mbake Makefile Formatter - VS Code Extension

A VS Code extension that integrates the mbake Makefile formatter directly into your editor.

Features

• Format Makefiles: Format your Makefiles according to best practices with a single command or keyboard shortcut
• Check Formatting: Verify if your Makefiles are properly formatted without making changes
• Format on Save: Automatically format Makefiles when you save them (optional)
• Right-click Context Menu: Access formatting commands directly from the editor context menu
• Command Palette: Run mbake commands from the VS Code command palette
• Configurable: Customize mbake settings through VS Code preferences

Requirements

• mbake must be installed and available in your system PATH
• Alternatively, you can specify a custom path to the bake executable in the extension settings

Installing mbake

# Install mbake using pip
pip install mbake

# Or install from source
git clone https://github.com/ebodshojaei/bake.git
cd mbake
pip install -e .

Quick Start

1. Install the extension
2. Open a Makefile in VS Code
3. Right-click and select "Format Makefile" or use Shift+Alt+F

Commands

• mbake: Format Makefile (mbake.formatMakefile) - Format the current Makefile
• mbake: Check Makefile Formatting (mbake.checkMakefile) - Check if the current Makefile needs formatting

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Shift+Alt+F - Format the current Makefile (when editing a Makefile)

Configuration

Access these settings through VS Code's settings (Cmd/Ctrl + ,) and search for "mbake":

mbake.executablePath

• Type: string
• Default: "bake"
• Description: Path to the bake executable. Use 'bake' if it's in your PATH, or provide the full path.

mbake.configPath

• Type: string
• Default: ""
• Description: Path to the bake configuration file. Leave empty to use default (~/.bake.toml).

mbake.formatOnSave

• Type: boolean
• Default: false
• Description: Automatically format Makefiles on save.

mbake.showDiff

• Type: boolean
• Default: false
• Description: Show diff of changes when formatting.

mbake.verbose

• Type: boolean
• Default: false
• Description: Enable verbose output.

Configuration Example

Add these settings to your VS Code settings.json:

{
    "mbake.executablePath": "/usr/local/bin/bake",
    "mbake.configPath": "/path/to/your/.bake.toml",
    "mbake.formatOnSave": true,
    "mbake.verbose": true,
    "mbake.showDiff": false
}

Supported File Types

The extension automatically activates for:

• Files with .mk or .make extensions
• Files named Makefile, makefile, or GNUmakefile
• Files with the makefile language ID

Usage

Format a Makefile

1. Using keyboard shortcut: Press Shift+Alt+F while editing a Makefile
2. Using command palette: Press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P and type "mbake: Format Makefile"
3. Using context menu: Right-click in the editor and select "Format Makefile"
4. Using format document: Press Shift+Alt+F or Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+I

Check Makefile Formatting

1. Using command palette: Press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P and type "mbake: Check Makefile Formatting"
2. Using context menu: Right-click in the editor and select "Check Makefile Formatting"

Format on Save

Enable the mbake.formatOnSave setting to automatically format Makefiles when you save them.

What mbake does

The mbake formatter applies these improvements to your Makefiles:

• Tabs: Converts spaces to tabs in recipe lines
• Assignment spacing: Normalizes spacing around variable assignments
• Target spacing: Fixes spacing around colons in targets
• PHONY declarations: Groups and organizes .PHONY declarations
• Line continuations: Normalizes multi-line variable assignments
• Whitespace: Removes trailing whitespace and ensures consistent empty lines
• Final newline: Ensures files end with a newline
• Error formatting: Provides GNU standard error format for perfect

Troubleshooting

"bake command not found"

Make sure mbake is installed and available in your PATH, or set the full path in mbake.executablePath.

# Check if mbake is installed
which bake
bake --help

Configuration file not found

If you see errors about missing configuration files, either:

1. Create a ~/.bake.toml configuration file
2. Set a custom path in mbake.configPath
3. Use the example configuration provided in the mbake repository

Extension not activating

Make sure your file is recognized as a Makefile:

1. Check the language mode in the bottom-right corner of VS Code
2. Manually set the language to "Makefile" if needed
3. Ensure your file has the correct name or extension

Example Configuration File

Create ~/.bake.toml with these contents:

# Global settings
debug = false
verbose = false

# Error message formatting
gnu_error_format = true         # Use GNU standard error format (file:line: Error: message)
wrap_error_messages = false     # Wrap long error messages (can interfere with IDE parsing)

[formatter]
# Indentation settings
use_tabs = true
tab_width = 4

# Spacing settings
space_around_assignment = true
space_before_colon = false
space_after_colon = true

# Line continuation settings
normalize_line_continuations = true
max_line_length = 120

# PHONY settings
group_phony_declarations = true
phony_at_top = true

# General settings
remove_trailing_whitespace = true
ensure_final_newline = true
normalize_empty_lines = true
max_consecutive_empty_lines = 2
fix_missing_recipe_tabs = true

Contributing

Found a bug or want to contribute? Visit the GitHub repository.

License

This extension is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.