Directives

Global Directives

Placed at the top level of a Jakefile (outside any recipe).

Directive	Description
@default	Mark the next recipe as the default (runs when you invoke jake with no args)
@dotenv	Load .env from the current working directory
@dotenv "path"	Load a specific env file
@export VAR=value	Export an environment variable to all subprocess commands
@require VAR...	Require environment variables to be set — Jake exits with an error if any are missing
@import "path"	Import all recipes from another Jakefile
@import "path" as name	Import with a namespace prefix (recipes become name.recipe)
@pre command	Global pre-hook — runs before every recipe
@post command	Global post-hook — runs after every recipe
@before recipe command	Targeted pre-hook — runs before a specific recipe only
@after recipe command	Targeted post-hook — runs after a specific recipe only
@on_error command	Error hook — runs if any recipe fails

Recipe Modifiers

Placed immediately before a recipe definition (no blank lines between).

Directive	Description
@description "text" / @desc "text"	Description shown in jake --list output
@group name	Group recipes together in jake --list output
@only-os os...	Only register this recipe on the specified OS(es)
@quiet	Suppress command echoing for this recipe
@hidden	Hide from jake --list (same as _ name prefix)
@timeout duration	Kill the recipe if it runs longer than duration
@needs cmd...	Require commands to exist in PATH before running

@timeout

Accepts s (seconds), m (minutes), or h (hours). The recipe process is killed when the duration is exceeded.

@timeout 30s
task health-check:
    curl https://example.com/health

@timeout 5m
task integration-test:
    npm run test:integration

@timeout 2h
task full-pipeline:
    ./scripts/ci.sh

@needs

Check that tools exist before attempting to run. If a command is missing, Jake stops with a clear error.

@needs docker npm node
task build:
    docker build -t myapp .
    npm run build

# With installation hint
@needs terraform "Install from https://terraform.io"
task infra:
    terraform apply

# With auto-install recipe
@needs brew -> install-brew
task setup:
    brew install ripgrep

@only-os

Valid values: linux, macos, windows. You can list multiple — the recipe is registered if the current OS matches any of them.

@only-os linux macos
task set-permissions:
    chmod +x ./scripts/*.sh

@only-os windows
task set-permissions:
    icacls scripts\*.bat /grant Everyone:F

Recipe Directives

Used inside recipe bodies.

Directive	Description
@pre command	Run before this recipe’s commands
@post command	Run after this recipe’s commands (runs even if the recipe fails)
@confirm "message"	Prompt for confirmation before continuing
@needs cmd...	Require commands exist (same as recipe modifier, but scoped to this recipe body)
@needs cmd "hint"	With installation hint shown if command is missing
@needs cmd -> recipe	With auto-install recipe that runs if command is missing
@cd path	Change working directory for all subsequent commands in this recipe
@shell name	Use a different shell for all commands in this recipe (e.g., bash, fish, pwsh)
@ignore	Continue to the next command even if the previous command failed
@cache pattern...	Skip the recipe if none of the matched files have changed since last run
@watch pattern...	Register additional file patterns to watch in -w mode
@timeout duration	Kill this recipe if it runs longer than the specified duration

@ignore

Normally a failing command stops the recipe. @ignore marks the next command as non-fatal:

task clean:
    @ignore rm -rf dist/       # ok if dist/ doesn't exist
    @ignore rm -rf node_modules/
    echo "Cleaned up"

@cd

Changes the working directory for all subsequent commands in the recipe:

task build-frontend:
    @cd frontend
    npm install
    npm run build

@shell

Switches the shell used to execute commands. Useful for fish syntax or PowerShell:

task fish-example:
    @shell fish
    for f in *.ts
        echo $f
    end

@cache

Skips the recipe if none of the matched files have changed since the last successful run. Useful for tasks with no file output target but expensive to run:

task lint:
    @cache src/**/*.ts
    eslint src/

Control Flow

Directive	Description
@if condition	Conditional start
@elif condition	Else-if branch
@else	Else branch
@end	End a conditional or loop block
@each items...	Loop over a list of items

See Conditionals for condition function reference.

Command Prefix: @

Prefixing any command line with @ suppresses echoing for just that command (without silencing all output):

task build:
    @echo "Building quietly..."   # not echoed to terminal
    npm run build                 # echoed normally

This is distinct from the @quiet recipe modifier, which suppresses echoing for all commands in the recipe.