I'm trying to use the powershell version of make in order to streamline some commands that I need to run multiple times. One of these such commands goes like this:

get-childitem -file | where {($_.extension -ne ".tex") -and ($_.extension -ne ".pdf") -and ($_.name -ne "Makefile")} | remove-item

I therefore set it up in the makefile as follows:

clean:
        get-childitem -file | where {($_.extension -ne ".tex") -and ($_.extension -ne ".pdf") -and ($_.name -ne "Makefile")} | remove-item

When I run make clean however I get an error:

get-childitem -file | where {(.extension -ne ".tex") -and (.extension -ne ".pdf") -and (.name -ne "Makefile")} | remove-item
'get-childitem' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.
make: *** [Makefile:5: clean] Error 255

Why do I get this error and am I allowed to use powershell commands within the Makefile as shown above?

CodePudding user response：

On Windows, make uses cmd.exe as its default shell, not PowerShell.

You can instruct make to use PowerShell by placing the following at the top of your Makefiles; adapted from this answer:

Windows-only, using Windows PowerShell:

SHELL := powershell.exe
.SHELLFLAGS := -NoProfile -Command 

# Sample target that echoes information about the PowerShell edition and version.
# Note:
#  * '@' preceding a command prevents the command itself from getting echoed.
#  * '$' has special meaning to `make` itself, so to pass a verbatim '$'
#    through to PowerShell, it must be escaped as '$$' 
.PHONY: demo
demo:
    @$$PSVersionTable

Windows-only, using PowerShell (Core) 7 :

SHELL := pwsh.exe
.SHELLFLAGS := -NoProfile -Command 

.PHONY: demo
demo:
    @$$PSVersionTable

Cross-platform, using Windows PowerShell on Windows (and, of necessity, PowerShell (Core) 7 on Unix-like platforms):

ifeq ($(OS),Windows_NT)
    SHELL := powershell.exe
else
    SHELL := pwsh
endif
.SHELLFLAGS := -NoProfile -Command 

.PHONY: demo
demo:
    @$$PSVersionTable

Cross-platform, using PowerShell (Core) 7 on all platforms:

ifeq ($(OS),Windows_NT)
    # Note: .exe is *required* on Windows; otherwise, 
    #       make.exe quietly falls back to cmd.exe
    SHELL := pwsh.exe
else
    SHELL := pwsh
endif
.SHELLFLAGS := -NoProfile -Command 

.PHONY: demo
demo:
    @$$PSVersionTable

Note:

• The assumption is that pwsh / pwsh.exe, PowerShell (Core)'s CLI, can be located via $env:PATH, which the official installers ensure, but you can use a full path if needed.

  • Note: As noted, on Windows you must include .exe in the file name / path. If make cannot find the executable, it quietly falls back to the default shell (cmd.exe on Windows, /bin/sh on Unix-like platforms).

• The built-in Windows PowerShell CLI, powershell.exe, is in $env:PATH by default.