How do I check if file exists in Makefile?

问题:

In the clean section of my makefle I am trying to check if the file exists before deleting permanently. I use this code but I receive errors.

What's wrong with it?

 if [ -a myApp ]
 then
     rm myApp
 fi

I get this error message

 f [ -a myApp ]
 /bin/sh: Syntax error: end of file unexpected (expecting "then")
 make: *** [clean] Error 2

回答1:

The second top answer mentions ifeq, however, it fails to mention that these must be on the same level as the name of the target, e.g., to download a file only if it doesn't currently exist, the following code could be used:

if fi
download:
ifeq (,$(wildcard ./glob.c))
    curl … -o glob.c
endif

回答2:

It's strange to see so many people using shell scripting for this. I was looking for a way to use native makefile syntax, because I'm writing this outside of any target. You can use the wildcard function to check if file exists:

 ifeq ($(UNAME),Darwin)
     SHELL := /opt/local/bin/bash
     OS_X  := true
 else ifneq (,$(wildcard /etc/redhat-release))
     OS_RHEL := true
 else
     OS_DEB  := true
     SHELL := /bin/bash
 endif 

Update:

I found a way which is really working for me:

ifneq ("$(wildcard $(PATH_TO_FILE))","")
    FILE_EXISTS = 1
else
    FILE_EXISTS = 0
endif

回答3:

It may need a backslash on the end of the line for continuation (although perhaps that depends on the version of make):

if [ -a myApp ] ; \
then \
     rm myApp ; \
fi;

回答4:

You can simply use test command to test if the file does exist, e.g.:

test -f myApp && echo File does exist

-f file True if file exists and is a regular file.

-s file True if file exists and has a size greater than zero.

or does not:

test -f myApp || echo File does not exist
test ! -f myApp && echo File does not exist

The test is equivalent to [ command. See: help [ or help test for further syntax.

回答5:

Or just put it on one line, as make likes it:

if [ -a myApp ]; then rm myApp; fi;

回答6:

Missing a semicolon

if [ -a myApp ];
then
  rm myApp
fi

However, I assume you are checking for existence before deletion to prevent an error message. If so, you can just use rm -f myApp which "forces" delete, i.e. doesn't error out if the file didn't exist.

回答7:

FILE1 = /usr/bin/perl
FILE2 = /nofile

ifeq ($(shell test -e $(FILE1) && echo -n yes),yes)
    RESULT1=$(FILE1) exists.
else
    RESULT1=$(FILE1) does not exist.
endif

ifeq ($(shell test -e $(FILE2) && echo -n yes),yes)
    RESULT2=$(FILE2) exists.
else
    RESULT2=$(FILE2) does not exist.
endif

all:
    @echo $(RESULT1)
    @echo $(RESULT2)

execution results:

bash> make
/usr/bin/perl exists.
/nofile does not exist.

回答8:

One line solution:

   [ -f ./myfile ] && echo exists

One line solution with error action:

   [ -f ./myfile ] && echo exists || echo not exists

Example used in my make clean directives:

clean:
    @[ -f ./myfile ] && rm myfile || true

And make clean always works without any error messages!