Justfile Skill

Justfile Skill

Build system configuration using just, a modern command runner.

Related skills:

• mise - Tool version management (includes just+mise integration patterns)
• go-pro, rust-pro, typescript-pro - Language-specific templates

Installation

# Via mise (recommended - version pinned per-project)
mise use just

# macOS
brew install just

# Linux/​Windows (via cargo)
cargo install just

# Or prebuilt binaries: https://github.com/​casey/​just/​releases

When to Use Just

Project Patterns

Simple Repo (Single Package)

For single-language projects, create one justfile at repo root.

# Project Build System
# Usage: just --list

default:
    @just --list

# === Quality Gates ===
check: fmt lint test
    @echo "All checks passed"

fmt:
    go fmt ./​...

lint:
    go tool golangci-lint run

test:
    go test -race ./​...

build:
    go build -o bin/​app ./​cmd/​app

See references/​simple-repo.just for complete templates.

Monorepo (Multiple Packages)

For monorepos, use hierarchical justfiles with the mod system:

repo/
├── justfile              # Router - imports package modules
└── packages/
    ├── api-go/
    │   └── justfile      # Go package recipes
    ├── web/
    │   └── justfile      # TypeScript package recipes (optional)
    └── ops/
        └── justfile      # DevOps recipes

Root justfile (router):

# Monorepo Build System
# Usage: just --list
# Usage: just go <recipe>

mod go "packages/​api-go"
mod web "packages/​web"
mod ops "ops"

default:
    @just --list

# Umbrella recipes call into modules
check: (go::check) (web::check)
    @echo "All checks passed"

setup: (go::setup) (web::setup)
    @echo "All toolchains ready"

Commands become: just go check, just go lint, just web build, just ops deploy

See references/​monorepo-root.just and references/​package-go.just for templates.

Recipe Patterns

Quality Gates

Always provide a single check recipe that runs all quality gates:

# Full quality gates - run before commits
check: fmt lint test coverage-check
    @echo "All checks passed"

Quick Check (Dev Iteration)

Fast feedback loop for development - essential checks only:

# Quick feedback loop - essential checks only
check-quick: lint test
    @echo "Quick checks passed"

Clean Recipe

Standard cleanup for build artifacts and caches:

# Remove build artifacts and caches
clean:
    rm -rf build/ coverage.out node_modules/​.cache

Parallel Check Execution (CI)

Run package checks in parallel for faster CI:

# Run all package checks in parallel (CI optimization)
check-parallel:
    @just api check & just web check & wait

Coverage Enforcement

Use shebang for multi-line shell logic:

# Check coverage meets 70% minimum
coverage-check:
    #!/​usr/​bin/​env bash
    set -euo pipefail
    go test -race -coverprofile=coverage.out ./​...
    COVERAGE=$(go tool cover -func=coverage.out | grep total | awk '{print $3}' | sed 's/%//')
    COVERAGE_INT=${COVERAGE%.*}
    [ "$COVERAGE_INT" -ge 70 ] || (echo "FAIL: Coverage ${COVERAGE}% < 70%" && exit 1)
    echo "PASS: Coverage ${COVERAGE}%"

The #!/​usr/​bin/​env bash shebang runs the entire recipe as a single shell script (variables persist across lines).

Umbrella Recipes with Module Dependencies

# Root justfile calling into modules
check: (go::check) (web::check)
    @echo "All checks passed"

Optional Modules

For packages that may not exist in all environments:

mod? optional-package "packages/​optional"

Documentation Comments

Every recipe should have a doc comment (shown in just --list):

# Run unit tests with race detection
test:
    go test -race ./​...

Module doc comments - Comments above mod statements also appear in just --list:

# Go API (GraphQL + Watermill)
mod api "packages/​api"

# Next.js frontend
mod web "packages/​web"

# PostgreSQL database
mod db "packages/​db"

Output of just --list:

api ...      # Go API (GraphQL + Watermill)
db ...       # PostgreSQL database
web ...      # Next.js frontend

Always add doc comments to module imports for discoverability.

Module System Details

Syntax

mod <name> "<path>"              # Required module
mod? <name> "<path>"             # Optional module (no error if missing)
mod <name>                       # Module at ./<name>/​justfile

Working Directory

Recipes in modules run with their working directory set to the module's directory, not the root. This is the desired behavior for package-local commands.

Listing Module Recipes

just --list           # Root recipes + module names
just --list go        # Recipes in 'go' module
just --list-submodules # All recipes including submodules

Important: Use just --list <module> not just <module> --list. The flag must come before the module name.

Calling Module Recipes

just go check         # From command line
(go::check)          # As dependency in justfile

Integration with Language Toolchains

Go Projects

# Uses go.mod tool directive for pinned versions
lint:
    go tool golangci-lint run

# Auto-fix linting issues (chains goimports to fix imports after modernize changes)
fix:
    go tool golangci-lint run --fix
    go tool goimports -w .

Why chain goimports? The modernize linter may change code (e.g., fmt.Errorf() → errors.New()) without updating imports, breaking builds. Running goimports after --fix resolves this.

TypeScript/​Node Projects

Two approaches:

Option A: Thin wrapper (recommended for consistency)

# packages/​web/​justfile
check:
    npm run check

lint:
    npm run lint

test:
    npm test

Option B: Direct delegation from root (simpler)

# Root justfile - no web module
ts-web-check:
    cd packages/​web && npm run check

Rust Projects

check: fmt lint test
    @echo "All checks passed"

fmt:
    cargo fmt --all

lint:
    cargo clippy -- -D warnings

test:
    cargo test

Mise Integration

When a project uses mise for tool version management, just recipes should use mise exec to ensure pinned versions are used regardless of developer shell setup.

See the mise skill for full mise setup including shell config, direnv integration, and project .mise.toml patterns.

Shell Override (Recommended)

# All recipes automatically use mise-pinned tools
set shell := ["mise", "exec", "--", "bash", "-c"]

build:
    npm run build

test:
    go test ./​...

Graceful Degradation

For repos where mise is optional:

set shell := ["bash", "-c"]

# Use mise if available, otherwise fall back to PATH
_exec cmd:
    #!/​usr/​bin/​env bash
    if command -v mise &>/​dev/​null; then
        mise exec -- {{cmd}}
    else
        {{cmd}}
    fi

build: (_exec "npm run build")
test: (_exec "go test ./​...")
lint: (_exec "golangci-lint run")

Note: No .mise.toml check needed - mise traverses parent directories automatically.

Why This Matters

Recommendation: Use the shell override for team repos. Use graceful degradation for open source where mise adoption varies.

Caveats

Failure mode: Shell override + mise not installed = cryptic "could not find shell" error. Use graceful degradation for open source.

First clone: Contributors must run mise trust to allow the repo's config:

setup:
    mise trust
    mise install
    @echo "Toolchain ready"

---

Security Auditing

All language templates include consistent audit recipes:

Language tools:

---

Reference Templates

Load the appropriate template based on project structure:

Note: Reference files use .just extension for organization. Actual project files must be named justfile (no extension) or .justfile.