Jakefile Syntax

Comments

# This is a comment
task foo:  # Inline comment
    echo "Hello"

Indentation

Commands must be indented with 4 spaces or 1 tab:

task example:
    echo "Line 1"
    echo "Line 2"

Line Continuation

Long commands can span multiple lines using shell continuation:

task long-command:
    echo "This is a very long command" \
         "that spans multiple lines"

Variables

Defining Variables

name = "Jake"
version = "1.0.0"

Using Variables

Use {{variable}} syntax in commands:

greeting = "Hello"
target = "World"

task greet:
    echo "{{greeting}}, {{target}}!"

Output: Hello, World!

Variable Scope

Variables are global and available to all recipes:

project = "myapp"

task build:
    echo "Building {{project}}"

task test:
    echo "Testing {{project}}"

Recipe Types

Jake supports three types of recipes:

Type	Keyword	Runs When	Best For
Task	task	Always	Commands, scripts, development
File	file	Output missing or dependencies changed	Build artifacts, compilation
Simple	(none)	Always	Quick recipes, Make-like syntax

Task Recipes

Always run when invoked:

task clean:
    rm -rf dist/

task dev:
    npm run dev

File Recipes

Only run if output is missing or dependencies changed:

file dist/app.js: src/**/*.ts
    esbuild src/index.ts --bundle --outfile=dist/app.js

Simple Recipes

No keyword, Make-like syntax:

build:
    cargo build

test: [build]
    cargo test

Recipe Aliases

Define alternative names:

task build | b | compile:
    cargo build

Now jake build, jake b, and jake compile all work.

Private Recipes

Prefix with _ to hide from listings:

task _internal-helper:
    echo "Hidden from jake --list"

task public-task: [_internal-helper]
    echo "Uses the private helper"