Jakefile Syntax

Comments

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

Doc Comments

Comments placed immediately before a recipe (no blank lines) are captured as documentation and shown in jake -l:

# Build the application binary
task build:
    zig build

A blank line between the comment and recipe prevents capture, making it easy to use section headers:

# ============================================
# Build Section
# ============================================

task build:  # This has no doc comment
    zig build

For inline descriptions, use @desc (shown in the same line as the recipe name):

@desc "Build the application"
task build:
    zig build

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

Hide recipes from jake --list using either method:

Underscore Prefix

Prefix the recipe name with _:

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

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

@hidden Directive

Use the @hidden directive before the recipe:

@hidden
task internal-helper:
    echo "Hidden from jake --list"

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

Both methods hide the recipe from normal listings. Use jake --all or jake -a to see all recipes including hidden ones.