Checkexec

checkexec is a tool to conditionally execute commands only when files in a dependency list have been updated.

This provides the behavior of make as a standalone executable, where a command is only run if any of its dependencies have been updated. Like make, checkexec runs a command if the modified time of any dependency is newer than the modified time of the target.

Examples

In this example, the arguments are: <target> <dependency list> -- <command>. The -- is a required separator.

checkexec build/my-c-program src/my-c-program.c -- cc -o build/my-c-program src/my-c-program.c

By default, checkexec executes the command directly, not in a shell. If you need a shell, for example, to use &&, call the shell explicitly.

checkexec build/my-c-program src/my-c-program.c -- /bin/bash "cc -o build/my-c-program src/my-c-program.c && cp build/my-c-program /usr/local/bin/my-c-program"

You can also infer the dependency list, where checkexec will inspect each argument of the <command> for paths that exist on the filesystem. --infer will cause checkexec to fail if it doesn't find any files.

checkexec build/my-c-program --infer -- cc -o build/my-c-program src/my-c-program.c

Installation

cargo install checkexec

Usage

checkexec is great for when you build files from other files. Instead of relying on ecosystem-specific tools, you can use checkexec as part of any build tool. Here are some examples:

• You build, resize, or sample images as part of your build command, but don't want to rebuild them unless needed.
• You build C libaries as part of your Python, Rust, Node (or any other) build process.
• You build Sass/Less/SCSS files and don't want to re-build them unnecessarily.

checkexec pairs well with just to offer a modular and modern build process and command runner. just fixes numerous problems with make, and checkexec adds back the conditional rebuild functionality of make.

checkexec has exit code 0 (success) if the command is not run, and uses the exit code of the provided command if it does run the command.

Contributing

Contributions are what make the open source community such an amazing place to learn, inspire, and create. Any contributions you make are greatly appreciated.

If you have a suggestion that would make this better, please fork the repo and create a pull request. You can also simply open an issue with the tag "enhancement". Don't forget to give the project a star!

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