Mako

A fast, parallel build system for C/C++ projects. Think npm or cargo, but for C/C++.

Why Mako?

• Fast: Parallel compilation with smart caching
• Simple: One build.toml file, sensible defaults
• Modern: Clean TOML config instead of Makefiles
• Batteries included: Built-in test framework, file watching, and scripts

Quick Start

# Create a new project
mako new myproject
cd myproject

# Build and run
mako build
mako run

# Watch for changes and rebuild
mako watch

Build Configuration

Create a build.toml in your project root:

name = "myapp"
language = "c++17"

# Build settings
optimization = "2"
warnings = "all"

# Suppress specific warnings
warnings = [
    "no-unused-parameter",
    "no-deprecated-declarations"
]

# Define constants (converts to -D flags)
[constants]
VERSION = "1.0.0"
DEBUG_MODE = ""
MAX_CONNECTIONS = "100"

# Link libraries
link_libs = ["pthread", "m"]

# Add include directories
include_dirs = ["include", "vendor"]

Build Modes

Executable Mode (Default)

Build executables from your source code:

name = "myapp"
language = "c++17"
mode = "executable"  # Default, can be omitted

# Main executable is built from src/ automatically

Library Mode

Build static or shared libraries:

name = "mylib"
language = "c11"
mode = "library"
library_type = "static"  # Options: "static", "shared", or "both"

# Will create libmylib.a (and/or libmylib.so / libmylib.dll / libmylib.dylib)

mako build  # Creates libmylib.a

Multiple Executables

Mako makes it easy to build multiple executables from the same codebase:

name = "myproject"
language = "c++17"

# Main executable is built from src/ automatically

# Additional executables
[[executables]]
name = "server"
source = "cmd/server"
entry_point = "main.cpp"
ldflags = ["-lpthread"]

[[executables]]
name = "client"
source = "cmd/client"
entry_point = "main.cpp"

Build Modes

# Build only the main executable (default)
mako build

# Build all executables (main + additional)
mako build --all

# Build a specific executable
mako build server

Commands

Project Setup

mako init              # Initialize in current directory
mako new <name>        # Create new project directory

Building

mako build             # Build main executable
mako build --all       # Build all executables
mako build server      # Build specific executable
mako build main.cpp    # Compile single file
mako build --clean     # Force rebuild all
mako build --verbose   # Show detailed output

Running

mako run               # Build and run main executable
mako run server        # Build and run specific executable
mako run -- arg1 arg2  # Pass arguments to executable

Testing

Mako includes the Echo test framework for both C and C++:

C Tests:

// test_math.c
#include <echo.h>

ECHO_TEST(addition) {
    ECHO_ASSERT_EQ(2 + 2, 4);
}

ECHO_TEST(multiplication) {
    ECHO_ASSERT_EQ(3 * 4, 12);
}

ECHO_MAIN()

C++ Tests:

// test_math.cpp
#include <echo/echo.hpp>

suite("Math Operations") {
    test("addition") {
        expect(2 + 2) == 4;
    };

    test("multiplication") {
        expect(3 * 4) == 12;
    };
}

ECHO_MAIN

mako test              # Run all tests
mako test math         # Run specific test
mako test --verbose    # Show detailed output

Other Commands

mako clean             # Remove build artifacts
mako watch             # Watch and rebuild on changes
mako list sources      # List source files
mako list headers      # List header files

Scripts

Define custom commands (like npm scripts):

[scripts]
benchmark = ["./build/myapp --benchmark"]
deploy = [
    "./build/myapp --test",
    "scp build/myapp server:/opt/myapp"
]

mako script benchmark
mako script deploy

Auto-Discovery

Mako automatically discovers and handles:

• Source files: Finds all .c, .cpp, .cc, etc. in your source directory
• Include paths: Adds common directories like include/, src/include/
• Executables: Discovers executables in cmd/*/, examples/*/, tools/*/
• Dependencies: Tracks header changes and rebuilds only what's needed

Directory Layouts

Mako works with various project structures:

Simple Layout

myproject/
├── build.toml
├── src/
│   ├── main.cpp
│   └── utils.cpp
└── include/
    └── utils.h

Multi-Executable Layout

myproject/
├── build.toml
├── src/              # Shared library code
│   └── core.cpp
├── cmd/
│   ├── server/
│   │   └── main.cpp
│   └── client/
│       └── main.cpp
└── include/
    └── core.h

Auto-Discovery Layout

myproject/
├── build.toml        # Just enable auto_discover_executables = true
├── cmd/
│   ├── server/main.cpp    # Automatically becomes "server" executable
│   └── client/main.cpp    # Automatically becomes "client" executable
└── examples/
    └── demo/main.cpp      # Automatically becomes "demo" executable

Configuration Reference

Project Settings

name = "myproject"           # Project name
language = "c++17"           # c++11, c++14, c++17, c++20, c++23, c11, c17, c89, c99
compiler = "gcc"             # gcc, clang, msvc (auto-detected by default)
mode = "executable"          # "executable" (default) or "library"
library_type = "static"      # "static", "shared", or "both" (only for library mode)
source = "src"               # Source directory (also accepts source_dir)
build_dir = "build"          # Build output directory
optimization = "2"           # 0, 1, 2, 3, fast, debug, release, size
warnings = "all"             # all, basic, none, error

Dependencies

# Simple library linking
link_libs = ["pthread", "m", "ssl"]

# Include directories
include_dirs = ["include", "vendor/json/include"]

# Library search paths
lib_dirs = ["lib", "vendor/lib"]

# Use pkg-config
[dependencies]
pkg_config = ["gtk+-3.0", "openssl"]

Executables

[[executables]]
name = "myapp"               # Executable name
source = "cmd/myapp"         # Source directory
entry_point = "main.cpp"     # Main file (optional)
sources = ["main.cpp", "cli.cpp"]  # Specific sources (optional)
cflags = ["-DSPECIAL_BUILD"] # Executable-specific compiler flags
ldflags = ["-lpthread"]      # Executable-specific linker flags
link_libs = ["custom"]       # Executable-specific libraries
include_dirs = ["internal"]  # Executable-specific includes

Advanced Settings

# Parallel compilation
threads = 8                  # Number of worker threads (default: CPU count)

# Auto-discovery
auto_discover_executables = true   # Find executables in cmd/, examples/, etc.
auto_discover_includes = true      # Auto-add include paths
auto_discover_libraries = true     # Auto-detect system libraries

# Compiler flags
cflags = ["-fPIC", "-march=native"]
ldflags = ["-Wl,--strip-all"]

Performance

Mako is designed for speed:

• Parallel compilation: Utilizes all CPU cores
• Smart caching: Only recompiles changed files
• Dependency tracking: Tracks header dependencies automatically
• Incremental linking: Relinks only when necessary

# Use more workers for faster compilation
mako build --workers=16

# See what's being compiled
mako build --verbose

Examples

Check out the examples/ directory for real-world usage:

• lua: Building Lua 1.1 interpreter (C89 project)
• ldflags: Multiple executables with different linker flags
• mathlib: Static and shared library example
• Various test projects demonstrating different features

Contributing

Mako is open source. Contributions welcome!

License

See LICENSE.md