# just — A Handy Command Runner Written in Rust

> just is a make-inspired command runner that saves and runs project-specific commands without make's historical baggage — simple `justfile` syntax, argument support, cross-platform, single Rust binary.

## Install

Save as a script file and run:

# just — A Handy Command Runner Written in Rust

## Quick Use
```bash
brew install just
# Create justfile
cat > justfile << 'EOF'
default: test lint

test:
    go test ./...

lint:
    golangci-lint run

deploy env="staging":
    ./deploy.sh {{env}}
EOF
# Run
just
just deploy production
```

## Introduction
`just` is a pragmatic replacement for `make` when you don't actually need build-graph semantics — you just need a project-scoped command book. Where `make` treats every target as a filesystem artifact and punishes you for whitespace mistakes, `just` treats recipes as named shell commands with arguments, defaults, and interpolation that don't fight you.

## What just Does
- Runs recipes defined in a `justfile`.
- Supports named arguments, defaults, dependencies between recipes.
- Evaluates shell per recipe (bash/zsh/pwsh configurable).
- Exports environment variables per recipe or globally.
- Lists recipes with `just --list`.

## Architecture Overview
just parses the `justfile` into an AST of recipes and expressions, resolves the dependency graph (without timestamp semantics), and executes each recipe as a shell subprocess with interpolation applied. Variable assignment is lazy; `set shell := ["bash", "-uc"]` picks the interpreter.

## Self-Hosting & Configuration
- Install via brew, cargo, scoop, winget, apt (snap), dnf.
- `just --init` bootstraps a justfile.
- Config block: `set dotenv-load := true` auto-loads `.env`.
- `set windows-powershell := true` flips to PowerShell on Windows.
- `.justfile` and `justfile` both recognized.

## Key Features
- Clean recipe syntax with real arguments (not `$1` hacks).
- Cross-platform: single binary for Linux/macOS/Windows.
- Dotenv autoloading.
- Per-recipe shebangs — write a recipe in Python or Node inline.
- `just --choose` opens fzf picker.

## Comparison with Similar Tools
- **make** — universal; archaic syntax, tab-sensitive, filesystem-focused.
- **npm scripts** — Node-only; no arguments, no deps.
- **task (go-task)** — YAML-based; similar niche.
- **mage** — Go-based; requires Go.
- **invoke (Python)** — rich but Python-only.

## FAQ
**Q: Does it replace make for building C projects?**
A: No — use make for compilation. just is for workflow recipes.

**Q: Can I call recipes from other recipes?**
A: Yes — `recipeA: recipeB` as dependency, or `just recipeB` inline.

**Q: How about secrets?**
A: `set dotenv-load` + `.env` + gitignore.

**Q: Windows without WSL?**
A: Yes, runs natively. Set `set shell := ["pwsh.exe", "-c"]`.

## Sources
- https://github.com/casey/just
- https://just.systems

---
Source: https://tokrepo.com/en/workflows/43a1d1e0-38c4-11f1-9bc6-00163e2b0d79
Author: Script Depot