MKGEN a C/C++ Makefile generator

Zero-pain Makefiles for C and C++ projects

Supported languages

Supported graphics libraries

Supported platforms

About mkgen

mkgen is a lightweight Makefile generator designed for my everyday C and C++ workflow.

I often start with a small C or C++ file. Then it grows. Suddenly there are multiple .c / .cpp files, header files, and sometimes a graphical library involved. At that point, compiling manually or rewriting a Makefile becomes repetitive and annoying.

So I built mkgen.

It’s written in Python and focuses on C and C++ projects, with optional support for graphical libraries when needed.

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Why mkgen?

• I like coding in C and C++
• Small projects tend to grow faster than expected
• Writing Makefiles over and over is tiring
• Linking multiple source files and libraries manually is error‑prone

mkgen automates the boring part so I can focus on writing code.

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Features

• Automatically generates a Makefile for C and C++ projects
• Detects multiple source files and header files in a deterministic way using anchor files
• Supports both C and C++ compilation
• Designed to scale from tiny projects to larger ones
• Optional support for graphical libraries
• Simple and minimal by design

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Philosophy

mkgen is not meant to replace advanced build systems like CMake or Meson.

It is meant to be:

• Simple
• Fast
• Opinionated toward C/C++
• Easy to understand and modify

It exists because I needed it.

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Requirements

• Python 3.11+
• A C compiler (gcc, clang, etc.)
• or a C++ compiler (g++, clang++)
• make using posix environement on windows (msys2, git bash...etc)

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Installation

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/gtRZync/mkgen.git

cd mkgen

2. Install globally for convenience:

pip install .

Quick Start

Assuming MyProject is an existing C or C++ project:

cd MyProject

Create anchor files to identify your project's modules and public include directories:

touch src/.module
touch src/entity/.module
touch src/objects/.module

touch include/.public
touch include/entity/.public
touch include/objects/.public

Initialize the project configuration:

mkgen init .

Edit mkgen.toml to match your project's requirements.

Generate the Makefiles:

mkdir -p build
mkgen generate --root . --build-dir build

Build the project:

mkgen build --build-dir build --target run --parallel 12

Note

After the initial generate, structural changes (such as adding or removing modules or source files) are detected automatically by mkgen build, which regenerates the necessary generated files before invoking make.

Commands

init

Creates a mkgen.toml template in the project root.

Usage

mkgen init <ROOT-DIR>

Required positional argument

Argument	Description
root	The project source directory.

Optional arguments

Argument	Description	Default
--force	Force config file generation if exists.	False
-h, --help	show an help message and exit

generate

Generate a Makefile based on the current project's config.

Usage

mkgen generate [<options>]

Required arguments

Argument	Description
--root	The project source directory.
--build-dir	Directory where mkgen generates build files (including the Makefile).

Optional arguments

Argument	Description	Default
-l, --language	Specify the programming language to use. Supported: C or C++.	None
-c, --compiler	Specify the compiler to use. This value will be written into the generated Makefile.	None
-std, --standard	Specify the language standard to use (e.g., c11, c17, c++11, c++17, c++20).	None
--gui	Include GUI library flags in the Makefile. Supported backend: SDL2, SFML, RAYLIB.	None
--app-name	Specify the name of the output binary/executable.	None
--force	Force makefile generation if exists	False
-h, --help	show an help message and exit

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build

Builds the project using make under the hood.

Usage

mkgen build [<options>]

Required argument

Argument	Description
--build-dir	Directory where mkgen generates build files (including the Makefile).

Optional arguments

Argument	Description	Default
--parallel	Indicate how many jobs make should run.	False
--target	Makefile recipe to build.	None
-h, --help	show an help message and exit

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version

Display mkgen's current version.

Usage

mkgen version

Note

The version command is equivalent to running mkgen --version.

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Shared Command Options

Flag	Description
--banner	Show ASCII banner
--no-banner	Disable ASCII banner

Global Options

Flag	Description
-v, --version	Print version information and exit
-h, --help	Show help and exit

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Usage examples:

Default

mkgen generate --root . --build-dir build/

Note

Uses mkgen config file (mkgen.toml)

A template of this file can be generated using the init command.

Using cli overrides

Caution

Not wired yet.

mkgen generate --root . \
    --build-dir build/ \
    --lang C++ \
    -c clang++ \
    -std c++17 \
    --gui=SDL2 \
    --app-name my_app

mkgen generate --root . \
    --build-dir build/ \
    -l C \
    -std c23 \
    -c gcc

Status

This is a personal tool built for real projects. Features may evolve as my workflow evolves.