substring)` - Remove suffix of `s` matching `substring`.
- `trim_end_matches(s, substring)` - Repeatedly remove suffixes of `s` matching `substring`.
- `trim_start(s)` - Remove leading whitespace from `s`.
- `trim_start_match(s, substring)` - Remove prefix of `s` matching `substring`.
- `trim_start_matches(s, substring)` - Repeatedly remove prefixes of `s` matching `substring`.
Case Conversion
- `capitalize(s)`1\.7.0 - Convert first character of `s` to uppercase and the rest to lowercase.
- `kebabcase(s)`1\.7.0 - Convert `s` to `kebab-case`.
- `lowercamelcase(s)`1\.7.0 - Convert `s` to `lowerCamelCase`.
- `lowercase(s)` - Convert `s` to lowercase.
- `shoutykebabcase(s)`1\.7.0 - Convert `s` to `SHOUTY-KEBAB-CASE`.
- `shoutysnakecase(s)`1\.7.0 - Convert `s` to `SHOUTY_SNAKE_CASE`.
- `snakecase(s)`1\.7.0 - Convert `s` to `snake_case`.
- `titlecase(s)`1\.7.0 - Convert `s` to `Title Case`.
- `uppercamelcase(s)`1\.7.0 - Convert `s` to `UpperCamelCase`.
- `uppercase(s)` - Convert `s` to uppercase.
Path Manipulation
Fallible
- `absolute_path(path)` - Absolute path to relative `path` in the working directory. `absolute_path("./bar.txt")` in directory `/foo` is `/foo/bar.txt`.
- `canonicalize(path)`1\.24.0 - Canonicalize `path` by resolving symlinks and removing `.`, `..`, and extra `/`s where possible.
- `extension(path)` - Extension of `path`. `extension("/foo/bar.txt")` is `txt`.
- `file_name(path)` - File name of `path` with any leading directory components removed. `file_name("/foo/bar.txt")` is `bar.txt`.
- `file_stem(path)` - File name of `path` without extension. `file_stem("/foo/bar.txt")` is `bar`.
- `parent_directory(path)` - Parent directory of `path`. `parent_directory("/foo/bar.txt")` is `/foo`.
- `without_extension(path)` - `path` without extension. `without_extension("/foo/bar.txt")` is `/foo/bar`.
These functions can fail, for example if a path does not have an extension, which will halt execution.
Infallible
- `clean(path)` - Simplify `path` by removing extra path separators, intermediate `.` components, and `..` where possible. `clean("foo//bar")` is `foo/bar`, `clean("foo/..")` is `.`, `clean("foo/./bar")` is `foo/bar`.
- `join(a, bā¦)` - *This function uses `/` on Unix and `\` on Windows, which can be lead to unwanted behavior. The `/` operator, e.g., `a / b`, which always uses `/`, should be considered as a replacement unless `\`s are specifically desired on Windows.* Join path `a` with path `b`. `join("foo/bar", "baz")` is `foo/bar/baz`. Accepts two or more arguments.
Filesystem Access
- `path_exists(path)` - Returns the string `true` if the path points at an existing entity and the string `false` otherwise. Traverses symbolic links, and returns the string `false` if the path is inaccessible or points to a broken symlink.
- `read(path)`1\.39.0 - Returns the content of file at `path` as string.
Error Reporting
- `error(message)` - Abort execution and report error `message` to user.
UUID and Hash Generation
- `blake3(string)`1\.25.0 - Return [BLAKE3](https://github.com/BLAKE3-team/BLAKE3/) hash of `string` as hexadecimal string.
- `blake3_file(path)`1\.25.0 - Return [BLAKE3](https://github.com/BLAKE3-team/BLAKE3/) hash of file at `path` as hexadecimal string.
- `sha256(string)` - Return the SHA-256 hash of `string` as hexadecimal string.
- `sha256_file(path)` - Return SHA-256 hash of file at `path` as hexadecimal string.
- `uuid()` - Generate a random version 4 UUID.
Random
- `choose(n, alphabet)`1\.27.0 - Generate a string of `n` randomly selected characters from `alphabet`, which may not contain repeated characters. For example, `choose('64', HEX)` will generate a random 64-character lowercase hex string.
Datetime
- `datetime(format)`1\.30.0 - Return local time with `format`.
- `datetime_utc(format)`1\.30.0 - Return UTC time with `format`.
The arguments to `datetime` and `datetime_utc` are `strftime`\-style format strings, see the [`chrono` library docs](https://docs.rs/chrono/latest/chrono/format/strftime/index.html) for details.
Semantic Versions
- `semver_matches(version, requirement)`1\.16.0 - Check whether a [semantic `version`](https://semver.org/), e.g., `"0.1.0"` matches a `requirement`, e.g., `">=0.1.0"`, returning the string `"true"` if so and the string `"false"` otherwise.
Style
- `style(name)`1\.37.0 - Return a named terminal display attribute escape sequence used by `just`. Unlike terminal display attribute escape sequence constants, which contain standard colors and styles, `style(name)` returns an escape sequence used by `just` itself, and can be used to make recipe output match `just`'s own output.
Recognized values for `name` are `'command'`, for echoed recipe lines, `error`, and `warning`.
For example, to style an error message:
```
scary:
@echo '{{ style("error") }}OH NO{{ NORMAL }}'
```
User Directories
These functions1\.23.0 return paths to user-specific directories for things like configuration, data, caches, executables, and the user's home directory.
On Unix, these functions follow the [XDG Base Directory Specification](https://specifications.freedesktop.org/basedir-spec/basedir-spec-latest.html).
On MacOS and Windows, these functions return the system-specified user-specific directories. For example, `cache_directory()` returns `~/Library/Caches` on MacOS and `{FOLDERID_LocalAppData}` on Windows.
See the [`dirs`](https://docs.rs/dirs/latest/dirs/index.html) crate for more details.
- `cache_directory()` - The user-specific cache directory.
- `config_directory()` - The user-specific configuration directory.
- `config_local_directory()` - The local user-specific configuration directory.
- `data_directory()` - The user-specific data directory.
- `data_local_directory()` - The local user-specific data directory.
- `executable_directory()` - The user-specific executable directory.
- `home_directory()` - The user's home directory.
If you would like to use XDG base directories on all platforms you can use the `env(ā¦)` function with the appropriate environment variable and fallback, although note that the XDG specification requires ignoring non-absolute paths, so for full compatibility with spec-compliant applications, you would need to do:
```
xdg_config_dir := if env('XDG_CONFIG_HOME', '') =~ '^/' {
env('XDG_CONFIG_HOME')
} else {
home_directory() / '.config'
}
```
Constants
A number of constants are predefined:
| Name | Value | Value on Windows |
|---|---|---|
| `HEX`1\.27.0 | `"0123456789abcdef"` | |
| `HEXLOWER`1\.27.0 | `"0123456789abcdef"` | |
| `HEXUPPER`1\.27.0 | `"0123456789ABCDEF"` | |
| `PATH_SEP`1\.41.0 | `"/"` | `"\"` |
| `PATH_VAR_SEP`1\.41.0 | `":"` | `";"` |
| `CLEAR`1\.37.0 | `"\ec"` | |
| `NORMAL`1\.37.0 | `"\e[0m"` | |
| `BOLD`1\.37.0 | `"\e[1m"` | |
| `ITALIC`1\.37.0 | `"\e[3m"` | |
| `UNDERLINE`1\.37.0 | `"\e[4m"` | |
| `INVERT`1\.37.0 | `"\e[7m"` | |
| `HIDE`1\.37.0 | `"\e[8m"` | |
| `STRIKETHROUGH`1\.37.0 | `"\e[9m"` | |
| `BLACK`1\.37.0 | `"\e[30m"` | |
| `RED`1\.37.0 | `"\e[31m"` | |
| `GREEN`1\.37.0 | `"\e[32m"` | |
| `YELLOW`1\.37.0 | `"\e[33m"` | |
| `BLUE`1\.37.0 | `"\e[34m"` | |
| `MAGENTA`1\.37.0 | `"\e[35m"` | |
| `CYAN`1\.37.0 | `"\e[36m"` | |
| `WHITE`1\.37.0 | `"\e[37m"` | |
| `BG_BLACK`1\.37.0 | `"\e[40m"` | |
| `BG_RED`1\.37.0 | `"\e[41m"` | |
| `BG_GREEN`1\.37.0 | `"\e[42m"` | |
| `BG_YELLOW`1\.37.0 | `"\e[43m"` | |
| `BG_BLUE`1\.37.0 | `"\e[44m"` | |
| `BG_MAGENTA`1\.37.0 | `"\e[45m"` | |
| `BG_CYAN`1\.37.0 | `"\e[46m"` | |
| `BG_WHITE`1\.37.0 | `"\e[47m"` | |
```
@foo:
echo {{HEX}}
```
```
$ just foo
0123456789abcdef
```
Constants starting with `\e` are [ANSI escape sequences](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANSI_escape_code).
`CLEAR` clears the screen, similar to the `clear` command. The rest are of the form `\e[Nm`, where `N` is an integer, and set terminal display attributes.
Terminal display attribute escape sequences can be combined, for example text weight `BOLD`, text style `STRIKETHROUGH`, foreground color `CYAN`, and background color `BG_BLUE`. They should be followed by `NORMAL`, to reset the terminal back to normal.
Escape sequences should be quoted, since `[` is treated as a special character by some shells.
```
@foo:
echo '{{BOLD + STRIKETHROUGH + CYAN + BG_BLUE}}Hi!{{NORMAL}}'
```
Attributes
Recipes, `mod` statements, and aliases may be annotated with attributes that change their behavior.
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `[arg(ARG, help="HELP")]`1\.46.0 | recipe | Print help string `HELP` for `ARG` in usage messages. |
| `[arg(ARG, long="LONG")]`1\.46.0 | recipe | Require values of argument `ARG` to be passed as `--LONG` option. |
| `[arg(ARG, pattern="PATTERN")]`1\.45.0 | recipe | Require values of argument `ARG` to match regular expression `PATTERN`. |
| `[arg(ARG, short="S")]`1\.46.0 | recipe | Require values of argument `ARG` to be passed as short `-S` option. |
| `[arg(ARG, value="VALUE")]`1\.46.0 | recipe | Makes option `ARG` a flag which does not take a value. |
| `[confirm(PROMPT)]`1\.23.0 | recipe | Require confirmation prior to executing recipe with a custom prompt. |
| `[confirm]`1\.17.0 | recipe | Require confirmation prior to executing recipe. |
| `[default]`1\.43.0 | recipe | Use recipe as module's default recipe. |
| `[doc(DOC)]`1\.27.0 | module, recipe | Set recipe or module's [documentation comment](https://github.com/casey/just#documentation-comments) to `DOC`. |
| `[dragonfly]`1\.47.0 | recipe | Enable recipe on DragonFly BSD. |
| `[env(ENV_VAR, VALUE)]` 1\.47.0 | recipe | Set environment variables for recipe. |
| `[extension(EXT)]`1\.32.0 | recipe | Set shebang recipe script's file extension to `EXT`. `EXT` should include a period if one is desired. |
| `[freebsd]`1\.47.0 | recipe | Enable recipe on FreeBSD. |
| `[group(NAME)]`1\.27.0 | module, recipe | Put recipe or module in [group](https://github.com/casey/just#groups) `NAME`. |
| `[linux]`1\.8.0 | recipe | Enable recipe on Linux. |
| `[macos]`1\.8.0 | recipe | Enable recipe on MacOS. |
| `[metadata(METADATA)]`1\.42.0 | recipe | Attach `METADATA` to recipe. |
| `[netbsd]`1\.47.0 | recipe | Enable recipe on NetBSD. |
| `[no-cd]`1\.9.0 | recipe | Don't change directory before executing recipe. |
| `[no-exit-message]`1\.7.0 | recipe | Don't print an error message if recipe fails. |
| `[no-quiet]`1\.23.0 | recipe | Override globally quiet recipes and always echo out the recipe. |
| `[openbsd]`1\.38.0 | recipe | Enable recipe on OpenBSD. |
| `[parallel]`1\.42.0 | recipe | Run this recipe's dependencies in parallel. |
| `[positional-arguments]`1\.29.0 | recipe | Turn on [positional arguments](https://github.com/casey/just#positional-arguments) for this recipe. |
| `[private]`1\.10.0 | alias, recipe | Make recipe, alias, or variable private. See [Private Recipes](https://github.com/casey/just#private-recipes). |
| `[script(COMMAND)]`1\.32.0 | recipe | Execute recipe as a script interpreted by `COMMAND`. See [script recipes](https://github.com/casey/just#script-recipes) for more details. |
| `[script]`1\.33.0 | recipe | Execute recipe as script. See [script recipes](https://github.com/casey/just#script-recipes) for more details. |
| `[unix]`1\.8.0 | recipe | Enable recipe on Unixes. (Includes MacOS). |
| `[windows]`1\.8.0 | recipe | Enable recipe on Windows. |
| `[working-directory(PATH)]`1\.38.0 | recipe | Set recipe working directory. `PATH` may be relative or absolute. If relative, it is interpreted relative to the default working directory. |
A recipe can have multiple attributes, either on multiple lines:
```
[no-cd]
[private]
foo:
echo "foo"
```
Or separated by commas on a single line1\.14.0:
```
[no-cd, private]
foo:
echo "foo"
```
Attributes with a single argument may be written with a colon:
```
[group: 'bar']
foo:
```
Enabling and Disabling Recipes
The `[linux]`, `[macos]`, `[unix]`, and `[windows]` attributes1\.8.0 are configuration attributes. By default, recipes are always enabled. A recipe with one or more configuration attributes will only be enabled when one or more of those configurations is active.
This can be used to write `justfile`s that behave differently depending on which operating system they run on. The `run` recipe in this `justfile` will compile and run `main.c`, using a different C compiler and using the correct output binary name for that compiler depending on the operating system:
```
[unix]
run:
cc main.c
./a.out
[windows]
run:
cl main.c
main.exe
```
Disabling Changing Directory
`just` normally executes recipes with the current directory set to the directory that contains the `justfile`. This can be disabled using the `[no-cd]` attribute1\.9.0. This can be used to create recipes which use paths relative to the invocation directory, or which operate on the current directory.
For example, this `commit` recipe:
```
[no-cd]
commit file:
git add {{file}}
git commit
```
Can be used with paths that are relative to the current directory, because `[no-cd]` prevents `just` from changing the current directory when executing `commit`.
Requiring Confirmation for Recipes
`just` normally executes all recipes unless there is an error. The `[confirm]` attribute1\.17.0 allows recipes require confirmation in the terminal prior to running. This can be overridden by passing `--yes` to `just`, which will automatically confirm any recipes marked by this attribute.
Recipes dependent on a recipe that requires confirmation will not be run if the relied upon recipe is not confirmed, as well as recipes passed after any recipe that requires confirmation.
```
[confirm]
delete-all:
rm -rf *
```
Custom Confirmation Prompt
The default confirmation prompt can be overridden with `[confirm(PROMPT)]`1\.23.0:
```
[confirm("Are you sure you want to delete everything?")]
delete-everything:
rm -rf *
```
Metadata
Metadata in the form of lists of strings may be attached to recipes with the `[metadata(METADATA)]` attribute1\.42.0:
```
[metadata("hello", "goodbye")]
foo:
```
Metadata can be read using `just --dump --dump-format json`.
Groups
Recipes and modules may be annotated with one or more group names:
```
[group('lint')]
js-lint:
echo 'Running JS linterā¦'
[group('rust recipes')]
[group('lint')]
rust-lint:
echo 'Running Rust linterā¦'
[group('lint')]
cpp-lint:
echo 'Running C++ linterā¦'
# not in any group
email-everyone:
echo 'Sending mass emailā¦'
```
Recipes are listed by group:
```
$ just --list
Available recipes:
email-everyone # not in any group
[lint]
cpp-lint
js-lint
rust-lint
[rust recipes]
rust-lint
```
`just --list --unsorted` prints recipes in their justfile order within each group:
```
$ just --list --unsorted
Available recipes:
(no group)
email-everyone # not in any group
[lint]
js-lint
rust-lint
cpp-lint
[rust recipes]
rust-lint
```
Groups can be listed with `--groups`:
```
$ just --groups
Recipe groups:
lint
rust recipes
```
Use `just --groups --unsorted` to print groups in their justfile order.
Command Evaluation Using Backticks
Backticks can be used to store the result of commands:
```
localhost := `dumpinterfaces | cut -d: -f2 | sed 's/\/.*//' | sed 's/ //g'`
serve:
./serve {{localhost}} 8080
```
Indented backticks, delimited by three backticks, are de-indented in the same manner as indented strings:
```
# This backtick evaluates the command `echo foo\necho bar\n`, which produces the value `foo\nbar\n`.
stuff := ```
echo foo
echo bar
```
```
See the [Strings](https://github.com/casey/just#strings) section for details on unindenting.
Backticks may not start with `#!`. This syntax is reserved for a future upgrade.
The [`shell(ā¦)` function](https://github.com/casey/just#external-commands) provides a more general mechanism to invoke external commands, including the ability to execute the contents of a variable as a command, and to pass arguments to a command.
Conditional Expressions
`if`/`else` expressions evaluate different branches depending on if two expressions evaluate to the same value:
```
foo := if "2" == "2" { "Good!" } else { "1984" }
bar:
@echo "{{foo}}"
```
```
$ just bar
Good!
```
It is also possible to test for inequality:
```
foo := if "hello" != "goodbye" { "xyz" } else { "abc" }
bar:
@echo {{foo}}
```
```
$ just bar
xyz
```
And match against regular expressions:
```
foo := if "hello" =~ 'hel+o' { "match" } else { "mismatch" }
bar:
@echo {{foo}}
```
```
$ just bar
match
```
Regular expressions are provided by the [regex crate](https://github.com/rust-lang/regex), whose syntax is documented on [docs.rs](https://docs.rs/regex/1.5.4/regex/#syntax). Since regular expressions commonly use backslash escape sequences, consider using single-quoted string literals, which will pass slashes to the regex parser unmolested.
Conditional expressions short-circuit, which means they only evaluate one of their branches. This can be used to make sure that backtick expressions don't run when they shouldn't.
```
foo := if env_var("RELEASE") == "true" { `get-something-from-release-database` } else { "dummy-value" }
```
Conditionals can be used inside of recipes:
```
bar foo:
echo {{ if foo == "bar" { "hello" } else { "goodbye" } }}
```
Multiple conditionals can be chained:
```
foo := if "hello" == "goodbye" {
"xyz"
} else if "a" == "a" {
"abc"
} else {
"123"
}
bar:
@echo {{foo}}
```
```
$ just bar
abc
```
Stopping execution with error
Execution can be halted with the `error` function. For example:
```
foo := if "hello" == "goodbye" {
"xyz"
} else if "a" == "b" {
"abc"
} else {
error("123")
}
```
Which produce the following error when run:
```
error: Call to function `error` failed: 123
|
16 | error("123")
```
Setting Variables from the Command Line
Variables can be overridden from the command line.
```
os := "linux"
test: build
./test --test {{os}}
build:
./build {{os}}
```
```
$ just
./build linux
./test --test linux
```
Any number of arguments of the form `NAME=VALUE` can be passed before recipes:
```
$ just os=plan9
./build plan9
./test --test plan9
```
Or you can use the `--set` flag:
```
$ just --set os bsd
./build bsd
./test --test bsd
```
Variables in submodules can be overridden using the `::`\-separated path to the variable. A variable named `bar` in a submodule named `foo` may be overridden with `foo::bar=VALUE` or `--set foo::bar VALUE`.
Getting and Setting Environment Variables
Exporting `just` Variables
Assignments prefixed with the `export` keyword will be exported to recipes as environment variables:
```
export RUST_BACKTRACE := "1"
test:
# will print a stack trace if it crashes
cargo test
```
Parameters prefixed with a `$` will be exported as environment variables:
```
test $RUST_BACKTRACE="1":
# will print a stack trace if it crashes
cargo test
```
You can also use the `[env(NAME, VALUE)]` attribute to export environment variables to a specific recipe:
```
[env("RUST_BACKTRACE", "1")]
test:
# will print a stack trace if it crashes
cargo test
```
Exported variables and parameters are not exported to backticks in the same scope.
```
export WORLD := "world"
# This backtick will fail with "WORLD: unbound variable"
BAR := `echo hello $WORLD`
```
```
# Running `just a foo` will fail with "A: unbound variable"
a $A $B=`echo $A`:
echo $A $B
```
When [export](https://github.com/casey/just#export) is set, all `just` variables are exported as environment variables.
Unexporting Environment Variables
Environment variables can be unexported with the `unexport keyword`1\.29.0:
```
unexport FOO
@foo:
echo $FOO
```
```
$ export FOO=bar
$ just foo
sh: FOO: unbound variable
```
Getting Environment Variables from the environment
Environment variables from the environment are passed automatically to the recipes.
```
print_home_folder:
echo "HOME is: '${HOME}'"
```
```
$ just
HOME is '/home/myuser'
```
Setting `just` Variables from Environment Variables
Environment variables can be propagated to `just` variables using the `env()` function. See [environment-variables](https://github.com/casey/just#environment-variables).
Recipe Parameters
Recipes may have parameters. Here recipe `build` has a parameter called `target`:
```
build target:
@echo 'Building {{target}}ā¦'
cd {{target}} && make
```
To pass arguments on the command line, put them after the recipe name:
```
$ just build my-awesome-project
Building my-awesome-projectā¦
cd my-awesome-project && make
```
To pass arguments to a dependency, put the dependency in parentheses along with the arguments:
```
default: (build "main")
build target:
@echo 'Building {{target}}ā¦'
cd {{target}} && make
```
Variables can also be passed as arguments to dependencies:
```
target := "main"
_build version:
@echo 'Building {{version}}ā¦'
cd {{version}} && make
build: (_build target)
```
A command's arguments can be passed to dependency by putting the dependency in parentheses along with the arguments:
```
build target:
@echo "Building {{target}}ā¦"
push target: (build target)
@echo 'Pushing {{target}}ā¦'
```
Parameters may have default values:
```
default := 'all'
test target tests=default:
@echo 'Testing {{target}}:{{tests}}ā¦'
./test --tests {{tests}} {{target}}
```
Parameters with default values may be omitted:
```
$ just test server
Testing server:allā¦
./test --tests all server
```
Or supplied:
```
$ just test server unit
Testing server:unitā¦
./test --tests unit server
```
Default values may be arbitrary expressions, but expressions containing the `+`, `&&`, `||`, or `/` operators must be parenthesized:
```
arch := "wasm"
test triple=(arch + "-unknown-unknown") input=(arch / "input.dat"):
./test {{triple}}
```
The last parameter of a recipe may be variadic, indicated with either a `+` or a `*` before the argument name:
```
backup +FILES:
scp {{FILES}} me@server.com:
```
Variadic parameters prefixed with `+` accept *one or more* arguments and expand to a string containing those arguments separated by spaces:
```
$ just backup FAQ.md GRAMMAR.md
scp FAQ.md GRAMMAR.md me@server.com:
FAQ.md 100% 1831 1.8KB/s 00:00
GRAMMAR.md 100% 1666 1.6KB/s 00:00
```
Variadic parameters prefixed with `*` accept *zero or more* arguments and expand to a string containing those arguments separated by spaces, or an empty string if no arguments are present:
```
commit MESSAGE *FLAGS:
git commit {{FLAGS}} -m "{{MESSAGE}}"
```
Variadic parameters can be assigned default values. These are overridden by arguments passed on the command line:
```
test +FLAGS='-q':
cargo test {{FLAGS}}
```
`{{ā¦}}` substitutions may need to be quoted if they contain spaces. For example, if you have the following recipe:
```
search QUERY:
lynx https://www.google.com/?q={{QUERY}}
```
And you type:
```
$ just search "cat toupee"
```
`just` will run the command `lynx https://www.google.com/?q=cat toupee`, which will get parsed by `sh` as `lynx`, `https://www.google.com/?q=cat`, and `toupee`, and not the intended `lynx` and `https://www.google.com/?q=cat toupee`.
You can fix this by adding quotes:
```
search QUERY:
lynx 'https://www.google.com/?q={{QUERY}}'
```
Parameters prefixed with a `$` will be exported as environment variables:
```
foo $bar:
echo $bar
```
Parameters may be constrained to match regular expression patterns using the `[arg("name", pattern="pattern")]` attribute1\.45.0:
```
[arg('n', pattern='\d+')]
double n:
echo $(({{n}} * 2))
```
A leading `^` and trailing `$` are added to the pattern, so it must match the entire argument value.
You may constrain the pattern to a number of alternatives using the `|` operator:
```
[arg('flag', pattern='--help|--version')]
info flag:
just {{flag}}
```
Regular expressions are provided by the [Rust `regex` crate](https://docs.rs/regex/latest/regex/). See the [syntax documentation](https://docs.rs/regex/latest/regex/#syntax) for usage examples.
Usage information for a recipe may be printed with the `--usage` subcommand1\.46.0:
```
$ just --usage foo
Usage: just foo [OPTIONS] bar
Arguments:
bar
```
Help strings may be added to arguments using the `[arg(ARG, help=HELP)]` attribute:
```
[arg("bar", help="hello")]
foo bar:
```
```
$ just --usage foo
Usage: just foo bar
Arguments:
bar hello
```
Recipe Flags and Options
Recipe parameters are positional by default.
In this `justfile`:
```
@foo bar:
echo bar={{bar}}
```
The parameter `bar` is positional:
```
$ just foo hello
bar=hello
```
The `[arg(ARG, long=OPTION)]`1\.46.0 attribute can be used to make a parameter a long option.
In this `justfile`:
```
[arg("bar", long="bar")]
foo bar:
```
The parameter `bar` is given with the `--bar` option:
```
$ just foo --bar hello
bar=hello
```
Options may also be passed with `--name=value` syntax:
```
$ just foo --bar=hello
bar=hello
```
The value of `long` can be omitted, in which case the option defaults to the name of the parameter:
```
[arg("bar", long)]
foo bar:
```
The `[arg(ARG, short=OPTION)]`1\.46.0 attribute can be used to make a parameter a short option.
In this `justfile`:
```
[arg("bar", short="b")]
foo bar:
```
The parameter `bar` is given with the `-b` option:
```
$ just foo -b hello
bar=hello
```
If a parameter has both a long and short option, it may be passed using either.
Variadic `*` and `+` parameters cannot be options.
The `[arg(ARG, value=VALUE, ā¦)]`1\.46.0 attribute can be used with `long` or `short` to make a parameter a flag which does not take a value.
In this `justfile`:
```
[arg("bar", long="bar", value="hello")]
foo bar:
```
The parameter `bar` is given with the `--bar` option, but does not take a value, and instead takes the value given in the `[arg]` attribute:
```
$ just foo --bar
bar=hello
```
This is useful for unconditionally requiring a flag like `--force` on dangerous commands.
A flag is optional if its parameter has a default:
```
[arg("bar", long="bar", value="hello")]
foo bar="goodbye":
```
Causing it to receive the default when not passed in the invocation:
```
$ just foo
bar=goodbye
```
Dependencies
Dependencies run before recipes that depend on them:
```
a: b
@echo A
b:
@echo B
```
```
$ just a
B
A
```
In a given invocation of `just`, a recipe with the same arguments will only run once, regardless of how many times it appears in the command-line invocation, or how many times it appears as a dependency:
```
a:
@echo A
b: a
@echo B
c: a
@echo C
```
```
$ just a a a a a
A
$ just b c
A
B
C
```
Multiple recipes may depend on a recipe that performs some kind of setup, and when those recipes run, that setup will only be performed once:
```
build:
cc main.c
test-foo: build
./a.out --test foo
test-bar: build
./a.out --test bar
```
```
$ just test-foo test-bar
cc main.c
./a.out --test foo
./a.out --test bar
```
Recipes in a given run are only skipped when they receive the same arguments:
```
build:
cc main.c
test TEST: build
./a.out --test {{TEST}}
```
```
$ just test foo test bar
cc main.c
./a.out --test foo
./a.out --test bar
```
Running Recipes at the End of a Recipe
Normal dependencies of a recipes always run before a recipe starts. That is to say, the dependee always runs before the depender. These dependencies are called "prior dependencies".
A recipe can also have subsequent dependencies, which run immediately after the recipe and are introduced with an `&&`:
```
a:
echo 'A!'
b: a && c d
echo 'B!'
c:
echo 'C!'
d:
echo 'D!'
```
ā¦running *b* prints:
```
$ just b
echo 'A!'
A!
echo 'B!'
B!
echo 'C!'
C!
echo 'D!'
D!
```
Running Recipes in the Middle of a Recipe
`just` doesn't support running recipes in the middle of another recipe, but you can call `just` recursively in the middle of a recipe. Given the following `justfile`:
```
a:
echo 'A!'
b: a
echo 'B start!'
just c
echo 'B end!'
c:
echo 'C!'
```
ā¦running *b* prints:
```
$ just b
echo 'A!'
A!
echo 'B start!'
B start!
echo 'C!'
C!
echo 'B end!'
B end!
```
This has limitations, since recipe `c` is run with an entirely new invocation of `just`: Assignments will be recalculated, dependencies might run twice, and command line arguments will not be propagated to the child `just` process.
Shebang Recipes
Recipes that start with `#!` are called shebang recipes, and are executed by saving the recipe body to a file and running it. This lets you write recipes in different languages:
```
polyglot: python js perl sh ruby nu
python:
#!/usr/bin/env python3
print('Hello from python!')
js:
#!/usr/bin/env node
console.log('Greetings from JavaScript!')
perl:
#!/usr/bin/env perl
print "Larry Wall says Hi!\n";
sh:
#!/usr/bin/env sh
hello='Yo'
echo "$hello from a shell script!"
nu:
#!/usr/bin/env nu
let hello = 'Hola'
echo $"($hello) from a nushell script!"
ruby:
#!/usr/bin/env ruby
puts "Hello from ruby!"
```
```
$ just polyglot
Hello from python!
Greetings from JavaScript!
Larry Wall says Hi!
Yo from a shell script!
Hola from a nushell script!
Hello from ruby!
```
On Unix-like operating systems, including Linux and MacOS, shebang recipes are executed by saving the recipe body to a file in a temporary directory, marking the file as executable, and executing it. The OS then parses the shebang line into a command line and invokes it, including the path to the file. For example, if a recipe starts with `#!/usr/bin/env bash`, the final command that the OS runs will be something like `/usr/bin/env bash /tmp/PATH_TO_SAVED_RECIPE_BODY`.
Shebang line splitting is operating system dependent. When passing a command with arguments, you may need to tell `env` to split them explicitly by using the `-S` flag:
```
run:
#!/usr/bin/env -S bash -x
ls
```
Windows does not support shebang lines. On Windows, `just` splits the shebang line into a command and arguments, saves the recipe body to a file, and invokes the split command and arguments, adding the path to the saved recipe body as the final argument. For example, on Windows, if a recipe starts with `#! py`, the final command the OS runs will be something like `py C:\Temp\PATH_TO_SAVED_RECIPE_BODY`.
Script Recipes
Recipes with a `[script(COMMAND)]`1\.32.0 attribute are run as scripts interpreted by `COMMAND`. This avoids some of the issues with shebang recipes, such as the use of `cygpath` on Windows, the need to use `/usr/bin/env`, inconsistencies in shebang line splitting across Unix OSs, and requiring a temporary directory from which files can be executed.
Recipes with an empty `[script]` attribute are executed with the value of `set script-interpreter := [ā¦]`1\.33.0, defaulting to `sh -eu`, and *not* the value of `set shell`.
The body of the recipe is evaluated, written to disk in the temporary directory, and run by passing its path as an argument to `COMMAND`.
Script and Shebang Recipe Temporary Files
Both script and shebang recipes write the recipe body to a temporary file for execution. Script recipes execute that file by passing it to a command, while shebang recipes execute the file directly. Shebang recipe execution will fail if the filesystem containing the temporary file is mounted with `noexec` or is otherwise non-executable.
The directory that `just` writes temporary files to may be configured in a number of ways, from highest to lowest precedence:
- Globally with the `--tempdir` command-line option or the `JUST_TEMPDIR` environment variable1\.41.0.
- On a per-module basis with the `tempdir` setting.
- Globally on Linux with the `XDG_RUNTIME_DIR` environment variable.
- Falling back to the directory returned by [std::env::temp\_dir](https://doc.rust-lang.org/std/env/fn.temp_dir.html).
Python Recipes with `uv`
[`uv`](https://github.com/astral-sh/uv) is an excellent cross-platform python project manager, written in Rust.
Using the `[script]` attribute and `script-interpreter` setting, `just` can easily be configured to run Python recipes with `uv`:
```
set script-interpreter := ['uv', 'run', '--script']
[script]
hello:
print("Hello from Python!")
[script]
goodbye:
# /// script
# requires-python = ">=3.11"
# dependencies=["sh"]
# ///
import sh
print(sh.echo("Goodbye from Python!"), end='')
```
Of course, a shebang also works:
```
hello:
#!/usr/bin/env -S uv run --script
print("Hello from Python!")
```
Safer Bash Shebang Recipes
If you're writing a `bash` shebang recipe, consider adding `set -euxo pipefail`:
```
foo:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euxo pipefail
hello='Yo'
echo "$hello from Bash!"
```
It isn't strictly necessary, but `set -euxo pipefail` turns on a few useful features that make `bash` shebang recipes behave more like normal, linewise `just` recipe:
- `set -e` makes `bash` exit if a command fails.
- `set -u` makes `bash` exit if a variable is undefined.
- `set -x` makes `bash` print each script line before it's run.
- `set -o pipefail` makes `bash` exit if a command in a pipeline fails. This is `bash`\-specific, so isn't turned on in normal linewise `just` recipes.
Together, these avoid a lot of shell scripting gotchas.
Shebang Recipe Execution on Windows
On Windows, shebang interpreter paths containing a `/` are translated from Unix-style paths to Windows-style paths using `cygpath`, a utility that ships with [Cygwin](http://www.cygwin.com/).
For example, to execute this recipe on Windows:
```
echo:
#!/bin/sh
echo "Hello!"
```
The interpreter path `/bin/sh` will be translated to a Windows-style path using `cygpath` before being executed.
If the interpreter path does not contain a `/` it will be executed without being translated. This is useful if `cygpath` is not available, or you wish to pass a Windows-style path to the interpreter.
Setting Variables in a Recipe
Recipe lines are interpreted by the shell, not `just`, so it's not possible to set `just` variables in the middle of a recipe:
```
foo:
x := "hello" # This doesn't work!
echo {{x}}
```
It is possible to use shell variables, but there's another problem. Every recipe line is run by a new shell instance, so variables set in one line won't be set in the next:
```
foo:
x=hello && echo $x # This works!
y=bye
echo $y # This doesn't, `y` is undefined here!
```
The best way to work around this is to use a shebang recipe. Shebang recipe bodies are extracted and run as scripts, so a single shell instance will run the whole thing:
```
foo:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euxo pipefail
x=hello
echo $x
```
Sharing Environment Variables Between Recipes
Each line of each recipe is executed by a fresh shell, so it is not possible to share environment variables between recipes.
Using Python Virtual Environments
Some tools, like [Python's venv](https://docs.python.org/3/library/venv.html), require loading environment variables in order to work, making them challenging to use with `just`. As a workaround, you can execute the virtual environment binaries directly:
```
venv:
[ -d foo ] || python3 -m venv foo
run: venv
./foo/bin/python3 main.py
```
Changing the Working Directory in a Recipe
Each recipe line is executed by a new shell, so if you change the working directory on one line, it won't have an effect on later lines:
```
foo:
pwd # This `pwd` will print the same directoryā¦
cd bar
pwd # ā¦as this `pwd`!
```
There are a couple ways around this. One is to call `cd` on the same line as the command you want to run:
```
foo:
cd bar && pwd
```
The other is to use a shebang recipe. Shebang recipe bodies are extracted and run as scripts, so a single shell instance will run the whole thing, and thus a `cd` on one line will affect later lines, just like a shell script:
```
foo:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euxo pipefail
cd bar
pwd
```
Indentation
Recipe lines can be indented with spaces or tabs, but not a mix of both. All of a recipe's lines must have the same type of indentation, but different recipes in the same `justfile` may use different indentation.
Each recipe must be indented at least one level from the `recipe-name` but after that may be further indented.
Here's a justfile with a recipe indented with spaces, represented as `Ā·`, and tabs, represented as `ā`.
```
set windows-shell := ["pwsh", "-NoLogo", "-NoProfileLoadTime", "-Command"]
set ignore-comments
list-space directory:
Ā·Ā·#!pwsh
Ā·Ā·foreach ($item in $(Get-ChildItem {{directory}} )) {
Ā·Ā·Ā·Ā·echo $item.Name
Ā·Ā·}
Ā·Ā·echo ""
# indentation nesting works even when newlines are escaped
list-tab directory:
ā @foreach ($item in $(Get-ChildItem {{directory}} )) { \
ā ā echo $item.Name \
ā }
ā @echo ""
```
```
PS > just list-space ~
Desktop
Documents
Downloads
PS > just list-tab ~
Desktop
Documents
Downloads
```
Multi-Line Constructs
Recipes without an initial shebang are evaluated and run line-by-line, which means that multi-line constructs probably won't do what you want.
For example, with the following `justfile`:
```
conditional:
if true; then
echo 'True!'
fi
```
The extra leading whitespace before the second line of the `conditional` recipe will produce a parse error:
```
$ just conditional
error: Recipe line has extra leading whitespace
|
3 | echo 'True!'
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
```
To work around this, you can write conditionals on one line, escape newlines with slashes, or add a shebang to your recipe. Some examples of multi-line constructs are provided for reference.
`if` statements
```
conditional:
if true; then echo 'True!'; fi
```
```
conditional:
if true; then \
echo 'True!'; \
fi
```
```
conditional:
#!/usr/bin/env sh
if true; then
echo 'True!'
fi
```
`for` loops
```
for:
for file in `ls .`; do echo $file; done
```
```
for:
for file in `ls .`; do \
echo $file; \
done
```
```
for:
#!/usr/bin/env sh
for file in `ls .`; do
echo $file
done
```
`while` loops
```
while:
while `server-is-dead`; do ping -c 1 server; done
```
```
while:
while `server-is-dead`; do \
ping -c 1 server; \
done
```
```
while:
#!/usr/bin/env sh
while `server-is-dead`; do
ping -c 1 server
done
```
Outside Recipe Bodies
Parenthesized expressions can span multiple lines:
```
abc := ('a' +
'b'
+ 'c')
abc2 := (
'a' +
'b' +
'c'
)
foo param=('foo'
+ 'bar'
):
echo {{param}}
bar: (foo
'Foo'
)
echo 'Bar!'
```
Lines ending with a backslash continue on to the next line as if the lines were joined by whitespace1\.15.0:
```
a := 'foo' + \
'bar'
foo param1 \
param2='foo' \
*varparam='': dep1 \
(dep2 'foo')
echo {{param1}} {{param2}} {{varparam}}
dep1: \
# this comment is not part of the recipe body
echo 'dep1'
dep2 \
param:
echo 'Dependency with parameter {{param}}'
```
Backslash line continuations can also be used in interpolations. The line following the backslash must be indented.
```
recipe:
echo '{{ \
"This interpolation " + \
"has a lot of text." \
}}'
echo 'back to recipe body'
```
Command-line Options
`just` supports a number of useful command-line options for listing, dumping, and debugging recipes and variables:
```
$ just --list
Available recipes:
js
perl
polyglot
python
ruby
$ just --show perl
perl:
#!/usr/bin/env perl
print "Larry Wall says Hi!\n";
$ just --show polyglot
polyglot: python js perl sh ruby
```
Setting Command-line Options with Environment Variables
Some command-line options can be set with environment variables
For example, unstable features can be enabled either with the `--unstable` flag:
```
$ just --unstable
```
Or by setting the `JUST_UNSTABLE` environment variable:
```
$ export JUST_UNSTABLE=1
$ just
```
Since environment variables are inherited by child processes, command-line options set with environment variables are inherited by recursive invocations of `just`, where as command line options set with arguments are not.
Consult `just --help` for which options can be set with environment variables.
Private Recipes
Recipes and aliases whose name starts with a `_` are omitted from `just --list`:
```
test: _test-helper
./bin/test
_test-helper:
./bin/super-secret-test-helper-stuff
```
```
$ just --list
Available recipes:
test
```
And from `just --summary`:
```
$ just --summary
test
```
The `[private]` attribute1\.10.0 may also be used to hide recipes or aliases without needing to change the name:
```
[private]
foo:
[private]
alias b := bar
bar:
```
```
$ just --list
Available recipes:
bar
```
This is useful for helper recipes which are only meant to be used as dependencies of other recipes.
Quiet Recipes
A recipe name may be prefixed with `@` to invert the meaning of `@` before each line:
```
@quiet:
echo hello
echo goodbye
@# all done!
```
Now only the lines starting with `@` will be echoed:
```
$ just quiet
hello
goodbye
# all done!
```
All recipes in a Justfile can be made quiet with `set quiet`:
```
set quiet
foo:
echo "This is quiet"
@foo2:
echo "This is also quiet"
```
The `[no-quiet]` attribute overrides this setting:
```
set quiet
foo:
echo "This is quiet"
[no-quiet]
foo2:
echo "This is not quiet"
```
Shebang recipes are quiet by default:
```
foo:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
echo 'Foo!'
```
```
$ just foo
Foo!
```
Adding `@` to a shebang recipe name makes `just` print the recipe before executing it:
```
@bar:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
echo 'Bar!'
```
```
$ just bar
#!/usr/bin/env bash
echo 'Bar!'
Bar!
```
`just` normally prints error messages when a recipe line fails. These error messages can be suppressed using the `[no-exit-message]`1\.7.0 attribute. You may find this especially useful with a recipe that wraps a tool:
```
git *args:
@git {{args}}
```
```
$ just git status
fatal: not a git repository (or any of the parent directories): .git
error: Recipe `git` failed on line 2 with exit code 128
```
Add the attribute to suppress the exit error message when the tool exits with a non-zero code:
```
[no-exit-message]
git *args:
@git {{args}}
```
```
$ just git status
fatal: not a git repository (or any of the parent directories): .git
```
Selecting Recipes to Run With an Interactive Chooser
The `--choose` subcommand makes `just` invoke a chooser to select which recipes to run. Choosers should read lines containing recipe names from standard input and print one or more of those names separated by spaces to standard output.
Because there is currently no way to run a recipe that requires arguments with `--choose`, such recipes will not be given to the chooser. Private recipes and aliases are also skipped.
The chooser can be overridden with the `--chooser` flag. If `--chooser` is not given, then `just` first checks if `$JUST_CHOOSER` is set. If it isn't, then the chooser defaults to `fzf`, a popular fuzzy finder.
Arguments can be included in the chooser, i.e. `fzf --exact`.
The chooser is invoked in the same way as recipe lines. For example, if the chooser is `fzf`, it will be invoked with `sh -cu 'fzf'`, and if the shell, or the shell arguments are overridden, the chooser invocation will respect those overrides.
If you'd like `just` to default to selecting recipes with a chooser, you can use this as your default recipe:
```
default:
@just --choose
```
Invoking `justfile`s in Other Directories
If the first argument passed to `just` contains a `/`, then the following occurs:
1. The argument is split at the last `/`.
2. The part before the last `/` is treated as a directory. `just` will start its search for the `justfile` there, instead of in the current directory.
3. The part after the last slash is treated as a normal argument, or ignored if it is empty.
This may seem a little strange, but it's useful if you wish to run a command in a `justfile` that is in a subdirectory.
For example, if you are in a directory which contains a subdirectory named `foo`, which contains a `justfile` with the recipe `build`, which is also the default recipe, the following are all equivalent:
```
$ (cd foo && just build)
$ just foo/build
$ just foo/
```
Additional recipes after the first are sought in the same `justfile`. For example, the following are both equivalent:
```
$ just foo/a b
$ (cd foo && just a b)
```
And will both invoke recipes `a` and `b` in `foo/justfile`.
Imports
One `justfile` can include the contents of another using `import` statements.
If you have the following `justfile`:
```
import 'foo/bar.just'
a: b
@echo A
```
And the following text in `foo/bar.just`:
```
b:
@echo B
```
`foo/bar.just` will be included in `justfile` and recipe `b` will be defined:
```
$ just b
B
$ just a
B
A
```
The `import` path can be absolute or relative to the location of the justfile containing it. A leading `~/` in the import path is replaced with the current users home directory.
Justfiles are insensitive to order, so included files can reference variables and recipes defined after the `import` statement.
Imported files can themselves contain `import`s, which are processed recursively.
`allow-duplicate-recipes` and `allow-duplicate-variables` allow duplicate recipes and variables, respectively, to override each other, instead of producing an error.
Within a module, later definitions override earlier definitions:
```
set allow-duplicate-recipes
foo:
foo:
echo 'yes'
```
When `import`s are involved, things unfortunately get much more complicated and hard to explain.
Shallower definitions always override deeper definitions, so recipes at the top level will override recipes in imports, and recipes in an import will override recipes in an import which itself imports those recipes.
When two duplicate definitions are imported and are at the same depth, the one from the earlier import will override the one from the later import.
This is because `just` uses a stack when processing imports, pushing imports onto the stack in source-order, and always processing the top of the stack next, so earlier imports are actually handled later by the compiler.
This is definitely a bug, but since `just` has very strong backwards compatibility guarantees and we take enormous pains not to break anyone's `justfile`, we have created issue \#2540 to discuss whether or not we can actually fix it.
Imports may be made optional by putting a `?` after the `import` keyword:
```
import? 'foo/bar.just'
```
Importing the same source file multiple times is not an error1\.37.0. This allows importing multiple justfiles, for example `foo.just` and `bar.just`, which both import a third justfile containing shared recipes, for example `baz.just`, without the duplicate import of `baz.just` being an error:
```
# justfile
import 'foo.just'
import 'bar.just'
```
```
# foo.just
import 'baz.just'
foo: baz
```
```
# bar.just
import 'baz.just'
bar: baz
```
```
# baz
baz:
```
Modules
A `justfile` can declare modules using `mod` statements1\.19.0.
`mod` statements were stabilized in `just`1\.31.0.
If you have the following `justfile`:
```
mod bar
a:
@echo A
```
And the following text in `bar.just`:
```
b:
@echo B
```
`bar.just` will be included in `justfile` as a submodule. Recipes, aliases, and variables defined in one submodule cannot be used in another, and each module uses its own settings.
Recipes in submodules can be invoked as subcommands:
```
$ just bar b
B
```
Or with path syntax:
```
$ just bar::b
B
```
If a module is named `foo`, just will search for the module file in `foo.just`, `foo/mod.just`, `foo/justfile`, and `foo/.justfile`. In the latter two cases, the module file may have any capitalization.
Module statements may be of the form:
```
mod foo 'PATH'
```
Which loads the module's source file from `PATH`, instead of from the usual locations. A leading `~/` in `PATH` is replaced with the current user's home directory. `PATH` may point to the module source file itself, or to a directory containing the module source file with the name `mod.just`, `justfile`, or `.justfile`. In the latter two cases, the module file may have any capitalization.
Environment files are only loaded for the root justfile, and loaded environment variables are available in submodules. Settings in submodules that affect environment file loading are ignored.
Recipes in submodules without the `[no-cd]` attribute run with the working directory set to the directory containing the submodule source file.
`justfile()` and `justfile_directory()` always return the path to the root justfile and the directory that contains it, even when called from submodule recipes.
Modules may be made optional by putting a `?` after the `mod` keyword:
```
mod? foo
```
Missing source files for optional modules do not produce an error.
Optional modules with no source file do not conflict, so you can have multiple mod statements with the same name, but with different source file paths, as long as at most one source file exists:
```
mod? foo 'bar.just'
mod? foo 'baz.just'
```
Modules may be given doc comments which appear in `--list` output1\.30.0:
```
# foo is a great module!
mod foo
```
```
$ just --list
Available recipes:
foo ... # foo is a great module!
```
Modules are still missing a lot of features, for example, the ability to refer to variables in other modules. See the [module improvement tracking issue](https://github.com/casey/just/issues/2252) for more information.
Hiding `justfile`s
`just` looks for `justfile`s named `justfile` and `.justfile`, which can be used to keep a `justfile` hidden.
Just Scripts
By adding a shebang line to the top of a `justfile` and making it executable, `just` can be used as an interpreter for scripts:
```
$ cat > script <<EOF
#!/usr/bin/env just --justfile
foo:
echo foo
EOF
$ chmod +x script
$ ./script foo
echo foo
foo
```
When a script with a shebang is executed, the system supplies the path to the script as an argument to the command in the shebang. So, with a shebang of `#!/usr/bin/env just --justfile`, the command will be `/usr/bin/env just --justfile PATH_TO_SCRIPT`.
With the above shebang, `just` will change its working directory to the location of the script. If you'd rather leave the working directory unchanged, use `#!/usr/bin/env just --working-directory . --justfile`.
Note: Shebang line splitting is not consistent across operating systems. The previous examples have only been tested on macOS. On Linux, you may need to pass the `-S` flag to `env`:
```
#!/usr/bin/env -S just --justfile
default:
echo foo
```
Formatting and dumping `justfile`s
Each `justfile` has a canonical formatting with respect to whitespace and newlines.
You can overwrite the current justfile with a canonically-formatted version using the currently-unstable `--fmt` flag:
```
$ cat justfile
# A lot of blank lines
some-recipe:
echo "foo"
$ just --fmt --unstable
$ cat justfile
# A lot of blank lines
some-recipe:
echo "foo"
```
Invoking `just --fmt --check --unstable` runs `--fmt` in check mode. Instead of overwriting the `justfile`, `just` will exit with an exit code of 0 if it is formatted correctly, and will exit with 1 and print a diff if it is not.
You can use the `--dump` command to output a formatted version of the `justfile` to stdout:
```
$ just --dump > formatted-justfile
```
The `--dump` command can be used with `--dump-format json` to print a JSON representation of a `justfile`.
Fallback to parent `justfile`s
If a recipe is not found in a `justfile` and the `fallback` setting is set, `just` will look for `justfile`s in the parent directory and up, until it reaches the root directory. `just` will stop after it reaches a `justfile` in which the `fallback` setting is `false` or unset.
As an example, suppose the current directory contains this `justfile`:
```
set fallback
foo:
echo foo
```
And the parent directory contains this `justfile`:
```
bar:
echo bar
```
```
$ just bar
Trying ../justfile
echo bar
bar
```
Avoiding Argument Splitting
Given this `justfile`:
```
foo argument:
touch {{argument}}
```
The following command will create two files, `some` and `argument.txt`:
```
$ just foo "some argument.txt"
```
The user's shell will parse `"some argument.txt"` as a single argument, but when `just` replaces `touch {{argument}}` with `touch some argument.txt`, the quotes are not preserved, and `touch` will receive two arguments.
There are a few ways to avoid this: quoting, positional arguments, and exported arguments.
Quoting
Quotes can be added around the `{{argument}}` interpolation:
```
foo argument:
touch '{{argument}}'
```
This preserves `just`'s ability to catch variable name typos before running, for example if you were to write `{{argument}}`, but will not do what you want if the value of `argument` contains single quotes.
Positional Arguments
The `positional-arguments` setting causes all arguments to be passed as positional arguments, allowing them to be accessed with `$1`, `$2`, ā¦, and `$@`, which can be then double-quoted to avoid further splitting by the shell:
```
set positional-arguments
foo argument:
touch "$1"
```
This defeats `just`'s ability to catch typos, for example if you type `$2` instead of `$1`, but works for all possible values of `argument`, including those with double quotes.
Exported Arguments
All arguments are exported when the `export` setting is set:
```
set export
foo argument:
touch "$argument"
```
Or individual arguments may be exported by prefixing them with `$`:
```
foo $argument:
touch "$argument"
```
This defeats `just`'s ability to catch typos, for example if you type `$argument`, but works for all possible values of `argument`, including those with double quotes.
Configuring the Shell
There are a number of ways to configure the shell for linewise recipes, which are the default when a recipe does not start with a `#!` shebang. Their precedence, from highest to lowest, is:
1. The `--shell` and `--shell-arg` command line options. Passing either of these will cause `just` to ignore any settings in the current justfile.
2. `set windows-shell := [...]`
3. `set windows-powershell` (deprecated)
4. `set shell := [...]`
Since `set windows-shell` has higher precedence than `set shell`, you can use `set windows-shell` to pick a shell on Windows, and `set shell` to pick a shell for all other platforms.
Timestamps
`just` can print timestamps before each recipe commands:
```
recipe:
echo one
sleep 2
echo two
```
```
$ just --timestamp recipe
[07:28:46] echo one
one
[07:28:46] sleep 2
[07:28:48] echo two
two
```
By default, timestamps are formatted as `HH:MM:SS`. The format can be changed with `--timestamp-format`:
```
$ just --timestamp recipe --timestamp-format '%H:%M:%S%.3f %Z'
[07:32:11:.349 UTC] echo one
one
[07:32:11:.350 UTC] sleep 2
[07:32:13:.352 UTC] echo two
two
```
The argument to `--timestamp-format` is a `strftime`\-style format string, see the [`chrono` library docs](https://docs.rs/chrono/latest/chrono/format/strftime/index.html) for details.
Signal Handling
[Signals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_\(IPC\)) are messages sent to running programs to trigger specific behavior. For example, `SIGINT` is sent to all processes in the terminal foreground process group when `CTRL-C` is pressed.
`just` tries to exit when requested by a signal, but it also tries to avoid leaving behind running child processes, two goals which are somewhat in conflict.
If `just` exits leaving behind child processes, the user will have no recourse but to `ps aux | grep` for the children and manually `kill` them, a tedious endeavor.
Fatal Signals
`SIGHUP`, `SIGINT`, and `SIGQUIT` are generated when the user closes the terminal, types `ctrl-c`, or types `ctrl-\`, respectively, and are sent to all processes in the foreground process group.
`SIGTERM` is the default signal sent by the `kill` command, and is delivered only to its intended victim.
When a child process is not running, `just` will exit immediately on receipt of any of the above signals.
When a child process *is* running, `just` will wait until it terminates, to avoid leaving it behind.
Additionally, on receipt of `SIGTERM`, `just` will forward `SIGTERM` to any running children1\.41.0, since unlike other fatal signals, `SIGTERM`, was likely sent to `just` alone.
Regardless of whether a child process terminates successfully after `just` receives a fatal signal, `just` halts execution.
`SIGINFO`
`SIGINFO` is sent to all processes in the foreground process group when the user types `ctrl-t` on [BSD](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_Software_Distribution)\-derived operating systems, including MacOS, but not Linux.
`just` responds by printing a list of all child process IDs and commands1\.41.0.
Windows
On Windows, `just` behaves as if it had received `SIGINT` when the user types `ctrl-c`. Other signals are unsupported.
Changelog
A changelog for the latest release is available in [CHANGELOG.md](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/casey/just/master/CHANGELOG.md). Changelogs for previous releases are available on [the releases page](https://github.com/casey/just/releases). `just --changelog` can also be used to make a `just` binary print its changelog.
Miscellanea
Re-running recipes when files change
[`watchexec`](https://github.com/mattgreen/watchexec) can re-run any command when files change.
To re-run the recipe `foo` when any file changes:
```
watchexec just foo
```
See `watchexec --help` for more info, including how to specify which files should be watched for changes.
Parallelism
Dependencies may be run in parallel with the `[parallel]` attribute.
In this `justfile`, `foo`, `bar`, and `baz` will execute in parallel when `main` is run:
```
[parallel]
main: foo bar baz
foo:
sleep 1
bar:
sleep 1
baz:
sleep 1
```
GNU `parallel` may be used to run recipe lines concurrently:
```
parallel:
#!/usr/bin/env -S parallel --shebang --ungroup --jobs {{ num_cpus() }}
echo task 1 start; sleep 3; echo task 1 done
echo task 2 start; sleep 3; echo task 2 done
echo task 3 start; sleep 3; echo task 3 done
echo task 4 start; sleep 3; echo task 4 done
```
Shell Alias
For lightning-fast command running, put `alias j=just` in your shell's configuration file.
Shell Completion Scripts
Shell completion scripts for Bash, Elvish, Fish, Nushell, PowerShell, and Zsh are available in [release archives](https://github.com/casey/just/releases).
The `just` binary can also generate the same completion scripts at runtime using `just --completions SHELL`:
```
$ just --completions bash > just
```
Bash
The recommended approach is to use the `bash-completions` package to lazy-load the completion script:
```
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions
just --completions bash > ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/just
```
If `bash-completions` is not installed, you can source the completion script in your `.bashrc`:
```
source <(just --completions bash)
```
If you use an alias like `alias j=just`, you should also save the completion script with the name `j` when lazy-loading:
```
just --completions bash > ~/.local/share/bash-completion/completions/j
```
Or if not lazy-loading, add this line after sourcing the completion script in your `.bashrc`:
```
complete -F _clap_complete_just -o bashdefault -o default j
```
Elvish
In your `rc.elv`:
```
set edit:completion:arg-completer[just] = { |@args|
eval (just --completions elvish | slurp)
set @result = (edit:completion:arg-completer[just] $@args)
put $@result
}
```
Fish
Save the completion script to the completions directory to lazy-load it:
```
mkdir -p ~/.config/fish/completions
just --completions fish > ~/.config/fish/completions/just.fish
```
Nushell
First save the completion script:
```
just --completions nushell | save -f ($nu.default-config-dir | path join just.nu)
```
Then in `config.nu`:
```
source just.nu
```
PowerShell
In your PowerShell `$PROFILE`:
```
just --completions powershell | Out-String | Invoke-Expression
```
Zsh
First save the completion script:
```
mkdir -p ~/.zsh/completions
just --completions zsh > ~/.zsh/completions/_just
```
Then in your `.zshrc`:
```
fpath=(~/.zsh/completions $fpath)
autoload -U compinit
compinit
```
Man Page
`just` can print its own man page with `just --man`. Man pages are written in [`roff`](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roff_%28software%29), a venerable markup language and one of the first practical applications of Unix. If you have [`groff`](https://www.gnu.org/software/groff/) installed you can view the man page with `just --man | groff -mandoc -Tascii | less`.
Grammar
A non-normative grammar of `justfile`s can be found in [GRAMMAR.md](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/GRAMMAR.md).
just.sh
Before `just` was a fancy Rust program it was a tiny shell script that called `make`. You can find the old version in [contrib/just.sh](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/contrib/just.sh).
Global and User `justfile`s
If you want some recipes to be available everywhere, you have a few options.
Global Justfile
`just --global-justfile`, or `just -g` for short, searches the following paths, in-order, for a justfile:
- `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/just/justfile`
- `$HOME/.config/just/justfile`
- `$HOME/justfile`
- `$HOME/.justfile`
You can put recipes that are used across many projects in a global justfile to easily invoke them from any directory.
User justfile tips
You can also adopt some of the following workflows. These tips assume you've created a `justfile` at `~/.user.justfile`, but you can put this `justfile` at any convenient path on your system.
Recipe Aliases
If you want to call the recipes in `~/.user.justfile` by name, and don't mind creating an alias for every recipe, add the following to your shell's initialization script:
```
for recipe in `just --justfile ~/.user.justfile --summary`; do
alias $recipe="just --justfile ~/.user.justfile --working-directory . $recipe"
done
```
Now, if you have a recipe called `foo` in `~/.user.justfile`, you can just type `foo` at the command line to run it.
It took me way too long to realize that you could create recipe aliases like this. Notwithstanding my tardiness, I am very pleased to bring you this major advance in `justfile` technology.
Forwarding Alias
If you'd rather not create aliases for every recipe, you can create a single alias:
```
alias .j='just --justfile ~/.user.justfile --working-directory .'
```
Now, if you have a recipe called `foo` in `~/.user.justfile`, you can just type `.j foo` at the command line to run it.
I'm pretty sure that nobody actually uses this feature, but it's there.
ĀÆ\\\_(ć)\_/ĀÆ
Customization
You can customize the above aliases with additional options. For example, if you'd prefer to have the recipes in your `justfile` run in your home directory, instead of the current directory:
```
alias .j='just --justfile ~/.user.justfile --working-directory ~'
```
Node.js `package.json` Script Compatibility
The following export statement gives `just` recipes access to local Node module binaries, and makes `just` recipe commands behave more like `script` entries in Node.js `package.json` files:
```
export PATH := "./node_modules/.bin:" + env_var('PATH')
```
Paths on Windows
On Windows, all functions that return paths, except `invocation_directory()` will return `\`\-separated paths. When not using PowerShell or `cmd.exe` these paths should be quoted to prevent the `\`s from being interpreted as character escapes:
```
ls:
echo '{{absolute_path(".")}}'
```
`cygpath.exe` is an executable included in some distributions of Unix userlands for Windows, including [Cygwin](https://www.cygwin.com/) and [Git](https://git-scm.com/downloads) for Windows.
`just` uses `cygpath.exe` in two places:
For backwards compatibility, `invocation_directory()`, uses `cygpath.exe` to convert the invocation directory into a unix-style `/`\-separated path. Use `invocation_directory_native()` to get the native, Windows-style path. On unix, `invocation_directory()` and `invocation_directory_native()` both return the same unix-style path.
`cygpath.exe` is used also used to convert Unix-style shebang lines into Windows paths. As an alternative, the `[script]` attribute can be used, which does not depend on `cygpath.exe`.
If `cygpath.exe` is available, you can use it to convert between path styles:
```
foo_unix := '/hello/world'
foo_windows := shell('cygpath --windows $1', foo_unix)
bar_windows := 'C:\hello\world'
bar_unix := shell('cygpath --unix $1', bar_windows)
```
Remote Justfiles
If you wish to include a `mod` or `import` source file in many `justfiles` without needing to duplicate it, you can use an optional `mod` or `import`, along with a recipe to fetch the module source:
```
import? 'foo.just'
fetch:
curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/casey/just/master/justfile > foo.just
```
Given the above `justfile`, after running `just fetch`, the recipes in `foo.just` will be available.
Printing Complex Strings
`echo` can be used to print strings, but because it processes escape sequences, like `\n`, and different implementations of `echo` recognize different escape sequences, using `printf` is often a better choice.
`printf` takes a C-style format string and any number of arguments, which are interpolated into the format string.
This can be combined with indented, triple quoted strings to emulate shell heredocs.
Substitution complex strings into recipe bodies with `{ā¦}` can also lead to trouble as it may be split by the shell into multiple arguments depending on the presence of whitespace and quotes. Exporting complex strings as environment variables and referring to them with `"$NAME"`, note the double quotes, can also help.
Putting all this together, to print a string verbatim to standard output, with all its various escape sequences and quotes undisturbed:
```
export FOO := '''
a complicated string with
some dis\tur\bi\ng escape sequences
and "quotes" of 'different' kinds
'''
bar:
printf %s "$FOO"
```
Alternatives and Prior Art
There is no shortage of command runners! Some more or less similar alternatives to `just` include:
- [make](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_\(software\)): The Unix build tool that inspired `just`. There are a few different modern day descendents of the original `make`, including [FreeBSD Make](https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?make\(1\)) and [GNU Make](https://www.gnu.org/software/make/).
- [task](https://github.com/go-task/task): A YAML-based command runner written in Go.
- [maid](https://github.com/egoist/maid): A Markdown-based command runner written in JavaScript.
- [microsoft/just](https://github.com/microsoft/just): A JavaScript-based command runner written in JavaScript.
- [cargo-make](https://github.com/sagiegurari/cargo-make): A command runner for Rust projects.
- [mmake](https://github.com/tj/mmake): A wrapper around `make` with a number of improvements, including remote includes.
- [robo](https://github.com/tj/robo): A YAML-based command runner written in Go.
- [mask](https://github.com/jakedeichert/mask): A Markdown-based command runner written in Rust.
- [makesure](https://github.com/xonixx/makesure): A simple and portable command runner written in AWK and shell.
- [haku](https://github.com/VladimirMarkelov/haku): A make-like command runner written in Rust.
- [mise](https://mise.jdx.dev/): A development environment tool manager written in Rust supporting tasks in TOML files and standalone scripts.
Contributing
`just` welcomes your contributions! `just` is released under the maximally permissive [CC0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode.txt) public domain dedication and fallback license, so your changes must also be released under this license.
Getting Started
`just` is written in Rust. Use [rustup](https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install) to install a Rust toolchain.
`just` is extensively tested. All new features must be covered by unit or integration tests. Unit tests are under [src](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/src), live alongside the code being tested, and test code in isolation. Integration tests are in the [tests directory](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/tests) and test the `just` binary from the outside by invoking `just` on a given `justfile` and set of command-line arguments, and checking the output.
You should write whichever type of tests are easiest to write for your feature while still providing good test coverage.
Unit tests are useful for testing new Rust functions that are used internally and as an aid for development. A good example are the unit tests which cover the [`unindent()` function](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/src/unindent.rs), used to unindent triple-quoted strings and backticks. `unindent()` has a bunch of tricky edge cases which are easy to exercise with unit tests that call `unindent()` directly.
Integration tests are useful for making sure that the final behavior of the `just` binary is correct. `unindent()` is also covered by integration tests which make sure that evaluating a triple-quoted string produces the correct unindented value. However, there are not integration tests for all possible cases. These are covered by faster, more concise unit tests that call `unindent()` directly.
Integration tests use the `Test` struct, a builder which allows for easily invoking `just` with a given `justfile`, arguments, and environment variables, and checking the program's stdout, stderr, and exit code .
Contribution Workflow
1. Make sure the feature is wanted. There should be an open issue about the feature with a comment from [@casey](https://github.com/casey) saying that it's a good idea or seems reasonable. If there isn't, open a new issue and ask for feedback.
There are lots of good features which can't be merged, either because they aren't backwards compatible, have an implementation which would overcomplicate the codebase, or go against `just`'s design philosophy.
2. Settle on the design of the feature. If the feature has multiple possible implementations or syntaxes, make sure to nail down the details in the issue.
3. Clone `just` and start hacking. The best workflow is to have the code you're working on in an editor alongside a job that re-runs tests whenever a file changes. You can run such a job by installing [cargo-watch](https://github.com/watchexec/cargo-watch) with `cargo install cargo-watch` and running `just watch test`.
4. Add a failing test for your feature. Most of the time this will be an integration test which exercises the feature end-to-end. Look for an appropriate file to put the test in [tests](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/tests), or add a new file in [tests](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/tests) and add a `mod` statement importing that file in [tests/lib.rs](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/tests/lib.rs).
5. Implement the feature.
6. Run `just ci` to make sure that all tests, lints, and checks pass. Requires [mdBook](https://github.com/rust-lang/mdBook) and [mdbook-linkcheck](https://github.com/Michael-F-Bryan/mdbook-linkcheck).
7. Open a PR with the new code that is editable by maintainers. PRs often require rebasing and minor tweaks. If the PR is not editable by maintainers, each rebase and tweak will require a round trip of code review. Your PR may be summarily closed if it is not editable by maintainers.
8. Incorporate feedback.
9. Enjoy the sweet feeling of your PR getting merged\!
Feel free to open a draft PR at any time for discussion and feedback.
Hints
Here are some hints to get you started with specific kinds of new features, which you can use in addition to the contribution workflow above.
Adding a New Attribute
1. Write a new integration test in [tests/attributes.rs](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/tests/attributes.rs).
2. Add a new variant to the [`Attribute`](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/src/attribute.rs) enum.
3. Implement the functionality of the new attribute.
4. Run `just ci` to make sure that all tests pass.
Janus
[Janus](https://github.com/casey/janus) is a tool for checking whether a change to `just` breaks or changes the interpretation of existing `justfile`s. It collects and analyzes public `justfile`s on GitHub.
Before merging a particularly large or gruesome change, Janus should be run to make sure that nothing breaks. Don't worry about running Janus yourself, Casey will happily run it for you on changes that need it.
Minimum Supported Rust Version
The minimum supported Rust version, or MSRV, is current stable Rust. It may build on older versions of Rust, but this is not guaranteed.
New Releases
New releases of `just` are made frequently so that users quickly get access to new features.
Release commit messages use the following template:
```
Release x.y.z
- Bump version: x.y.z ā x.y.z
- Update changelog
- Update changelog contributor credits
- Update dependencies
- Update version references in readme
```
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the idiosyncrasies of Make that Just avoids?
`make` has some behaviors which are confusing, complicated, or make it unsuitable for use as a general command runner.
One example is that under some circumstances, `make` won't actually run the commands in a recipe. For example, if you have a file called `test` and the following makefile:
```
test:
./test
```
`make` will refuse to run your tests:
```
$ make test
make: `test' is up to date.
```
`make` assumes that the `test` recipe produces a file called `test`. Since this file exists and the recipe has no other dependencies, `make` thinks that it doesn't have anything to do and exits.
To be fair, this behavior is desirable when using `make` as a build system, but not when using it as a command runner. You can disable this behavior for specific targets using `make`'s built-in [`.PHONY` target name](https://www.gnu.org/software/make/manual/html_node/Phony-Targets.html), but the syntax is verbose and can be hard to remember. The explicit list of phony targets, written separately from the recipe definitions, also introduces the risk of accidentally defining a new non-phony target. In `just`, all recipes are treated as if they were phony.
Other examples of `make`'s idiosyncrasies include the difference between `=` and `:=` in assignments, the confusing error messages that are produced if you mess up your makefile, needing `$$` to use environment variables in recipes, and incompatibilities between different flavors of `make`.
What's the relationship between Just and Cargo build scripts?
[`cargo` build scripts](http://doc.crates.io/build-script.html) have a pretty specific use, which is to control how `cargo` builds your Rust project. This might include adding flags to `rustc` invocations, building an external dependency, or running some kind of codegen step.
`just`, on the other hand, is for all the other miscellaneous commands you might run as part of development. Things like running tests in different configurations, linting your code, pushing build artifacts to a server, removing temporary files, and the like.
Also, although `just` is written in Rust, it can be used regardless of the language or build system your project uses.
Further Ramblings
I personally find it very useful to write a `justfile` for almost every project, big or small.
On a big project with multiple contributors, it's very useful to have a file with all the commands needed to work on the project close at hand.
There are probably different commands to test, build, lint, deploy, and the like, and having them all in one place is useful and cuts down on the time you have to spend telling people which commands to run and how to type them.
And, with an easy place to put commands, it's likely that you'll come up with other useful things which are part of the project's collective wisdom, but which aren't written down anywhere, like the arcane commands needed for some part of your revision control workflow, to install all your project's dependencies, or all the random flags you might need to pass to the build system.
Some ideas for recipes:
- Deploying/publishing the project
- Building in release mode vs debug mode
- Running in debug mode or with logging enabled
- Complex git workflows
- Updating dependencies
- Running different sets of tests, for example fast tests vs slow tests, or running them with verbose output
- Any complex set of commands that you really should write down somewhere, if only to be able to remember them
Even for small, personal projects it's nice to be able to remember commands by name instead of ^Reverse searching your shell history, and it's a huge boon to be able to go into an old project written in a random language with a mysterious build system and know that all the commands you need to do whatever you need to do are in the `justfile`, and that if you type `just` something useful (or at least interesting!) will probably happen.
For ideas for recipes, check out [this project's `justfile`](https://github.com/casey/just/blob/master/justfile), or some of the `justfile`s [out in the wild](https://github.com/search?q=path%3A**%2Fjustfile&type=code).
Anyways, I think that's about it for this incredibly long-winded README.
I hope you enjoy using `just` and find great success and satisfaction in all your computational endeavors\!
šø
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