Agent skill

Make

by mohitmishra786 in mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills

GNU Make skill for C/C++ build systems. An agent skill from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.

MITAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Make

skills CLI

$ npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill make -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills make --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/build-systems/make .claude/skills/make && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "make" agent skill from https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/tree/main/skills/build-systems/make into .claude/skills/make/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "make", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/tree/main/skills/build-systems/make

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill make -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills make --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/build-systems/make .agents/skills/make && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "make" agent skill from https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/tree/main/skills/build-systems/make into .agents/skills/make/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "make", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill make -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills make --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/build-systems/make .cursor/skills/make && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "make" agent skill from https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/tree/main/skills/build-systems/make into .cursor/skills/make/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "make", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.git --path skills/build-systems/make

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill make -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills make --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/build-systems/make .gemini/skills/make && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "make" agent skill from https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/tree/main/skills/build-systems/make into .gemini/skills/make/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "make", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills make

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill make -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/build-systems/make .github/skills/make && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "make" agent skill from https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/tree/main/skills/build-systems/make into .github/skills/make/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "make", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill make -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills make --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/build-systems/make .opencode/skills/make && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "make" agent skill from https://github.com/mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills/tree/main/skills/build-systems/make into .opencode/skills/make/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "make", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: make
GitHub stars: 253
Token cost: ~1.2k tokens
SKILL.md length: 302 words
Files: 2 (incl. references)
Skills in repo: 138
Repo updated: Jun 27, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

GNU Make skill for C/C++ build systems. An agent skill from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.

Works in 6 steps: Minimal correct Makefile for C → Automatic dependency generation → Pattern rules cheatsheet → …
Debugging Makefiles
SKILL.md covers Purpose, Triggers, Workflow and Related skills
Calls make

What it does

Make is an agent skill from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills. GNU Make skill for C/C++ build systems. Use when writing or debugging Makefiles, understanding pattern rules and automatic dependency generation, managing CFLAGS/LDFLAGS, converting ad-hoc compile commands into maintainable Makefiles, or diagnosing incremental build issues. Activates on queries about Makefiles, make targets, pattern rules, phony targets, dependency tracking, recursive make, or make errors.

Its SKILL.md is about 1.2k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 2 other files, including reference files (for example `references/cheatsheet.md`).

It sits in Development. It works with C++. The repository describes itself as: A curated suite of AI agent skills for systems and low-level programming with C/C++, Rust, and Zig toolchains, covering compilers, debuggers, profilers, build systems…. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

Debugging Makefiles
Understanding pattern rules and automatic dependency generation
Managing CFLAGS/LDFLAGS
Converting ad-hoc compile commands into maintainable Makefiles

Example prompts

“/make”

Workflow steps

6 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

Minimal correct Makefile for C
Automatic dependency generation
Pattern rules cheatsheet
Common Make patterns
Multi-directory projects
Common errors

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit bdc5847. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
- make
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Make loads about 1.2k tokens when it runs, and up to ~2.1k if it reads all its reference files. Until then it costs about 104 tokens; SKILL.md has 302 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~104
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~1.2k
With references · SKILL.md plus every file in references/, read only if the agent opens them: ~2.1k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills at commit bdc5847, republished under its MIT licence (© mohitmishra786). 302 words, ~1,203 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/make/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.

name: make
description: GNU Make skill for C/C++ build systems. Use when writing or debugging Makefiles, understanding pattern rules and automatic dependency generation, managing CFLAGS/LDFLAGS, converting ad-hoc compile commands into maintainable Makefiles, or diagnosing incremental build issues. Activates on queries about Makefiles, make targets, pattern rules, phony targets, dependency tracking, recursive make, or make errors.

GNU Make

Purpose

Guide agents through idiomatic Makefile patterns for C/C++ projects: phony targets, pattern rules, automatic dependency generation, and common build idioms.

Triggers

"How do I write a Makefile for my C project?"
"My Makefile rebuilds everything every time"
"How do I add dependency tracking to Make?"
"What does $@, $<, $^ mean?"
"I'm getting 'make: Nothing to be done for all'"
"How do I convert my shell compile script to a Makefile?"

Workflow

1. Minimal correct Makefile for C

makefile

CC      := gcc
CFLAGS  := -std=c11 -Wall -Wextra -g -O2
LDFLAGS :=
LDLIBS  :=

SRCS    := $(wildcard src/*.c)
OBJS    := $(SRCS:src/%.c=build/%.o)
TARGET  := build/prog

.PHONY: all clean

all: $(TARGET)

$(TARGET): $(OBJS)
	$(CC) $(LDFLAGS) -o $@ $^ $(LDLIBS)

build/%.o: src/%.c | build
	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -c -o $@ $<

build:
	mkdir -p build

clean:
	rm -rf build

Automatic variables:

$@ — target name
$< — first prerequisite
$^ — all prerequisites (deduplicated)
$* — stem (the % part in a pattern rule)
$(@D) — directory part of $@

2. Automatic dependency generation

Without this, changing a header doesn't trigger a rebuild of .c files that include it.

makefile

CC      := gcc
CFLAGS  := -std=c11 -Wall -Wextra -g -O2
DEPFLAGS = -MMD -MP            # -MMD: generate .d file; -MP: phony targets for headers

SRCS    := $(wildcard src/*.c)
OBJS    := $(SRCS:src/%.c=build/%.o)
DEPS    := $(OBJS:.o=.d)
TARGET  := build/prog

.PHONY: all clean

all: $(TARGET)

$(TARGET): $(OBJS)
	$(CC) $(LDFLAGS) -o $@ $^ $(LDLIBS)

build/%.o: src/%.c | build
	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(DEPFLAGS) -MF $(@:.o=.d) -c -o $@ $<

-include $(DEPS)    # '-' ignores errors on first build (no .d files yet)

build:
	mkdir -p build

clean:
	rm -rf build

3. Pattern rules cheatsheet

makefile

# Compile C
%.o: %.c
	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -c -o $@ $<

# Compile C++
%.o: %.cpp
	$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) -c -o $@ $<

# Generate assembly
%.s: %.c
	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -S -o $@ $<

# Run a tool on each file
build/%.processed: src/%.raw | build
	mytool $< > $@

4. Common Make patterns

Debug and release builds

makefile

BUILD ?= release

ifeq ($(BUILD),debug)
  CFLAGS += -g -Og -DDEBUG
else
  CFLAGS += -O2 -DNDEBUG
endif

Usage: make BUILD=debug

Parallel builds

bash

make -j$(nproc)     # use all CPUs
make -j4            # exactly 4 jobs

Add -Otarget (or -O) for ordered output: make -j$(nproc) -O

Verbose output

makefile

# In Makefile: suppress with @
build/%.o: src/%.c | build
	@echo "  CC  $<"
	@$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -c -o $@ $<

Override silence: make V=1 if you guard with $(V):

makefile

Q := $(if $(V),,@)
build/%.o: src/%.c
	$(Q)$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -c -o $@ $<

Installing

makefile

PREFIX ?= /usr/local

install: $(TARGET)
	install -d $(DESTDIR)$(PREFIX)/bin
	install -m 0755 $(TARGET) $(DESTDIR)$(PREFIX)/bin/

5. Multi-directory projects

For medium projects, avoid recursive make (fragile, slow). Use a flat Makefile that includes sub-makefiles:

makefile

# project/Makefile
include lib/module.mk
include src/app.mk

makefile

# lib/module.mk
LIB_SRCS := $(wildcard lib/*.c)
LIB_OBJS := $(LIB_SRCS:lib/%.c=build/lib_%.o)
OBJS      += $(LIB_OBJS)

build/lib_%.o: lib/%.c
	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -c -o $@ $<

6. Common errors

Error	Cause	Fix
`No rule to make target 'foo.o'`	Missing source or rule	Check source path and pattern rule
`Nothing to be done for 'all'`	Targets up to date	Touch a source file or run `make clean`
`Circular dependency dropped`	Target depends on itself	Check dependency chain
`missing separator`	Tab vs spaces	Recipes must use a tab, not spaces
`*** multiple target patterns`	Pattern rule syntax error	Check `%` placement
Rebuilds everything every time	Timestamps wrong, or PHONY missing	Check `date`; ensure `all` is `.PHONY`
Header change not detected	No dep tracking	Add `-MMD -MP` and `-include $(DEPS)`

For a full variable and function reference, see references/cheatsheet.md.

Use skills/build-systems/cmake for CMake-based projects
Use skills/build-systems/ninja for Ninja as a make backend
Use skills/compilers/gcc for CFLAGS details

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file (references) in skills/build-systems/make of mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills.

SKILL.md
references/cheatsheet.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit bdc5847

Compare with similar skills

Make next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Make compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Make this skillmohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills	253	—	~1.2k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	3 mo ago
Qt C++ Code Reviewx-tools-author/x-tools	1.1k	2 repos	~4.3k	Automated safety check: Pass	BSD-3-Clause	5 days ago
YugabyteDB ASH Instrumentationyugabyte/yugabyte-db	11k	—	~4.5k	Automated safety check: Pass	Custom licence	today
pybind11 Release Preparationpybind/pybind11	18k	—	~1.7k	Automated safety check: Pass	Custom licence	today
Qt Cpp ReviewSerial-Studio/Serial-Studio	7.2k	—	~4.3k	Automated safety check: Pass	Custom licence	today
Paddle Eager GraphPaddlePaddle/Paddle	24k	—	~562	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	8 days ago

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Questions about Make

What does Make do?

GNU Make skill for C/C++ build systems. An agent skill from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills. Make is an agent skill from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills. GNU Make skill for C/C++ build systems.

When should I use Make?

Make fits situations like: debugging Makefiles; understanding pattern rules and automatic dependency generation; managing CFLAGS/LDFLAGS; converting ad-hoc compile commands into maintainable Makefiles.

How do I install Make in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill make -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/build-systems/make in mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills) into .claude/skills/make in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Make in Codex?

Run `npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill make -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/build-systems/make in mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills) into .agents/skills/make in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Make in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills --skill make -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/make, .gemini/skills/make, .github/skills/make and .opencode/skills/make in your project.

What does Make need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Make needs the command-line tools its instructions call (make).

Does Make access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Make safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Make use?

Make is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Make use?

About 1.2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.8k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full. Its references folder adds about 886 tokens, read only when the agent opens those files.

What are the alternatives to Make?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Make: Qt C++ Code Review (x-tools-author/x-tools, 1.1k stars), YugabyteDB ASH Instrumentation (yugabyte/yugabyte-db, 11k stars), pybind11 Release Preparation (pybind/pybind11, 18k stars) and Qt Cpp Review (Serial-Studio/Serial-Studio, 7.2k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Make?

mohitmishra786 (a GitHub user) maintains it in mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills, which has 253 GitHub stars. The repository holds 138 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on June 27, 2026.

Source: mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install Make

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

GNU Make

Purpose

Triggers

Workflow

1. Minimal correct Makefile for C

2. Automatic dependency generation

3. Pattern rules cheatsheet

4. Common Make patterns

Debug and release builds

Parallel builds

Verbose output

Installing

5. Multi-directory projects

6. Common errors

Related skills

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from mohitmishra786/low-level-dev-skills

Related

Questions about Make